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Highlights
Celebrating at our 40th Birthday Bash!
We’ve reached a significant milestone and had a giant celebration in September. We celebrated our 40th year of working to protect our environment and public health with hundreds of our friends and colleagues who have helped make CCE successful over the last four decades. Thank you so much to everyone who came out to our Birthday Bash and made it a fantastic night! Special thanks to our speakers, NYS DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton, NYSERDA President Doreen Harris, NY Deputy Secretary of State Keisha Santiago, Congressman Nick LaLota, and Assemblymember Deborah Glick.
Tackling Marine Debris in the South Shore Estuary Reserve
In honor of National Estuaries Week, the Department of State (DOS) has awarded $2.4M in funding through the South Shore Estuary Reserve Grants (SSER) Local Assistance Program, which will support local communities improve water quality, improve habitat, and advance environmental education along the south shore of Long Island. We received a $238k grant to be used toward marine debris removal and educational outreach with our friends at Atlantic Marine Conservation Society and Operation SPLASH. A huge thank you to NYS DOS!
Chemical Waste Management Denied Request for New Hazardous Waste Landfill in Western NY!
In September, the New York State Facility Siting Board officially denied CWM’s request to build a new hazardous waste landfill in Niagara County in WNY. For over 10 years, we have opposed this ill-conceived, unnecessary proposal that would have brought more than four million tons of hazardous waste to an already overburdened community for decades to come. This is a major victory for the community and the health of our Great Lakes!
Happenings
Opposing Federal Funding Cuts to Clean Water
New York and Connecticut’s drinking water and wastewater infrastructure is aging and failing, putting our economy, health, and environment at risk. Regrettably, the President and Congress have proposed to cut funding for critical clean water infrastructure programs. Significant funding cuts would hamper our ability to stop sewage overflows, treat drinking water for toxic emerging contaminants, make drinking water affordable to all, and create good-paying jobs. As Congress works to finalize a federal budget, we are pushing for NY and CT’s Congressional Delegations to reject these draconian cuts and protect clean water funding! Contact your two U.S. Senators and Representative in the U.S. House today and urge them to support full clean water funding!
Pushing to Hold Water Polluters Accountable in WNY and Beyond
This summer, a failure of the wastewater system at the Great Lakes Cheese facility in Cattaraugus County killed tens of thousands of fish and other aquatic life in Ischua Creek (after the facility had already violated its permits several times in recent months). Not only was it critical to address this specific issue and hold the company accountable, but it has raised concerns about other facilities that are polluting our waters and not being held accountable by New York State. In a recent Buffalo News article, we called for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to be held accountable for enforcing the Clean Water Act—a primary function of the agency—not only at Great Lakes Cheese, but other polluting facilities across the state.
Updates on Our Work to Advance Offshore Wind:
• New York State Energy Plan: The New York State Energy Planning Board recently released the Draft 2025 State Energy Plan. We held a big pro-renewable energy rally and press conference before heading into a public hearing in September with many of our Wind Works partners to testify. Environment, labor, and community leaders urged New York State not to backtrack on our climate goals and to move forward with clean, renewable energy projects including offshore wind. We are telling New York State that sticking with our climate and offshore wind mandates will enable us to have cleaner air, grow our green economy, bring economic benefits to our communities, make our electric grid more sustainable, stabilize electricity rates, and increase our local, domestic energy supply.
• South Fork Wind Shows Success in First Year: It's officially been ONE YEAR since South Fork Wind, America's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, began its operations. To highlight it's success, Ørsted U.S. has released its first-year report showcasing strong performance and reliability. During the first half of 2025, South Fork Wind performed a notable 53% net capacity factor making it a favorable competitor against legacy power plants and generated electricity 92% of time displaying a steady generation profile throughout the day that rose in the afternoon when New York needs to meet peak daily load. This new report emphasizes how offshore wind can provide enough reliable, cost-effective energy to power to New York, even in times of higher energy demand; all while supporting the local economy by creating thousands of jobs!
• Saying Yes to Battery Energy Storage: As part of NY’s transition to renewable energy, especially offshore wind, we will need to use battery energy storage systems (BESS). BESS systems store energy from renewable energy sources and deliver it when electricity demand is greatest, helping to create a more reliable grid. This summer, New York’s Intra-Agency Fire Safety Task Force adopted the most stringent, protective fire code in the country for BESS to ensure they can be built safely and sited properly. However, several Long Island towns persist with moratoriums on BESS. In September, we went to Town of Islip to urge the Town Board not to approve a 12-month moratorium on battery storage systems. Unfortunately, the Town moved forward with the moratorium. We are keeping up the fight for BESS, so stayed tuned for more updates on how you can support these critical projects.
Healing Our Waters (HOW) Great Lakes Coalition Conference Comes to Rochester
As a state lead for the Healing Our Waters Great Lakes Coalition in New York, we were thrilled to have HOW bring their national Great Lakes conference to Rochester in September! The conference featured topical and varied plenaries and workshops, exciting field trips in and around Rochester, and abundant chances to meet and network with Great Lakes advocates from around the region. It was great to have the City of Rochester and Lake Ontario highlighted at this major event!
Patchogue Village Composting Program
We are joining the Village of Patchogue to launch a residential composting program, the first of its kind on Long Island! This will help reduce waste and increase organics recycling as Long Island faces a solid waste crisis. We held the first meeting on the composting program at the Patchogue-Medford Library in September and had a great discussion with residents interested in joining. We still have spots available to participate in the program. This program is for Village residents only and it’s free to participate. Sign up for more information here.
Long Island Climate Change Communi-Tea Meetings
Long Island is already experiencing the effects of climate change, from rising temperatures, flooding, extreme weather and much more. It’s more important now to get the facts and hear the truth. We have launched a series of community meetings to deliver an informative, science-based presentation where we will dive into local environmental issues and explore the inspiring work happening across Long Island to transition to renewable energy and strengthen our climate resiliency. We have held great events in Brentwood and Medford so far. Thanks to all who came out and participated in the discussion. We have another scheduled for East Northport in November. Register here.
