Water

Brookhaven landfill: Town seeks 5-year operating extension, drawing residents' ire

Brookhaven landfill: Town seeks 5-year operating extension, drawing residents' ire

Brookhaven is asking state regulators to approve a five-year extension of the town's landfill operating permit as the town moves to complete the oft-delayed shutdown of the lucrative but troubled dump.

Town officials and the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the latter which is weighing the town's request for a new permit that would expire in 2031, say the landfill is expected to close when it runs out of room for deposits of trash, primarily ash from Long Island incinerators operated by New Jersey-based Reworld.

An invisible threat in Long Island’s waters

An invisible threat in Long Island’s waters

For generations, the waters surrounding Long Island have defined its identity — from the wide-open waterfronts of the South Shore to the shellfish beds of the North Shore. But beneath the surface, a quieter transformation is underway.

High levels of PFAS found in produce from 8 Long Island farms

High levels of PFAS found in produce from 8 Long Island farms

A new study shows toxic forever chemicals known as PFAS may be entering the food chain on Long Island through contaminated soil, water and air.

PFAS have leached into our food from packaging and cookware. Now the risk may also be reaching our crops themselves. 

PFAS chemicals found in Long Island produce

PFAS chemicals found in Long Island produce

In 2025, Stony Brook University, PEER and Citizens Campaign for the Environment tested local produce from eight Long Island farms, including organic and conventional farms that use pesticides. They tested 23 vegetables including lettuce, carrots, and beets.

Stony Brook study: 'Forever' chemicals unhealthy presence in Long Island farm vegetables

Stony Brook study: 'Forever' chemicals unhealthy presence in Long Island farm vegetables

Cancer-causing "forever chemicals" from pesticides, fertilizer and common household products were in samples of beets, carrots and other vegetables purchased at Long Island farms, according to a new Stony Brook University study.

Lead in school water: 3,000 fixtures above state limit on Long Island, Newsday finds

Lead in school water: 3,000 fixtures above state limit on Long Island, Newsday finds

Nearly 3,000 drinking water fountains, ice machines, classroom sinks and other fixtures in Long Island schools exceeded the state's standard for lead, a Newsday review of school testing reports found — more than twice as many as reported in a state database.

Districts said these noncompliant fixtures, tested over the past three years, were immediately shut off, replaced or marked for hand-washing only, following state law. But the results, according to public health experts, show that thousands of schoolchildren could have been exposed to water with harmful lead levels for years. 

Harckham and Burdick Announce New State Program to Help Remove Harmful PFAS from Private Wells

Harckham and Burdick Announce New State Program to Help Remove Harmful PFAS from Private Wells

New York State Senator Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Chris Burdick today announced a new state initiative to help homeowners test for and remove perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from private wells through New York’s PFAS Removal Treatment Rebate Program.

Advocates see 2 Lee Zeldins: Friend on local issues, not on global ones

Advocates see 2 Lee Zeldins: Friend on local issues, not on global ones

WASHINGTON — As a four-term congressman, Republican Lee Zeldin played a key role in the yearslong bipartisan push to save Plum Island,  off Long Island’s North Fork, from potential commercial development. He helped secure funding for clean water projects in his Suffolk district. And he spoke out against a 2018 proposal to permit offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean.

Calverton RAB urges Navy to consider county health data from private wells

Calverton RAB urges Navy to consider county health data from private wells

The Calverton Restoration Advisory Board has announced plans to host its own public meeting where the Suffolk County Health Department can present its independent testing data of private wells at the former Grumman site to the residents, after the U.S. Navy declined to have county officials present its findings. 

Compost Coming Soon to Patchogue

Compost Coming Soon to Patchogue

Patchogue Village is getting closer to collecting your organic food scraps for compost purposes.

They will be picked up at specific locations in the village, then sent to an anaerobic digester in Yaphank.

“This will be the first program of its kind,” said Patchogue’s Business Improvement District Director David Kennedy. “The digester takes the food scraps and converts them into energy,” said Kennedy. “Right now, it would be a pilot program.”

Wake up, Long Island! Wake up, New York! Climate Change is Real

Wake up, Long Island! Wake up, New York! Climate Change is Real

Suozzi Calls Out Administration’s Disastrous Rollback of Bedrock Environmental Policy, Stands with Conservationists in calling for the reinstatement of 2009 ‘Endangerment Finding’

Glen Cove, NY— Today, Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-Long Island, Queens) held a press conference to call out the Administration’s revocation of the ‘Endangerment Finding’ that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare—a move widely seen as a major setback to U.S. efforts to combat the climate crisis.

Environmentalists discuss the future of water quality in Stony Brook Harbor

Environmentalists discuss the future of water quality in Stony Brook Harbor

Improved wastewater infrastructure and healthy shellfish populations are the keys to improving the water quality of Stony Brook Harbor. On Tuesday, Feb. 3, environmental activists and scientists gathered at the Stony Brook Yacht Club for a water quality forum, specifically focusing on Stony Brook Harbor. 

Endowed Chair of Coastal Ecology and Conservation and Distinguished Professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Christopher J. Gobler spent the last two years monitoring water quality and shellfish populations in locations throughout the Stony Brook Harbor watershed. “We wanted to understand, what is controlling the growth of algae in Stony Brook Harbor?” he said.

Conservation groups split over Hochul’s plan to roll back parts of environmental law

Conservation groups split over Hochul’s plan to roll back parts of environmental law

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to fast-track certain housing projects by peeling back some environmental regulations is dividing some of the state’s most prominent climate advocacy groups.

The State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQRA, is intended to make sure projects don’t harm sensitive lands and waters, but developers have long criticized the process, saying it slows down construction times and drives up costs. Hochul said she’s trying to bring down housing costs amid New York state’s ongoing housing affordability crisis.

Long Island’s fragile drinking water system

Long Island’s fragile drinking water system

Experts explain what lies beneath the surface, and detail the threats to our crucial aquifers

Long Island’s drinking water supply is solely dependent on aquifers. Sarah Meyland, a retired professor at the New York Institute of Technology, spoke about the impacts of chronic water depletion on the region’s water supply. 

Glen Cove to spend nearly $800G for water treatment plant upgrades

Glen Cove to spend nearly $800G for water treatment plant upgrades

Glen Cove will spend nearly $800,000 to repair a water treatment system that can remove "forever chemicals," city officials said. 

The Glen Cove City Council recently approved a $776,000 payment for repairs to filters at a facility on Seaman Road.

Gov. Hochul Signs Horseshoe Crab Protection Act into State Law

Gov. Hochul Signs Horseshoe Crab Protection Act into State Law

“Christmas has come early for the horseshoe crabs!” exclaimed Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, following New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s signing of the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act last month. The new law bans the removal of horseshoe crabs for bait and biomedical uses in New York waters by 2029.

Could NY's plan to speed environmental reviews ease LI's housing crunch?

Could NY's plan to speed environmental reviews ease LI's housing crunch?

Long Island developers hope a proposal to expedite an often lengthy environmental review process will make it easier to build in the region, where low supply has led to sky-high prices for homes in recent years.

While housing advocates have lauded the move, the reforms have drawn mixed feedback from Long Island lawmakers and advocates worried about the weakening of a strong legal tool to protect the environment.

Newsday - NYS Budget: What's included for transportation, environment, economic development

Newsday - NYS Budget: What's included for transportation, environment, economic development

Gov. Kathy Hochul presented her proposed $260 billion state budget for 2026-2027 on Tuesday. Here are details on some key topics:

State extends deadline for Brookhaven landfill cleanup report

State extends deadline for Brookhaven landfill cleanup report

State environmental conservation officials have given Brookhaven Town an additional three months to recommend cleanup plans for a miles-long toxic plume emanating from the town landfill.

The Department of Environmental Conservation set a new May 1 deadline for finishing the report, which is expected to outline plans for cleaning up the landfill after groundwater testing in 2023 discovered so-called "forever chemicals" in the plume, which extends about 4 miles from Brookhaven hamlet south toward Bellport Bay.

New York to Phase In Protections for Horseshoe Crabs

New York to Phase In Protections for Horseshoe Crabs

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation that will ultimately ban the catch and biomedical use of the crabs.

New York State will phase out the catch of horseshoe crabs in its waters for bait and biomedical use over the next four years, beginning in 2026.

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