Water Protection

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. 

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.

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.

Governor Hochul Celebrates Landmark $3.8 Billion Investment in Water Infrastructure During SFY 2025

Governor Hochul Celebrates Landmark $3.8 Billion Investment in Water Infrastructure During SFY 2025

$1.1 Billion in Targeted Grants are Making Projects Affordable for Communities

 New SFY 2025 Clean Water Funding Report Details Coordinated Efforts of Seven Agencies

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the State’s $3.8 billion investment in local water infrastructure projects during State Fiscal Year 2025. A newly released New York State Clean Water Funding Report shows that New York delivered $1.1 billion in water quality grants in a single fiscal year, significantly reducing costs for local governments, families and businesses. Governor Hochul’s administration is providing unprecedented support to advance drinking water, wastewater and stormwater upgrades that are protecting public health and the environment, building community resiliency, improving quality of life and creating good-paying jobs.

How the EPA says cleanups are working at 5 Long Island Superfund sites

How the EPA says cleanups are working at 5 Long Island Superfund sites

Cleanup remedies at five Long Island hazardous waste sites "continue to be effective in protecting human health," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said this week, though some of the toxic areas need continued monitoring. 

The agency conducted the federally mandated reviews at Superfund sites located in Glen Cove, Port Jefferson Station, Franklin Square and East Farmingdale. Across New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico, 32 federal Superfund sites were appraised, which happen every five years, the EPA said. 

Hochul signs Horseshoe Crab Protection Act, setting phase-out of harvesting in New York

Hochul signs Horseshoe Crab Protection Act, setting phase-out of harvesting in New York

Gov. Kathy Hochul yesterday signed the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act, legislation that will phase out the taking of horseshoe crabs from New York waters for commercial and biomedical purposes over a three-year transition period, with a full prohibition taking effect in 2029, according to the bill’s lead Assembly sponsor, Deborah Glick.  

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