Sculpture Unveiled At Jones Beach To Educate Public About Plastic Debris

SOURCE:

https://wcbs880.radio.com/articles/sculpture-unveiled-jones-beach-educate-public-about-plastic-debris

JONES BEACH, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — A new sculpture has been unveiled at Jones Beach and the artwork has a big message behind it.

It’s a 32-foot, 2,500-pound metal whale that’s been named “Jonesy” and towers over the bath house at Jones Beach. Currently, it’s just a shell, but the sculpture is meant to house plastic litter picked up at the beach.

“It's designed to teach people plastic pollution actually harms and kills our marine life, such as whales, but also dolphins, and turtles and seals,” explained Adrienne Esposito, of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment.

Once Jonesy is full of the plastic debris collected on the beach, the sculpture will serve as a reminder for the public to never leave garbage on the beach.

Esposito is encouraging everyone to begin erasing plastic from their daily lives and use alternatives instead.

“It's easier than ever today to avoid using plastics. We have reusable bags, reusable water bottles. We even have reusable utensils made out of bamboo, but if people do use plastics, the message is don't throw them on the beach or on the ground,” she said.

Jonesy is modeled after a giant humpback whale.

Bee Warriors

SOURCE:
http://fireisland-news.com/bee-warriors/  

The first sentence in the introduction of a report by the Center for Biological Diversity, February 2017, “Pollinators in Peril: A systematic status review of North American and Hawaiian native bees,” by Kelsey Kopec and Lori Ann Burd, reads, “Bees are in trouble.” While of course most of us know this fact already, it remains both sad and scary to read.

The logo “Save the Bees” has been plastered all over the place for years now, and with good reason. A genuine sense of concern for their demise is ever present. But besides buying T-shirts and bracelets (of course for a good cause they help!) with cute yellow and black cartoon caricatures drawn on them I had to think, “What more can we do to help?” And, “Just how bad is the problem in our area of the world?”

According to the New York Bee Sanctuary, “Honey bees, wild bees, and other pollinators face a nexus of severe threats: Habitat loss and degradation, toxic insecticides, pests and pathogens, climate change, and the monoculture crop system have all been identified as factors in their decline.”

Standing on the frontlines dedicated to helping precious Anthophila (bees), is Guillaume Gauthereau, founder and executive director of New York Bee Sanctuary. When I asked Gauthereau what we can do to help, his quick reply will stop many people (especially landscapers) in their tracks, “Stop cutting your lawns,” he urges. “Everytime you cut a lawn, these working insects basically see them as dead.”

Gauthereau suggests the alternative of letting things grow wild. “Wild prairies are what bees and other pollinating insects need to do their job.”

While some folks may find the above action drastic, and never consent to getting rid of their lush green grass that has become a staple in their lives, there are of course other ways to help bees flourish. Setting up gardens with native Long Island flowers on at least parts of individual properties can surely help. These can in fact become part of the BEEsafe certified sanctuary program with the New York Bee Sanctuary. Simply head to their site to find out if your garden or space matches their criteria and register. All are welcome to apply.

Another proponent of bees is Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign Organization, who shares that, “Suffolk County is the second largest agricultural county in New York State, and relies on healthy ecosystems to sustain the viability and success of this industry.”

She continues, “The role of the bee is so incredibly intricate and valuable; yet so hidden.”

Esposito made it clear that besides crippling our food sources on Long Island, more things on Long Island that help keep us afloat financially would diminish without bees. Things such as our “massive horticultural industry and places such as wineries would suffer as well.” she said.

Esposito explained that we have to admit the dangers of pesticides when even global industries such as “Scott’s has agreed to phase out the use of neonicotinoids, which are the classification of pesticides that are associated with the die-off of several bee species including honey bees.”

Do we have a long way to go in the battle against getting rid of pesticides? Esposito says, “Yes! Pesticides are designed to kill insects and weeds. They have numerous unintended consequences and the dramatic decline in bee populations is one of those devastating consequences. We must change our reliance on these toxic chemicals. Our future depends on it.”

One thing I noticed while reading through the Center of Biodiversity’s review was that it eventually shifts from devastating numbers of decline to education on the different bees that exist. So how important is educating everyone on bees and their crucial role in our survival? Esposito and Gauthereau both agree that it could be a key component in helping pollinators survive and thrive.

It’s amazing how much work these heroes of bees are doing in order to save the lives of bees. But they are missing a big piece of support. When I mentioned the federal government’s recent decision for the Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to no longer collect data on honey bees, Esposito remarked, “The only one who seems to not understand this crisis is the federal government.”

The report ends with, “We need to take aggressive steps to better understand and protect our precious bee species before it is too late.” While some things seem to be in the wrong direction, there are many people giving it their all to save them.

Hybrid Cargo Boat Forges Farm Produce Shipping Route Between Long Island and Connecticut

SOURCE:

https://www.longislandpress.com/2019/08/20/hybrid-cargo-boat-forges-farm-produce-shipping-route-between-long-island-and-connecticut/

The Captain Ben Moore, one of the nation’s first hybrid cargo boats, is sailing the deep blue sea, or at least the Long Island Sound version of it, transporting farm produce between Huntington and Norwalk, Conn., in what may be the start of a new era in the way America delivers goods.

The 65-foot catamaran hybrid’s debut is a 10-year-old dream come true for Norwalk native Robert Kunkel, a former U.S. Navy lieutenant and Merchant Mariner who wanted to use the local waterways much the way people did over a century ago, before the construction of massive interstate highways, when trucking became king.

His Long Island Sound ferry service, Harbor Harvest, is named for an artisanal grocery and café in Norwalk he has run with his wife, Marilyn Kunkel, since 2015. The catamaran is named after a sailor who years ago became Kunkel’s mentor. “This is all about removing freight congestion from the highways and moving them to the waterways,” Kunkel says. “We had moved freight on the waterways for centuries in this country.” 

Harbor Harvest seeks to be an eco-friendly farm-to-fork distribution network. Kunkel said the key to his ferry service is to transport farm produce, and even some small packages, across the Sound in about 45 minutes, compared to several hours by trucks traveling the Long Island Expressway and I-95. Kunkel said his service will not only be faster, but cheaper and more environmentally friendly than trucking.

“The country became enamored with the trucking industry,” says Kunkel, a marine engineer. That began, he noted, once President Dwight Eisenhower instituted the Federal Highway Act in 1956, calling for the construction of 41,000 miles of an interstate highway system, then the largest public works project in American history.

Three years ago, Kunkel and Derecktor Shipyards of Mamaroneck, in Westchester County, one of the last of the famous New York shipbuilders, developed the hybrid boat, which runs on an electric battery system. The boat has 300 square feet of open cargo space, 100 square feet of indoor covered cargo space and 140 square feet of walk-in refrigerated space.

Kunkel said several Long Island and Connecticut produce companies and wineries have expressed interest in signing on with his ferry service.

In a recent major boost, Harbor Harvest was awarded a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration, which will help defray the cost of building a second boat, which is now in the planning stages. The money is also to be used to build docking space in Huntington.

“The goal…is to provide a viable source of waterborne transportation for Connecticut and Long Island farmers and manufacturers by connecting neighboring communities, in addition to creating produce markets in both Connecticut and New York,” the Maritime Administration said in announcing the grant in March.

The ferry service has already won high praise from environmentalists. 

“We think this is an absolutely wonderful idea,” says Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment. “The farm-to-table movement is growing across the country, and this service is coming along at just the right time.” 

Kendra Hems, president of the 600-member Trucking Association of New York, says her organization supports efforts to help eliminate congestion on the roads.

“The projection for the growth of freight is astronomical,” Hems says. “We expect that there will be shifts in the manner in which goods are shipped. We’re not opposed” to shipping by water. But, she said, “There will always be a need for trucks.”

The future of waterway shipping could be very bright indeed.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has issued a request for proposals to companies or individuals interested in opening a new marine terminal in the South Bronx to serve businesses on the Hunts Point Peninsula, in hopes of providing an alternative to trucking to move food and other products.

“We understand that highway congestion is chronic in New York,” says Andrew Genn, senior vice president of ports and terminals for the NYCEDC. “We certainly don’t want to end all trucking, but to make the system more resilient. The cross-Sound project is a good idea.” 

For his part, Kunkel is happy to be sailing the Sound. 

“I’ve been working on this a long time,” he says. “We’re going to open new markets here.” 

Parente calls water pricing study ‘flawed’

SOURCE:

https://theislandnow.com/williston-110/parente-calls-water-pricing-study-flawed/

A recent study cited by CBS News showed that East Williston is paying some of the highest water rates on Long Island,  but Mayor Bonnie Parente said the “flawed” analysis ignores the differences in taxes that other municipalities with water districts may also be paying.

“It was flawed,” Parente said. “It did not compare apples to apples.”

A study conducted by the Citizens Campaign for the Environment called “What Does Your Water Cost?” places East Williston’s water district at fourth place in the top 10 most expensive water districts on Long Island. The study hit the public eye after an Aug. 13 CBS story cited its findings.

When it comes to water bills and understanding why exactly they cost what they do, Adrienne Esposito, executive director for the organization, said: “There should be more clarity.”

Esposito said East Williston is one of the “waterless water districts” on Long Island since the village does not have its own water supply.  Instead, the village must purchase its water from the Williston Park Water District.

The organization’s study said while Long Island is a sole source aquifer, meaning 100 percent of water comes from underground aquifers, there are about 48 waters districts on Long Island. There are 37 in Nassau County and 11 in Suffolk County.

The study found that in East Williston, the approximate total annual cost of water is $814.80, averaging about $6.79 per 1,000 gallons up to 100,000 gallons of usage and then at $7.04 per 1,000 gallons over 100,000 gallons of usage.

By comparison the study said that in Williston Park’s water district, East Williston’s water provider, the approximate total annual cost of water is $616.80, averaging about $5.14 per 1,000 gallons and then at $5.36 per 1,000 gallons over 50,000 gallons of usage.

“They become the broker,” Esposito said about the Williston Park district. “People in Williston get the same water.”

Parente said the study did not take into account the differences other municipalities pay in taxes. The mayor said municipalities that have their own water districts also have other costs built into their taxes as a result of having to maintain the operation of their water district. Parente said CBS News and the study itself “did not do the work” by trying to break down and study these differences.

In fact, she said municipalities like East Williston should be praised for purchasing all of their water from another district, saying, “How many water towers do we want around Long Island?”

The study said East Williston has a population of 2,500. Esposito said that municipalities like East Williston, which is part of the study’s “districts serving less than 10,000 population” list, should merge with Williston Park’s water district and become what Esposito called “The Williston Water District.”

Parente said that consolidating Williston Park and East Williston into one water district had been considered by the villages years ago, but said  “that was discussed and dismissed.” She had no further comment on consolidation.

On the (water) table

SOURCE:

https://www.newsday.com/opinion/newsday-opinion-the-point-newsletter-1.35273965

A report by Citizens Campaign for the Environment on water rates paid by Long Islanders seems likely to have some legislative legs.

The report found that many water districts have confusing and abstruse ways of reporting how much water customers use, which obscures the cost of that water.

Released last week, the report comes on the heels of state legislation sponsored by Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) passed in the 2018 session that takes effect on Jan. 1, 2020, requiring that water districts that serve more than 10,000 customers publish water used in gallons — as opposed to something unintelligible, like cubic feet per second. They also must include a seasonal variation so customers know how much water they have used over time.

“The idea is based on conservation,” Kaminsky told The Point. “If you know how much you used you might say, ‘Oh my God,’ and cut back.”

Kaminsky, chair of the Senate’s environmental conservation committee, said he and James Gaughran (D-Northport), chair of the local government committee, have talked about expanding the law’s mandate to include districts serving smaller numbers of customers.

“There’s no doubt we could reconsider that,” Kaminsky said, “and we could reconsider whether water districts that don’t have water should be selling water,” a reference to the eight providers in the report who buy water from a neighboring districts and sell it to their own customers with higher fees.

Kaminksy said he’s also mulling whether to subject elections for water district commissioners to campaign finance laws.

East Aurora bans Plastic Straws - Video

SOURCE:

https://www.wgrz.com/video/life/east-aurora-bans-plastic-straws/71-702a445c-625c-4182-b4ee-8a9f2c986679

The scoop on dog cleanup under new plastic bag law

SOURCE:

https://www.nhregister.com/local/article/The-scoop-on-dog-cleanup-amid-the-plastic-bag-ban-14275847.php

By Daphne Saloomey

Friday, August 2, 2019

Stew Leonard Jr., the president and CEO of Stew Leonard's, and his daughter Blake are among many kissing single-use plastic bags goodbye as a result of the statewide tax that went into effect Thursday, Aug. 1.

Supermarket shoppers may be adapting to the statewide plastic bag tax that took effect Thursday, but are dog owners ready?

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection says 30 percent of Connecticut households own dogs. Those that re-purpose plastic grocery bags as poop collectors might soon lose access to their never-ending supply. While there’s not an outright ban, Connecticut consumers are now being charged 10 cents for each single-use plastic bag.

There are alternatives, though.

Among the simplest is buying dog waste bags, which are readily available. Laura McMillan, director of communications for the Connecticut Fund for the Environment and Save the Sound, suggests reusing other plastic bags that have not been taxed, such as those used for meat or produce bags.

“Continuing to pick up dog poop is really critical,” McMillan said. “A lot of people think it’s OK to leave it on the ground because they think it’ll get absorbed the next time it rains, or they toss it in a storm drain, thinking it’ll go to a waste treatment plant.”

While there is some logic in both of those tactics, ultimately they are harmful to the environment, McMillan said. Dog waste can contain pathogens that are harmful to both humans and the ecosystem.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, exposure to dog poop can cause diseases such as tapeworm and campylobacteriosis, a diarrhea-inducing infection, in humans.

Bacteria from dog poop can also seep into the ground and into waterways, resulting in elevated pathogen levels at Connecticut beaches. Nitrogen from the waste that gets washed into the Long Island Sound can cause algae blooms which deoxygenate areas of the water, McMillan said.

A matter of manners

Collecting dog poop is not just an environmental issue.

“It’s part of being a good neighbor to pick up after your pet,” said Louis Rosado Burch, the Connecticut program director for the Citizens Campaign for the Environment and an advocate for a plastic bag ban.

Scooping is also the law in some municipalities — including Bridgeport, Danbury, Norwalk and Stamford — and violation can be punished by fines ranging from $50 to $150.

“We don’t view the bag (tax) as a barrier to everyday folks being able to pick up after their pets,” Burch said.

The bag tax might even spur dog owners to pursue more environmentally friendly collection methods that avoid using plastic.

“When you look at the old slogan of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ that’s actually a hierarchy,” Burch said. “We should be reducing and the plastic bag is a low hanging fruit — it’s easy to replace with something else.”

The most sustainable method is to use some sort of tool, a shovel or pooper scooper, for example, to collect the waste and flush it down the toilet.

Though many agencies, including Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, advise against flushing cat litter, disposing of dog waste in this manner is EPA approved and eliminates plastic use.

This method, however, only works in certain scenarios. Lugging a shovel on a long walk, for instance, is not as manageable as using one to clean up after a dog in the yard.

Breaking it down

Distance walkers might instead consider eco-friendly bags made out of bio-materials such as corn and vegetable oils.

When searching for these products, the distinction between biodegradable and compostable is an important one. Biodegradable bags are designed to break down naturally, but often there is no guarantee that they will do so quickly.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, biodegradable products are supposed to break down in one year, but some companies make the claim even if their products do not fit the criteria. In 2015, the FTC sent warnings to 20 dog waste bag manufacturers for making what the agency said were deceptive environmental claims.

It is generally safer to go for compostable bags, which are required to meet federal standards.

Still, Burch said, “It’s important that people understand (compostable bags are) designed to break down in certain conditions, like in a composting facility. Consumers can’t just dispose of them outside.”

While using compostable bags is acceptable, adding dog poop to a personal compost pile is not.

“Adding the waste of any animal that eats meat is an absolute no,” said Carol Quish, a horticulturist that teaches in UConn’s Master Composting Program.

Killing the pathogens that reside in dog waste independently is just too hard, as it requires a constant temperature of 165 degrees for at least five days, according to DEEP.

Rather than doing it on their own, dog owners looking to use pet waste as compost would be better off giving it to a specialized facility, such as Green Pet Compost Company in Oregon. But there appear to be no companies that currently offer similar services in Connecticut.

For those looking to send poop away without getting their own hands dirty, there are businesses, such as POOP911 or DoodyCalls, that offer residential waste-removal services.

If the new tax realizes its goal and fewer plastic bags are used, many dog owners will have to adjust.

“There’s going to be a little bit of a learning curve for folks,” McMillan said. “People who find ways that work for them should share them with their neighbors.”

###

Nassau lawmakers ask Andrew Cuomo to sign bill regulating 1,4 dioxane

SOURCE:
https://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/1-4-dioxane-nassau-1.34432530

July 29, 2019 

Nassau County legislators called on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to sign legislation regulating the chemical 1,4 dioxane and asked for state grant money so Long Island water districts can purchase technology to enable them to meet strict new water quality standards by next year. 

In a public hearing Monday night in Mineola lawmakers, environmental advocates and water officials spoke about cost and timeline challenges of removing the 1, 4 dioxane from water wells on Long Island. The chemical is found in household cleaning products such as detergents and shampoos and, long term, can cause kidney and liver damage.

Legis. Laura Schaefer (R-Westbury), chairwoman of the county legislature's Planning, Development and the Environment committee, said lawmakers are concerned that without federal or state funding, the cost of treating 1,4 dioxane would get passed on to water district customers.   

"We just want to make sure that the state and the federal government are working with us so that it's not a tremendous impact on the taxpayer — it's important to us here in Nassau County where we pay very high taxes," Schaefer said. 

Earlier this year, Long Island water providers said it could cost $840 million to add treatment systems to 185 drinking water wells contaminated by 1,4-dioxane.

Hicksville Water District Superintendent Paul Granger said they are looking to implementing the technology to remove 1, 4 dioxane from their wells before the state standards are in place. The estimated cost is about $60 million for 10 wells where the chemical has been detected. The district receiving a $3 million grant, he said, and will pass the rest of the costs onto water customers.

"This lack of funding would force our district to raise water and tax rates more than 80 percent, respectively," Granger said. "We hold the product we serve to the highest standard, and as such will not provide our residents with water that does not meet the federal or state standards."   

The chemical is more prevalent in Long Island’s water than anywhere else in the state and far exceeds the national average, according to a federally mandated survey of emerging contaminants. 

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said she understands the cost problem for water districts and ratepayers but "let's not lose site of the compelling issue here."

"We have to get a cancer-causing contaminant out of our drinking water," Esposito said. 

The state health department identified 89 wells statewide — 82 of them on Long Island — where 1,4 dioxane was found at concentrations higher than 1 part per billion, the maximum level recommended by a state drinking water quality council panel.

A bill regulating 1,4 dioxane passed the State Legislature and awaits Cuomo's signature. It would ban the chemical in household products by the end of 2022. The manufacturing industry has fought the bill's passage saying it would result in the removal of many popular products from store shelves. 

A state spokesman said the governor is reviewing the bill.

Every member of the Nassau County Legislature supports the governor signing the bill.

“I am pleased that the Nassau County Legislature is unified in its call for Governor Cuomo to sign this law mandating the removal of 1, 4 — dioxane from personal care products. By banning the use of this harmful chemical, we can make great strides in our efforts to remediate Long Island's precious drinking water and protect public health," Legis. Debra Mulé (D-Freeport) who's office sent a letter to the governor.

Nassau Lawmakers Push Legislation To Limit Chemicals In Water Supply

SOURCE:

https://wcbs880.radio.com/articles/nassau-lawmakers-push-legislation-limit-chemicals-water-supply

JULY 29, 2019

MINEOLA, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — Nassau County legislators on Monday will hold an informational meeting on the cancer causing chemical showing up in drinking water across Long Island.

For months, a known carcinogen called 1,4-dioxane – found in laundry detergent, shampoos, and other cleaning products – has been turning up in 185 drinking water wells on Long Island.

In Hicksville, the chemical is found at some of the highest levels and the scary part, according to Adrienne Esposito of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, is that there is nothing residents can do or buy to filter it out of the water.

“People have been calling me saying, ‘you know, there’s a sign at such-and-such store saying, I sell filters that eliminate 1,4-dioxane.’ It's just not true,” Esposito said.

Lawmakers are asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign legislation to ban 1,4-dioxane from all cleaning products, including laundry detergent.

“We’re saying to them, you have to either reformulate or you have to filter. You figure out how to make laundry soap that doesn’t give us cancer when we drink the water,” Esposito said.

The county has already asked the federal government to set new stricter standards for the levels of chemicals allowed in drinking water and for hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up what was found in many districts.

As they await federal funding, some water district officials have, or will soon be adding filters to clean up the chemicals.

Water officials implore state to phase in dioxane regulations

SOURCE:

https://theislandnow.com/news-98/water-officials-implore-state-to-phase-in-dioxane-regulations/

While many Long Island water consumers have fears about the health effects of the  contaminant 1,4-dioxane, water officials also worry about the impacts proposed regulations will have on their ability to supply water. 

The Nassau County Legislature Planning, Development and Environment Committee hosted a 1,4-dioxane hearing on Monday night where water officials implored the state to phase in the proposed maximum contaminant level of 1 part per billion for the contaminant. 

The contaminant is a solvent often used in the manufacturing of other chemicals and has been classified by the EPA as a likely carcinogen. 

In December, the state Drinking Water Quality Council recommended a maximum contaminant level of 1 part per billion. In July, the state health commissioner ordered the  state Health Department to begin the process of adopting the recommended regulation. 

Donald Irwin of the Nassau County Department of Health told the Legislature that if the regulations are to be implemented by January, water authorities won’t be able to install the needed treatment infrastructure in time, a process that takes a minimum of two to three years. 

The only approved treatment in the state for 1,4-dioxane is an advanced oxidation process, whose installation is estimated to cost $15 million for water systems serving over 10,000 people, he said. The annual operating costs are estimated at $725,000. 

Irwin said that water departments will not be able to issue the same amount of water to residents and will have to impose strict water use restrictions. He said water pressure will drop and there will be less water reserved for firefighting needs. 

Dan Kelleher of H2M Engineers in Melville, who is a member of the Long Island Water Conference, said the 1,4-dioxane crisis is the worst he has seen in his 40 years in the industry. 

Officials also requested that the state Health Department take the lead in providing public education concerning the health risks associated with low-level contamination of 1,4-dioxane and short-term effects of drinking water above the maximum contamination level until the compliance date. 

Kelleher said that water departments do not plan on delivering water in violation of the maximum contaminant level and are considering action plans such as a blending of wells to produce water below the maximum contaminant level, sharing water between water suppliers, deepening wells and constructing new wells. 

“The water suppliers of Long Island find it hard to believe that the New York State Health Department can establish an MCL that may have an effective date that is less than one year from now,” he said, “knowing that water suppliers need at least two to three years to construct a treatment system.” 

Kelleher said the Garden City Park Water District, Town of Hempstead Water Department and Port Washington Water District are Long Island’s water districts that will be the most heavily impacted by the regulations. 

Democratic county legislators all signed a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo requesting that he sign legislation mandating the removal of 1,4-dioxane from all personal care products in the state. 

Adrienne Esposito of Citizens Campaign for the Environment said a study launched by the organization on 80 household products found high numbers of 1,4-dioxane in most of the products ranging from high to low quality. 

She said higher-priced products do not have less of the contaminant. Of all the products studied, Esposito said Victoria’s Secret products were found to have the highest levels of 1,4-dioxane. 

“Her secret is, she’s trying to kill us,” Esposito said.

Long Beach sewage plan approved

SOURCE:

http://liherald.com/stories/long-beach-sewage-plan-approved,116974

County votes on $66 million bond for sewer consolidation plan

The City of Long Beach could soon be out of the sewage business.

In what officials called one of the city’s most important environmental initiatives, the Nassau County Legislature voted 18-1 on July 15 to approve a $66.4 million bond to reroute Long Beach’s sewage to the Bay Park Water Reclamation Facility and stop the flow of waste into Reynolds Channel.

The county and the City Council also approved an intermunicipal agreement that officials said would improve water quality and save taxpayer costs in order to redirect the flow of sewage from the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The $77 million project, which is expected to take several years to complete, calls for converting the city’s 70-year-old wastewater treatment plant into a pumping station and diverting up to 5 million gallons of raw sewage per day to the Bay Park facility.

The city’s untreated wastewater would be transported through a yet-to-be-built, four-mile-long pipe under Reynolds Channel leading to the Bay Park plant for treatment, and then to the Cedar Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, in Wantagh, through a viaduct under Sunrise Highway. It would then be pumped into the Atlantic Ocean through a planned three-mile-long ocean outfall pipe.

“In the long run, it’s immediately going to be beneficial to the City of Long Beach, but it will ultimately be beneficial to the residents throughout Nassau County,” said Legislator Denise Ford (R-Long Beach). “Once we take away the sewage treatment plant and make it a pumping station, the residents who especially live on the north side of Long Beach will [benefit from] having much better air quality and not having a stench permeating their neighborhood.”

“Ultimately, when we divert Bay Park to Cedar Creek, there will be no discharge of effluent into to the Western Bays, other than the East Atlantic Beach plant that is further west of these facilities,” said Ken Arnold, the county’s public works commissioner. 

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, and other activists have said for years that the pumping of effluent — or treated sewage — into Reynolds Channel is to blame for the high nitrogen and ammonia levels in the Western Bays. 

Nitrogen and ammonia accelerate seaweed growth, which removes dissolved oxygen from the water and kills marine life.

The current water treatment plant in Long Beach is obsolete, and struggled for years to meet current water treatment standards and state Department of Environmental Conservation regulations, the city said. Additionally, to meet new DEC regulations, the facility would have to undergo $50 million in upgrades. The current plant is also a pollution risk during storms as severe as Hurricane Sandy. Overall, city officials have said, updating the facility would cost $178 million.

County and city officials said that Bay Park, which underwent $830 million in upgrades after Sandy, is now a state-of-the-art facility that is much better equipped to handle and treat the city’s wastewater, and that work on the Long Beach project could begin next year. 

John Mirando, the city’s commissioner of public works, called the measure one of the most important environmental and financial projects in the city that would benefit the environment and residents. 

Officials said that both the county and city could face fines of $38,000 per day if they don’t move forward with the project. 

“We are faced with a consent order from the DEC — and at this point we’re either faced with consolidating with Nassau County or meeting the new ammonia standards,” said Mirando, adding that more federal and state regulations will have to be met, such as removing pharmaceuticals from wastewater. “The plant will continue to show its age and continue to cost huge sums of capital money to upgrade. This plant is just going to keep bleeding money.”

City officials have said the consolidation project would stop the pumping of about 60 million gallons of effluent per day, with more than 15 tons of pollutants, into Reynolds Channel and the Western Bays, and the dilution of the effluent would reduce nitrogen and ammonia levels. The county is pursuing state grants to pay for the bulk of the project. 

Long Beach’s share of costs associated with the project is $18 million, and officials said that the city had already received $7.5 million in state funding, and would apply for another $10 million in grants on Friday. Long Beach would also cover the county’s debt service and operational costs associated with the plan through the collection of sewer fees.

City officials said that under the intermunicipal agreement, the city’s treatment plant workers would not be laid off as a result of the deal, and would be integrated into different departments or be offered opportunities with the county. 

“I strongly believe that this is an environmental victory not only for the City of Long Beach but for Nassau County,” Councilwoman Anissa Moore, who lauded Mirando and other city officials for moving the plan forward, said at the July 16 council meeting. “Also, I think this is once again another way to minimize the financial risk we continue to deal with.”

Some legislators expressed concerns about what would happen if the city, which is struggling financially, were to declare bankruptcy. 

“I am not confident that, under the [intermunicipal agreement], the taxpayers of Nassau County are sufficiently protected from liability for costs of the project, which should be borne strictly by the City of Long Beach,” said Legislator Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence). “Unfortunately, the recent management of the city does not give me great assurance that its promises will be honored in a timely fashion.”

Local environmental activists lauded the agreement and the vote to approve the bond, with Esposito saying that the project is vital to residents throughout Nassau.

Esposito and Long Beach resident Scott Bochner — a member of the Western Bays Coalition, a co-founder of the Sludge Stoppers Task Force and a member of the Long Beach Environmental Advisory Board — called on Kopel to support the plan before he cast the lone dissenting vote and expressed concerns about details of the intermunicipal agreement. Both said that residents of his district would benefit from the project.

“I’ve been living on the bays for a really long time, and we’ve been watching the degradation of the bays for years and years, and this is the only way we’re going to correct the problem,” Bochner said. “In order to get this pipe diverted, we’ve been really patient and it takes time to get a project like this under way. If you don’t take that effluent out . . . there won’t be any protection.”

Esposito urged legislators to vote yes, saying that the project would improve wetlands to protect from flooding and storm surges while also restoring water quality and the shellfish industry.

“We have been working together for 15 years on this particular campaign on this particular issue,” she said. “Here we are today with a successful program.”

Suffolk comptroller Kennedy takes shot at opponent, County Executive Bellone

SOURCE:

https://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/kennedy-sewers-1.34535753

Suffolk Comptroller John Kennedy, GOP nominee for county executive, attacked Executive Steve Bellone’s plan seeking $4 billion in new revenue over 50 years to fund high tech residential sewage treatment systems, and charged he has raided existing environmental funds to meet payroll costs.

“We need to deal with our gaping fiscal hole and put our house in order before we start talking about spending $4 billion to build new castles in the air,” said Kennedy, in an interview after a news conference at Blue Point's Corey Beach, recently closed over pollution issues.

Kennedy’s attack came after the county health department Tuesday put forward the subwatersheds wastewater plan to combat nitrogen pollution in Suffolk’s bays and estuaries. Bellone and county experts have blamed those woes on cesspools and septic systems that do little to remove nitrates. The new plan calls for creating a recurring, but unspecified $50-70 million annual funding stream — to help homeowners with grants and loans to install the new systems that cost about $20,000 plus maintenance. Suffolk has 360,000 homes that are now unsewered. 

“This is rich coming from a career politician who has done nothing to solve the water quality crisis,” said Marykate Guilfoyle, a Bellone spokeswoman. “It’s time for the comptroller to stop playing politics with clean water and sabotaging the county’s efforts to protect water quality.”

Leading environmentalists also praised Bellone’s new plan. Kevin McDonald, a local policy adviser for the Nature Conservancy, called the plan a “blueprint for healthier waters on Long Island.” He said the problem — generations in the making — “can recover, if we make the necessary investments … now.”

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said, “This … landmark plan identifies a realistic path we can follow that will result in healthy, productive marine ecosystems,” adding “The challenges are funding, the political will and public engagement.”

However, Kennedy also questioned whether some Innovative Alternative systems will meet standards. “Even by their own admission their enhanced septic systems are not operating properly,” he said. “At least get the technology correct before you codify the thing.”  

Kennedy also charged Bellone has raided nearly $30 million in the county’s quarter-cent water quality program by diverting what is popularly known as “477 funding” for capital projects to improve water quality and is instead using it for unrelated payroll expenses to help balance the budget.

But Guilfoyle said the use of water quality funds for staffing went before the county legislature for approval, and Kennedy, as a former lawmaker “voted repeatedly” to do so. She said the comptroller should explain why he approved using these funds "for purposes voters never authorized.”

Kennedy conceded he sometimes voted for personnel, but only for jobs like design engineer, connected to capital projects. “They have filled positions that have nothing to do with groundwater protection, including a guy cutting grass on the golf course,” he said.

Plastic Bag Ban To Take Effect At Prominent Connecticut Grocery Store

SOURCE:

https://dailyvoice.com/connecticut/fairfield/business/plastic-bag-ban-to-take-effect-at-prominent-connecticut-grocery-store/772781/

Plastic Bag Ban To Take Effect At Prominent Connecticut Grocery Store

Zak Failla

07/27/2019

Plastic bags will soon be a thing of the past at a prominent Connecticut grocery store, as they begin phasing them out as part of efforts to become more economically friendly.

Big Y announced that as of Thursday, Aug. 1, it will be eliminating single-use plastic bags from more than 80 markets and specialty stores located in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

"By working with shoppers, Big Y aims to further reduce consumption to make a difference across New England," the company announced. "As laws and regulations across the local communities that Big Y serves continue to change, the grocer will support shoppers in the transition by offering discounts on reusable bags through the month of August at all of its locations. They’re also providing online resources so shoppers can learn the best ways to keep their reusable bags clean for shopping trips."

Officials said that consumers use billions of plastic bags annually, which do not biodegrade, creating massive amounts of litter in neighborhoods and waterways and posing a threat to the health of area residents and the environment. The ban is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with plastic bag production and disposal.

"You see plastic bags hanging in trees, blowing down the streets, in landfills and in our waterways, and there is no doubt they are doing tremendous damage," officials stated. "Twelve million barrels of oil are used to make the plastic bags we use every year and by 2050 there will be more plastic by weight in the oceans than fish. We need to stop using plastic bags, and today we're putting an end to this blight on our environment.”

“At Big Y, beyond providing great quality, great prices and great customer service, we also try to be smart about the resources and energy we use,” Big Y Senior Vice President Richard Bossie said.  “By working with our shoppers, we can further reduce consumption to make a difference in and around the tight-knit communities that we serve across New England.”

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, single-use plastic bags are one of the top five single-use plastics found in the environment by magnitude, and they are one of the top five items encountered in coastline clean-ups.

Between 500 billion and one trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Less than 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled in the United States and they are not acceptable at certain recycling centers.

The EPA estimates that 80 percent of plastic pollution in the ocean originated on land, which includes plastic bags, and in New York, residents use 23 billion plastic bags annually, which contributes to pollution both on and off land. These bags do not biodegrade and they persist for years.

"Plastic pollution has become a serious threat to our lakes, rivers and marine environment as well as public health. Scientists are finding plastic pollution in shellfish and finfish, making its way to our dinner plates,” Citizens Campaign for the Environment Executive Director Adrienne Esposito said. “Giving up plastic bags and using reusable bags is one easy, reasonable step each member of the public can take to help combat the plastic pollution epidemic. It is time for everyone to get on the plastic bag 'ban wagon.”

"More than just an eyesore, plastic bags are a major source of pollution and cause tremendous environmental damage. The 23 billion plastic bags used by New Yorkers each year get stuck in our trees, blow along our beaches and parks, and endanger our marine and wildlife," Sen. José Serrano, Chair of Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation, said. "For the last decade, I have been working with my colleagues to reduce or eliminate plastic bag use in New York and I am thrilled to see the enactment of this statewide ban, making New York one of the leading states to tackle this important issue."

(Public News Service): Great Lakes Presidential Platform

Extreme weather due to climate change can exacerbate pollution runoff and toxic algal blooms in the Great Lakes.

July 25, 2019

NEW YORK – A coalition of more than 160 local, state and national environmental groups is asking every presidential candidate how he or she will address threats to drinking water supplies for more than 30 million people.

The Healing Our Waters Great Lakes Coalition has released a presidential platform to restore and protect lakes and drinking water for people in New York and seven other states.

According to Brian Smith, associate executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, the federally funded Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has made considerable progress since it was launched 10 years ago, but there still is a lot of work to do.

"We still have toxic hotspots that linger in parts of the Great Lakes,” he points out. “We have beaches that are closed due to high bacteria levels, and we have invasive species that threaten our fishing industry."

The Coalition's five-point platform has been distributed to major party candidates in advance of the next president debate being held in Detroit next week.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump proposed cutting funding for the initiative by 90% to just $30 million, but then announced his support for $300 million in funding.

Kyle Rorah, acting director of public policy for the group Ducks Unlimited, says that's not enough.

"The Healing Our Waters Coalition is asking candidates who support the Great Lakes to restore funding for the GLRI at the $475 million level, as it was in its initial fiscal year of 2010," he states.

Over the past 10 years, the initiative has invested more than $2.4 billion in more than 4,700 projects throughout the region.

Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters Coalition, adds that without healthy water Americans cannot have healthy families, healthy communities or healthy economies, so clean drinking water needs to be a top issue in the presidential campaign.

"Every candidate has the responsibility and the moral obligation to explain how they will put an end to toxic water pollution, and how they will clean up drinking water sources like the Great Lakes, and provide clean, safe and affordable drinking water to all Americans," she stresses.

The full Healing Our Waters Great Lakes Coalition presidential platform is online at healthylakes.org.

Disclosure: National Wildlife Federation contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, Environment, Water. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.

Andrea Sears, Public News Service - NY

Connecticut bag ban spurs contentious food waste debate

SOURCE:

https://www.wastedive.com/news/connecticut-bag-ban-spurs-contentious-food-waste-debate/556721/

By: Cole Rosengren

Published by: Wastedive.com

July 11, 2019

Connecticut's newly passed bag bill marks an incremental step forward in plastic reduction efforts. It's also being described as a missed opportunity by many involved in the process.

As finalized in a budget bill recently signed by Gov. Ned Lamont, Connecticut will require retailers to charge a 10-cent fee for any "single-use checkout bag" starting Aug. 1. By July 1, 2021, all such bags will be banned entirely.

The law defines "single-use" as plastic bags less than 4 mils thick – excluding bags for meat, fish, produce, newspapers and dry cleaning. The dozen-plus municipalities that already have their own policies in place will be allowed to keep them, and others can still pass stricter ordinances.

Environmental groups wanted to see paper bags included as well, while companies in the organics world pushed for compostable bags to be exempted entirely. The final version has resulted in a universally palatable stalemate of sorts, but tension remains after a heated legislative process.

Path to the ban

“We've been advocating for a ban on plastic checkout bags with a charge on paper bags, with the end goal of obviously producing a policy that promotes reusable bag use," said Lou Burch, state program director for the Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE). "This law does not do that. However, we do think it’s a good step in the right direction."

CCE, Surfrider Foundation and the Connecticut Food Association originally pushed a bill that went much further than what has now been enacted, or even what preceded it.

The legislature's favored bag bill, passed out of the General Assembly's environment committee in April, would have banned single-use bags made of "plastic, paper or other material" by 2020. Paper bags would be allowed if they were deemed 100% recyclable, made from 40% post-consumer recycled content and included the phrase "Please Reuse and Recycle This Bag."

This open-ended language raised the alarm for two companies with Connecticut interests — Novamont, an Italian bioplastics company and Quantum Biopower, owner of the state's first anaerobic digester.

The two have been ongoing partners in an effort to expand organics processing in Connecticut. Quantum is actively looking for ways to attract residential tonnage, and Novamont saw an opportunity to expand market share for bags to line those hypothetical curbside carts.

In fact, Novamont told Waste Dive it was actively pursuing plans to build a new manufacturing facility in the state.

"I thought, why couldn't we make Connecticut the model in North America that Milan is to the whole globe and have food scrap collection and have anaerobic digestion and have [compostable] T-sacks in all the stores and curbside collection?" said Dan Martens, vice president of Novamont's North American operations.

According to Martens, the state's Department of Economic and Community Development was favorable to the idea and asked what it could do to help. Martens mentioned the bag issue.

When the governor's budget bill — which included the milder bag ban language that eventually passed — came out in early June, it contained a key new provision: an exemption for compostable bags.

Fearing this could result in essentially a one-for-one switch from thin plastic to compostable bags at grocery stores, environmental groups pushed back hard.

Melissa Gates, Northeast regional manager for Surfrider, described the language as "alarming" and "a terrible precedent to set this early in the game."

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The ensuing back-and-forth public debate — featuring 5 Gyres literature around performance standards of various bags, Novamont-backed literature decrying a "nasty campaign" to ban the bags and plenty of other claims in between — didn't last long.

Late in the budget amendment process, the compostable exemption language was stripped from the bill. While compostable bags are not banned, they're not encouraged.

Food waste fallout

In the aftermath, it wasn't immediately clear whether environmental groups were just concerned about the bags entering grocery stores or if they also didn't want to see them used as cart liners.

Quantum, which continues to eye expansion options even though a bill to pilot residential programs failed to pass this session, stands by the bags.

“[W]hen we look at where the successful diversion programs were taking place in the state and outside of the state, almost all of them were built around a fundamental tool — which was a compostable bag," said Quantum Vice President Brian Paganini. "Obviously, limiting exposure to plastic is important on many levels — certainly for the environmental impacts that we all know of — but I think the part that didn't make it into the conversation fully was the impact on food waste diversion."

Burch said CCE never had any issues with potentially using the bags as liners for food waste collection. He even considered language in the residential pilot bill favoring bags as cart liners "reasonable."

"But to suggest that we're going to make compostable bags exempt from the ban and exempt from the charge and we're going to offer them at the checkout counter — in the hopes that bag is going to find its way to an anaerobic digester — is just completely inappropriate," he said. "It completely undermines everything that thousands of citizens activists across the state have been working on for years — and that is to make single-use checkout bags a thing of the past."

Gates said she didn't currently see a role for liners of any kind in organics collection carts until infrastructure is in place to ensure they're safely handled. Her overriding concern is also about bags taking over in grocery stores.

Surfrider remains opposed to substituting products of any kind with new material — compostable or otherwise.

"We steer away from any single-use product because part of the issue is the consumer paradigm," she said.

Reflecting on next steps, Martens declined to confirm whether Novamont would still be pursuing plans for a new facility in the Connecticut. He stood by his products, maintaining that they're considered viable in many cities — either as bags in stores where plastic is banned, or for use in curbside organics carts.

Examples cited include Boston, Seattle, Palo Alto and San Francisco, California, as well as multiple European cities.

"We see our products not as a replacement for plastics but as a tool to facilitate food scrap diversion," said Martens, going on to criticize "shortsighted" efforts that might limit Connecticut's organics potential. "If you cut the tools out of the beginning, you kind of cut your nose off to spite your face — but they don't really see that far."

Interest in organics diversion remains high for many stakeholders in Connecticut, but this particular compostability discussion is expected to quiet down for the time being.

Still, it's just the latest in a series of examples of why assumptions about consumer behavior, vested manufacturing interests and state-specific political factors make passing any type of packaging legislation so challenging

Nassau County Executive Curran Signs Styrofoam Ban into Law

SOURCE:

https://www.longisland.com/news/06-12-19/nassau-county-executive-curran-signs-styrofoam-ban-into-law.html

Nassau County Executive Curran Signs Styrofoam Ban into Law

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran signed into law a ban on the sale and distribution of polystyrene foam containers (better known by the brand name Styrofoam) in Nassau County. County Executive Curran, joined by local officials and environmental advocates, signed the legislation into law at Jeremy’s Ale House, a staple on the Nautical Mile famous for their use of Styrofoam cups.

Last month, the Nassau County Legislature voted unanimously to adopt the legislation co-sponsored by Legislators Debra Mule (D-Freeport), Denise Ford (R-Long Beach), and Laura Schaefer (R-Garden City).

“Today, Nassau County is taking a big step towards the future,” said Nassau County Executive Laura Curran. “Non-biodegradable polystyrene can’t be recycled like most products. So, while that coffee may be finished, the Styrofoam cup that was holding it won’t be. It will break down into small pieces – clogging our waterways, polluting our environment, hurting our wildlife, and even damaging local industries like fishing and tourism. We only have one Long Island – we must protect it.”

“Toxic, non-biodegradable Styrofoam devastates the waterways we cherish. I’m proud to stand with County Executive Curran and my colleagues as a co-sponsor this important bipartisan environmental initiative, “said Legislator Debra Mulé (D - Freeport.) “I am hopeful that today’s action reflects a major step forward in our efforts to encourage Nassau County residents to move beyond wasteful single-use products and embrace sustainable alternatives.”

"I was proud to join my colleagues in voting unanimously to approve legislation I co-sponsored banning polystyrene products in Nassau County, and am excited to see it signed into law,” said Legislator Denise Ford (R- Long Beach). “This will not only reduce the waste stream in Nassau County and provide reductions in waste disposal costs, it will also help unclog our waterways and better protect our natural environment."

“We’ve heard about the dangers of polystyrene foam for years now, and I am happy we are finally taking action,” said Legislator Laura Schaefer (R-Garden City). “These containers pollute our environment and clog our waterways. Enough is enough. This is an important step for a cleaner and healthier Nassau County.”

“Big problems need bold action,” Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment. “Styrofoam is littering our communities, beaches, and bays. Containers meant to transport food and beverages leach toxic styrene. Kudus to Nassau County for stepping up to tackle this pollution and public health concern by banning Styrofoam take-out containers, cups and plates.  Making the switch to more sustainable options is good for our environment and our health.”

Polystyrene foam – better known by its brand name Styrofoam – has been classified as a carcinogen, and in most cases is completely non-biodegradable. After breaking into small pieces, it becomes harder to clean up and its composition of fossil fuels and synthetic chemicals helps trigger serious hazardous waste and environmental damage, including killing marine life that consumes it.

On Long Island, it has been known to clog waterways and dramatically increase the cost of waste disposal for authorities. There is no practical method for recycling polystyrene foam, and incineration results in toxic fumes being released into the environment.

Businesses in Nassau County will have until January 1, 2020 to use up their existing reserve of polystyrene foam containers before the ban takes place. After that date, any business violating the law will be given fines from the Office of Consumer Affairs. The fines for first offense are up to $500, second offenses up to $1,000, and third and subsequent offenses up to $2,500. The money from those funds will provide for environmental investigation and cleanup of Nassau County properties.

Wind Farm Cable Landing Debated

SOURCE:
https://www.eastendbeacon.com/wind-farm-cable-landing-debated/

Wind Farm Cable Landing Debated

Residents of Wainscott and Sierra Club activists were the most vocal of attendees at public hearings June 11 on the cable connection for the South Fork Wind Farm, a 15-turbine project proposed 35 miles off the coast of Montauk.

The original developers, Deepwater Wind, now a partnership between Danish energy company Ørsted and New England power distributor Eversource, are planning to connect the power from the wind farm to the electric grid at a Long Island Power Authority substation just east of East Hampton Village. 

The developers’ proposal to bring the cable ashore at Beach Lane in Wainscott has raised the hackles of neighbors of the proposed route, who are pushing for an alternate landing site at Hither Hills State Park in Napeague.

The on-land route from Beach Lane to the substation is about 4 miles and could be completed in one off-season between Labor Day and Memorial Day, while the 12-mile route from Hither Hills would take two seasons, said representatives from Ørsted at the hearing.

The two hearings, with one afternoon and one evening session, were part of the New York State Public Service Commission’s Article VII approval process, which covers the portion of the route within state waters up to three miles offshore, and the on-land portion of the cable route. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will handle the permitting requirements for the actual wind farm, which is in federal waters.

Many residents of Wainscott spoke at the hearing, saying they are unconvinced that the construction will not disturb their use of the beach and the country roads in Wainscott, and urging the developers to chose the Hither Hills site.

Brandon Cook spoke of the “iconic beach and farm community” where his two young children play on the beach. He advocated for the Hither Hills site, and added that people in Wainscott rely on rental income from their houses, and asked if they would be compensated if they couldn’t rent their houses due to the work.

Simon Kinsella, who has been a vocal opponent of the Beach Lane landing site, works as a financial auditor. He said he believes the cost of the project has been underestimated by about one sixth of the actual cost and is “possibly the largest capital works project ever undertook on the East End of Long Island.”

He added that the public should be told the pricing details of Deepwater/Ørsted’s power purchase agreement from LIPA, which have been kept secret.

“Deepwater is corrupting and manipulating the process by denying the public the pricing information,” he said, adding that he may initiate a lawsuit to force New York State to disclose the pricing information.

Jonathan Stern said that there are “a significant number of residential dwellings” along the Wainscott route, while he said there were zero residential dwelling along the Hither Hills route. He added that the Wainscott route is in a FEMA-designated floodplain, with “New York State certified agricultural district lands with active working farms.”

Marshall Gluck of Wainscott said he enjoys driving around seeing the farmland in Wainscott.

“Luckily there is an alternative, and a very viable alternative,” he said, urging the use of the Hither Hills site.

Mary Anne Lindbergh of Wainscott said that “climate change influences my actions and thoughts multiple times a day,” but added that she is concerned by news of a cable from Deepwater Wind’s Block Island Wind Farm was exposed on the beach there.

Representatives from Deepwater/Ørsted said they are using a different cable-laying method for the South Fork Wind Farm, 30 feet below ground, that would not be in danger of being exposed on the beach.

Frank Dalene, who serves on the Wainscott Citizens Advisory Committee and East Hampton Town’s Energy Sustainability Committee, said that the Wainscott CAC “fully supported offshore wind up until the day the cable might come ashore at Wainscott.”

“One member said ‘I know it’s NIMBYism. So what,” he said. “

Mr. Dalene added that after contamination with perfluorinated chemicals was found in some wells in Wainscott, no one complained when East Hampton Town and the Suffolk County Water Authority dug up roads all over Wainscott to install new public water mains, including one on Beach Lane.

“The height of hypocrisy is astounding,” he said. 

Don Mattheisen laid out several recent dire reports on climate change about the urgency of reducing carbon emissions.

“That’s not local idiot Don Mattheisen saying that. It’s the 600 scientists of the International Panel on Climate Change, who looked at 6,000 studies evaluated by their peers,” he said. “We’re standing at the rail of a sinking ship in our tuxedos, looking at the lifeboat and saying ‘does it have a bathroom? Does it have an outboard motor? Can I take my suitcase? It’s time to stop dithering and build this thing.”

Several young Sierra Club activists also spoke — they’d gathered for a rally at the Hook Mill windmill at the foot of North Main Street before traipsing up the street for the public hearing at the East Hampton Village Emergency Services Building.

“I’m 23 years old, so obviously I haven’t lived here for 70 years like a lot of you people, but I’d like to, eventually,” said David Bassoon. “With climate disruption, I don’t think that would be possible without making offshore wind possible.”

“The Sierra Club urges the commission to keep on schedule, get this project built and ensure robust environmental protections throughout all phases,” said Adam Heller, a volunteer for the Sierra Club in Suffolk County. “It cannot be delayed. We’re counting on it to ensure Long Island’s cleaner and better future.”

“As a millennial, I feel it is my responsibility to speak up on issues affecting myself and my generation,” said Ashley Flores. “As a Long Island resident, I have an opportunity now to set a new and high standard for clean energy.”

As she often does, Citizens Campaign for the Environment Executive Director Adrienne Esposito didn’t mince words.

“I don’t mean to be flippant, but how exactly do you think you get your electricity now?” she asked. “There are cables all over… This is not something that’s new. It’s used all over the globe to transport electrical power.”

She added that East Hampton is considering options for moving Montauk’s downtown inland to protect it from rising seas, Freeport is looking at seagates that could cost $120 million, and the federal government is buying out homeowners on low-lying land in Mastic/Shirley.

“All of those actions, all of them, are to mitigate climate change and not one of them addresses the root cause of climate change,” she said. “It’s not going to be easy, and you might have to make a sacrifice… We have one future and we’ve got to get it right, or we’re not going to have another generation that gets to live here.”

East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, who is charged with implementing the town’s ambitious renewable energy goals, said the town is committed to “ensuring potential adverse impacts are comprehensively evaluated and mitigated,” and added that the town has not made any decisions yet on whether to grant the use of the town roads or the beach access for the Wainscott route.

But, on a personal note, he added, “what are you doing to reduce consumption, to add electricity to the grid? How are you being a part of the solution? We’ve created this demand that we have to fill.”

He added that he recently installed rooftop solar panels on his house, which are producing 164 percent of the power he consumes.

“So I’m covering half of one of ya,” he said. “Offshore wind is the way to meet our renewable demand. The alternatives are bleak.”

Written comments to the Commission are being accepted through July 12, referencing “Case 18-T-0604 – Deepwater,” by email to secretary@dps.ny.gov; through the website at www.dps.ny.gov, by searching using the case number for the “Post Comments” button, or by mail to Hon. Kathleen H. Burgess, Secretary, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223-1350. 

Comments may also be left on the Commission’s opinion line at 1.800.335.2120, where they will be summarized and provided to the Commission. 

The wind farm application to the Commission can be viewed at www.dps.ny.gov, using the case reference number 18-T-0604, or at the East Hampton, Springs, Amagansett, or Bridgehampton Libraries. 

First Wind Farm Hearing Focuses On Wainscott, And Climate Change

SOURCE:

http://www.27east.com/news/article.cfm/East-End/596119/First-Wind-Farm-Hearing-Focuses-On-Wainscott-And-Climate-Change

First Wind Farm Hearing Focuses On Wainscott, And Climate Change

The first public hearings on the South Fork Wind Farm project brought residents from across Long Island to East Hampton on Tuesday to plead with the State Public Service Commission to make the smart choice when it comes to the Deepwater Wind proposal. 

For some, that meant for the commission to give its stamp of approval to the wind farm developer’s preferred electrical cable route—through Wainscott, and then under town roads to East Hampton—so that the 15 wind turbines can be built with as little delay or interference as possible. 

The wind farm is an important step toward reversing the effects of global warming in the United States, they said. 

But for others—mostly residents of Wainscott—it would mean the PSC finding that the power cable connecting the wind farm to land would best be brought ashore in a state park in Montauk, and not at quaint Beach Lane, in their backyards. 

Some—East Hampton Town elected officials, in particular—simply asked that, whatever the state commission decides as far as the cable route is concerned, it should ensure that the traditions, livelihoods and rights of South Fork residents are protected from unforeseen adverse impacts of the entire $1.6 billion project. 

Dozens of speakers weighed in on the project during a pair of two-hour hearing sessions on Tuesday at the Emergency Services Building in East Hampton Village, with officials from Deepwater Wind answering questions about the project and a PSC magistrate, Anthony Belsito, overseeing the proceedings. 

“We are glad for this hearing, because we will finally have someone who will decide where to land this cable, on the merits,” said John Finley, a Wainscott homeowner who has been among those spearheading a well-funded residents’ group opposing the proposed Wainscott landing site. “The residents of Wainscott only want one thing from the PSC: the best landing site.” 

For most of those aligned with Mr. Finley, the best site would be through Hither Hills State Park in Montauk, which Deepwater Wind has said is its second choice for a landing site. 

Bringing the cable ashore in one of the parking lots at the park campground would not require a major drilling operation to be set up for months near private homes, would not require small rural roads to be almost entirely ripped up as the cable is run underground once it reaches the shore, and would shorten the overall distance the cable must be buried in the sea floor by about 11 miles. 

They noted that using state parks to land undersea cables has been common practice in other projects, including the Block Island Wind Farm, also built by Deepwater Wind. 

The group of residents, calling themselves the Citizens for the Preservation of Wainscott, say they have 1,300 supporters in their corner and were represented at Tuesday’s hearings by a team of attorneys and public relations experts with long ties to state government. 

Deepwater Wind has said that its preferred option to bring the cable from the sea floor onto land is beneath the ocean beach at the end of Beach Lane in Wainscott. Doing so would require several months of horizontal drilling, with equipment staged on narrow Beach Lane and drilling crews working around the clock at times. 

From there, the cable would run beneath two miles of town roads, which the company has said would mostly remain passable during the work. 

Officials from Ørsted U.S. Offshore, the entity that now owns Deepwater Wind, said on Tuesday that the work could be conducted over a single winter season, between November 1 and March 31, so as to not tie up summer traffic. The company has also pledged that access to the beach will never be impeded, and that roads would remain passable most of the time.

Jennifer Garvey, Long Island development manager for Deepwater Wind, said that the company had assessed the Wainscott route as not only cheaper but also less disruptive, because it would require the digging up of just two miles of lightly traveled roadways, rather than several more miles of the region’s main thoroughfare over two winter seasons. “We felt it was more beneficial to the entire community,” she said. 

Another Wainscott resident, Jonathan Stern, said the company’s interests would appear to more likely be their own. 

“The price is fixed no matter where the landing site is,” he noted, of the cost to the Long Island Power Authority to purchase power from the wind farm. “So the only one who has an economic stake in this is Deepwater, because it’s going to cost them a whole lot less.” 

Deepwater has acknowledged that the long on-land route is more expensive for them, though it has not said how much more. The Wainscott proposal, since it uses town-owned roads, would come with an approximately $8 million “community benefits” package from Deepwater that includes the company paying for infrastructure upgrades, burying power lines in scenic areas of Wainscott, and funding fisheries support programs through the East Hampton Town Trustees. 

But Katarina Mesarovich, also a Wainscott resident, said that adding the installation of the wind farm cable to the area would contribute to the “industrialization of Wainscott” and is not worth the benefits. 

“We already have the airport, there is an industrial park being proposed, and now we have this large project, in this small community,” she said. “Why would we risk our most valuable asset—the beach—for the price of one house?” 

Not all Wainscott residents sided with their neighbors in opposition to the landing site. 

Frank Dalene, a former chairman of the town’s Energy Sustainability Committee, lashed out at his neighbors for their opposition. 

“After it was announced that the cable may land on Beach Lane, there rose up in the community charlatans, purveyors of false information and fear-mongers,” Mr. Dalene said. “They … gathered a following, because the false information and fear-mongering fit the narrative of NIMBYism.” 

Michael Hansen, a member of the Waincott Citizens Advisory Committee along with Mr. Dalene, echoed that sentiment. 

“The opponents to wind power on the East End of Long Island want you to know they are for wind power, they are for renewable energy—but not now and not in my backyard,” he said, mocking opponents’ support for the project as long as the cable was elsewhere. “Wainscott is tough. We can take it. We endured [the Suffolk County Water Authority] digging up our roads to ensure clean water. We can endure one winter of digging up our roads to ensure clean energy.” 

Others characterized the debate about the landing site as pointless fretting over something of little consequence. 

“What we are doing is standing at the railing of a sinking ship, in our tuxedos, asking, ‘Is there a bathroom in the lifeboat?” said Don Matheson, imploring the PSC to “stop listening to whiners who are in search of a perfect solution that doesn’t exist.

“It’s time to stop dithering and build this thing,” he said. 

Deepwater Wind South Fork LLC is seeking to build 15 turbines in the ocean about 35 miles southeast of Montauk in an area known as Cox Ledge. The wind farm would be connected to the South Fork by a 50-mile-long undersea power cable, 12 inches in diameter, which will come ashore at whichever site is ultimately decided on and then run underground to the LIPA substation near Buell Lane in East Hampton. The substation will undergo a substantial expansion to accept the cable. 

To win permission for the project, Deepwater has to navigate a two-pronged review: with the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management assessing the designs of the wind farm itself, which will stand in federal waters, and with the state PSC holding sway over the route the power cable will follow into New York State waters and on land. The federal review process has yet to move into the public hearing phase. 

Deepwater-Ørsted officials have said they hope to have the permits in place by the end of 2020 so that construction can begin in 2021 and the wind farm can go online in 2022. 

While the 15 turbines will constitute their own project, Ørsted and its partner, New England energy company Eversource, have dozens more turbines planned for construction in their wind lease area to send power to Rhode Island and Connecticut. Other companies have projects in the pipeline as well, and more than 200 turbines could be spinning in the waters between Montauk and Nantucket by 2025, with hundreds more planned for the New York Bight. 

Fishermen have proven to be the main objectors to the wind farm in general and the ultimate scale of development proposed, with fears that the noise of the turbines or electromagnetic fields from the power lines could alter historic fish migration patterns and destroy traditional fisheries. 

East Hampton Town Trustee Rick Drew asked the PSC on Tuesday to help ensure that fishermen are protected. 

“We as a board have represented the rights of our community pertaining to fishing rights, access to our common lands and beaches and other rights … for over 350 years,” he said. 

On behalf of the Trustees, he laid out a collection of additional protections that the Trustees would like to see imposed on, and paid for by, Deepwater conditional to any approvals: an independent engineering review of the construction plan, establishment of a performance bond to ensure issues with the installation of the cable under the beaches are addressed, continual monitoring of electromagnetic fields on the beach where the cable lands and a specific study of the effects of EMF emissions on striped bass and the baitfish they feed on. Mr. Drew also said that the community benefits package offered by Deepwater if it uses the Wainscott site should be valid regardless of where the cable lands in East Hampton Town. 

For many of the speakers on Tuesday, however, the project’s long-term benefits outweighed any concerns about local worries. The Sierra Club mustered dozens of young Long Islanders to come and offer their support for wind power as the most important arrow in the quiver for rolling back the causes of global warming. 

“The time is nigh to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy,” said Danny Morgan. “East Hampton has a great opportunity to set that standard. The answer is literally blowing in the wind.” 

Adrienne Esposito, of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, spoke directly to those concerned that the drilling in their neighborhoods would be disruptive and nodded to the billions of dollars being spent across Long Island to protect against rising sea levels.

“All of those are mitigating climate change, but not one of them is addressing the problem,” she said. “It’s not going to be easy, and you might have to make a sacrifice. We’re in this together—it’s one island, one fight, and we’ve got to get it right or we’re not going to get another generation who gets to live here.”

Wind power in the forecast for New York

SOURCE:

https://www.newsday.com/opinion/columnists/michael-dobie/wind-power-new-york-state-andrew-cuomo-1.32265110

Wind power in the forecast for New York

The weathervane is pointing to Thursday for the big announcement from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on the state’s first round of major offshore wind farm awards — assuming the off-and-on event doesn’t get canceled again.

And figure on it taking place in Manhattan, to lure the national media the governor seeks for the occasion.

At stake: At least 800 megawatts (or more) of wind energy awarded to two (or more) of the four proposals before the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Meanwhile, a smaller project further along in the pipeline — a 130-megawatt farm off Montauk from Danish giant Orsted, which has a power-supply contract from LIPA — is facing opposition in East Hampton Town and especially in Wainscott, where the cable would come ashore. Permits still are needed.

Two hearings in East Hampton on Tuesday hosted by the Public Service Commission drew dueling marches, rallies and testimony from supporters and opponents — though some wind fans who might have attended instead joined a demonstration in Albany in favor of climate change legislation. It’s a busy time for NY’s environmental advocates.

Even though three of the four large-project proposals Cuomo will announce are also for ocean areas off the East End, the current battle might not be a dress rehearsal for approvals to come. That’s because the power they generate likely would come ashore much further west than East Hampton. One likely site would be under Jones Beach, where the cable would parallel the existing Neptune cable up the Wantagh Parkway before veering off and plugging into an existing substation in Melville on Ruland Road. The same scenario could work for a wind farm pitched for the New York Bight, 14 or so miles off Nassau County, which also has two logical landing spots in Brooklyn.

Then again, wind advocates say Tuesday’s competing press events might be repeated in the next go-round.

“You never know what people are going to be opposed to,” Citizens Campaign for the Environmentm executive director Adrienne Esposito told The Point. “We don’t know what communities are going to come up with.”

Nassau County Approves Ban On Styrofoam Containers

SOURCE:

https://patch.com/new-york/mineola/nassau-county-approves-ban-styrofoam-containers

Nassau County Approves Ban On Styrofoam Containers 

The ban, which goes into effect in January, will make it illegal to sell Styrofoam in the county. Businesses will be fined if they do.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran signed a law today that bans the sale and distribution of Styrofoam containers in the county.

"Today, Nassau County is taking a big step towards the future," Curran said. "Non-biodegradable polystyrene can't be recycled like most products. So, while that coffee may be finished, the Styrofoam cup that was holding it won't be. It will break down into small pieces – clogging our waterways, polluting our environment, hurting our wildlife and even damaging local industries like fishing and tourism. We only have one Long Island – we must protect it."

Polystyrene foam – better known by its brand name Styrofoam – has been classified as a carcinogen, and in most cases is completely non-biodegradable. After breaking into small pieces, it becomes harder to clean up and its composition of fossil fuels and synthetic chemicals can cause environmental damage, including killing marine life that consumes it.

On Long Island, it has been known to clog waterways and dramatically increase the cost of waste disposal for municipalities. There is no practical method for recycling polystyrene foam, and incinerating it releases toxic fumes.

Businesses in Nassau will have until Jan. 1, 2020 to use up their existing Styrofoam containers before the ban takes place. After that, any business violating the law will be fined $500 for a first offense, up to $1,000 for a second offense and up to $2,500 for every subsequent offense. The money from those funds will provide for environmental investigation and cleanup of Nassau County properties.

"Big problems need bold action," said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment. "Styrofoam is littering our communities, beaches and bays. Containers meant to transport food and beverages leach toxic styrene. Kudus to Nassau County for stepping up to tackle this pollution and public health concern by banning Styrofoam take-out containers, cups and plates. Making the switch to more sustainable options is good for our environment and our health."