Brookhaven Town is suing the state Department of Environmental Conservation, claiming that a state law enacted last year blocks the agency from requiring the town to clean up toxic plumes stemming from the town’s mammoth landfill and a town-owned airport in Shirley.
Long Island coalition seeks $1B from Albany for region’s needs
The Blueprint:
The Long Island Lobby Coalition requested over $1 billion in funding from Albany to address regional needs.
The coalition includes small business owners, civic leaders, labor, environmental groups, and transportation advocates.
Funding requests include support for chambers of commerce, wastewater, solar power, affordable housing, and transportation improvements.
The coalition met with bipartisan state senators, assembly members, and Governor Hochul’s policy team.
Offshore Wind Is Already Working for Long Island — and the Opportunity Is Just Beginning
Off the coast of Long Island, a new chapter in the region’s energy future is already spinning.
The South Fork Wind project — the first utility-scale offshore wind farm serving New York — is now delivering electricity to the East End, demonstrating that offshore wind is no longer theoretical. It’s operating infrastructure.
Brookhaven landfill: Town seeks 5-year operating extension, drawing residents’ ire
‘Forever chemicals’ found in vegetables from Long Island farm stands: study
“Forever chemicals” known as PFAS — cancer-causing pollutants already found in Long Island groundwater — have been detected in vegetables purchased from farm stands across the North and South forks, according to a new study by Stony Brook University.
How Long Island’s produce is impacted by ‘forever’ chemicals
The Citizens Campaign for the Environment Lunch & Learn
The Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE) hosted a webinar last Thursday, March 5, to discuss the impacts of toxic PFAS chemicals in New York, where scholars discussed their findings regarding the detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on locally grown produce on Long Island.
The online panel follows a collaborative study between Stony Brook University, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and Citizens Campaign for the Environment, according to the CCE website. The discussion featured PEER director of Science Policy Dr. Kyla Bennett, CCE executive director Adrienne Esposito, Stony Brook University professor Dr. Lokesh Padhye and research consultant Dr. Seven Lasee.
An invisible threat in Long Island’s waters
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.
If you Live on Long Island, you could be eating PFAS-contaminated vegetables
Environmental leaders join Rep. Tom Suozzi in legal fight against EPA’s greenhouse gas emissions rollback
U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi stood along the waterfront in Glen Cove on Tuesday, Feb. 17, warning that Long Islanders cannot afford to ignore what he described as a sweeping rollback of federal climate protections.
“Climate change is real,” Suozzi repeated several times during the news conference, held just days after President Donald Trump and the Environmental Protection Agency rescinded the 2009 “endangerment finding,” a policy that concluded greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare.
Harckham and Burdick Announce New State Program to Help Remove Harmful PFAS from Private Wells
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
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.
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
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
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.
Proposed SEQRA Changes Spark Debate on Affordable Housing in New York
Advocates and elected officials discuss potential impacts of streamlining environmental review process
A roundtable discussion hosted by State Sen. Anthony Palumbo focused on proposed changes to New York's State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), which are part of Gov. Kathy Hochul's efforts to boost housing affordability. Environmental advocates and elected officials expressed concerns that the changes could weaken environmental protections without guaranteeing more affordable housing.
Proposed SEQRA reforms draw fire at regional roundtable
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.
DEC grants town extension for landfill report
Larger issue, supe says, is what comes after the closure
On Jan. 8, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, DEC, extended the deadline for completion of the Corrective Measures Assessment period and Report submission to ensure a complete assessment and adequate public engagement for the Town of Brookhaven’s landfill closure.
According to the DEC, the town must host a public meeting and conclude their assessment by April 15, 2026, and submit the Corrective Measures Assessment Report by May 1, 2026, a three-month extension from previous requirements.

