CCE in the News

SBU News: Season of discontent In Long Island’s coastal waters

SBU News: Season of discontent In Long Island’s coastal waters

New 2023 Map Shows Record Number of Harmful Algal Blooms and Dead Zones Across Long Island

Scientists at Stony Brook University have completed their assessment of water quality in Long Island’s surface waters for 2023 and the news was not good –the announcement was made today at a press conference on the shores of Great South Bay. During the months of April through September, every major bay and estuary across Long Island was afflicted by harmful algal blooms (HABs), oxygen-starved, dead zones, and fish and turtles kills.  Excessive delivery of nitrogen from onsite wastewater has been cited as the root cause of these disturbing events.

Great South Bay’s new harmful algal blooms are in unsewered communities, study finds

Great South Bay’s new harmful algal blooms are in unsewered communities, study finds

Stony Brook University ecologist Chris Gobler completed his 2023 Assessment of Water Quality Impairments for Long Island.

A new type of harmful algal bloom was found this past summer in Long Island waters.

Court Orders and Threats of Fines Fail to Curb Rogue Long Island Mine

Court Orders and Threats of Fines Fail to Curb Rogue Long Island Mine

WHAT DOES IT TAKE to shut down a mine?

Court decisions, a restraining order, legal violation notices, and a stop work order apparently aren’t enough. Sand Land, a sand mine in the Hamptons, has faced each of these this year — and ignored them all.

The latest notice came earlier this month, when the Department of Environmental Conservation (dec) sent Sand Land a letter citing its repeated legal violations and threatening thousands of dollars in fines. Still, the mining has continued.

Likely carcinogen 1,4-dioxane found in Liberty Water's Merrick district

Likely carcinogen 1,4-dioxane found in Liberty Water's Merrick district

Tests of drinking water from two wells in Liberty New York Water’s Merrick district identified the chemical 1,4-dioxane at levels exceeding the state’s standard of 1 part per billion, according to a notice the company sent to all 45,000 Merrick customers in late August.

Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoes bill that would expedite planned wind farm off Long Island

Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoes bill that would expedite planned wind farm off Long Island

LONG BEACH, N.Y. -- A major renewable energy project off Long Island suffered a big blow on Friday when Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a controversial bill that would've expedited a planned wind farm off Long Beach. 

Regulators face renewables tests

Regulators face renewables tests

RENEWABLES TEST — POLITICO’s Marie J. French: Gov. Kathy Hochul faces a difficult balancing act as her administration weighs a request for increased subsidies from renewable developers who warn that they may otherwise have to scrap projects that are critical for New York’s climate goals.

New York Labor, Business, and Environmental Organizations Respond With Dismay to the Public Service Commission’s Decision to Deny Price Adjustments for Renewable Energy Projects

New York Labor, Business, and Environmental Organizations Respond With Dismay to the Public Service Commission’s Decision to Deny Price Adjustments for Renewable Energy Projects

PSC Decision Will Cause Delays in Renewable Energy Development, Higher Costs to Ratepayers, Negative Public Health Consequences, and Lost Job Opportunities.

New York State’s Public Service Commission (PSC) voted today to deny price adjustments critical to the feasibility of renewable energy construction projects. By denying the adjustment, New Yorkers bear the brunt of the decision as disruption, delays, and uncertainty will leave New Yorkers with no choice but to continue to rely on unpredictable fossil fuels.

New York regulators reject more subsidies for Equinor’s offshore wind projects

New York regulators reject more subsidies for Equinor’s offshore wind projects

A coalition of environmental groups rallied Wednesday in support of Equinor’s offshore wind project, Empire Wind 2 — off the coast of Long Beach, N.Y. The pro-wind rally emphasized the importance of state support in offshore wind projects to meet New York’s climate goals and grow new green industries.

“Let's face it — here on Long Island, we are at the front lines of climate change,” said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment. “You don’t have to tell us about the perils before us, because we live it.”

North Bellport outcries for state probe into ash disposal at Brookhaven landfill

North Bellport outcries for state probe into ash disposal at Brookhaven landfill

The NAACP, environmentalists and community groups want New York Attorney General Letita James to launch an independent investigation of waste company Covanta dumping toxic ash into the Brookhaven landfill.

Long Island residents in minority communities sound off on safety of Brookhaven landfill

Long Island residents in minority communities sound off on safety of Brookhaven landfill

BROOKHAVEN, N.Y. -- Residents who live near the controversial Brookhaven town landfill are demanding an investigation after they say they've gotten sick by hazardous waste.

Long Island: Environmental Concerns Spur Calls For Investigation Into Potential Toxic Dumping At Brookhaven Landfill

Long Island: Environmental Concerns Spur Calls For Investigation Into Potential Toxic Dumping At Brookhaven Landfill

Brookhaven, NY (October 9, 2023) – Leaders from the Brookhaven chapter of the NAACP NYS Conference, Citizens Campaign for the Environment (DDE) and the Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group (BLARG) today called for an independent investigation into the dumping of potentially hazardous waste for years at the town of Brookhaven landfill, exposing neighboring communities of color, teachers and students at the nearby Frank P. Long School and workers at the landfill to serious health risks.

1,4-dioxane found in Liberty water supply

1,4-dioxane found in Liberty water supply

Company is taking proper steps to remove chemical

Liberty Water customers in the Merrick Service District received a notice from the company last month stating that the chemical 1,4-dioxane had been detected in the drinking water at a concentration that exceeded New York state’s maximum contaminant level of 1 part per billion.

How climate change, renewable energy will impact Long Island’s future

How climate change, renewable energy will impact Long Island’s future

The League of Women Voters of East Nassau recently partnered with the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, a nonprofit and nonpartisan environmental organization, to host a vastly informative presentation on the drastic consequences that climate change could have not only globally, but particularly on Long Island.

Skeptics of offshore wind energy have a misguided focus

Skeptics of offshore wind energy have a misguided focus

Skeptics of offshore wind energy are fretting about the wrong things. Instead of finding imaginary faults with wind turbines that will produce renewable energy for Long Island, they should focus on the real threats of fossil fuels.

Construction Begins on Converter Station for 339-Mile Champlain Hudson Power Express

Construction Begins on Converter Station for 339-Mile Champlain Hudson Power Express

Start of Construction Paves Way for First-Ever Transformation of a Fossil Fuel Site into a Grid-Scale Zero-Emissions Facility in New York City

Wastewater infrastructure casts shadow over Suffolk County elections

Wastewater infrastructure casts shadow over Suffolk County elections

As the local election season intensifies, Suffolk County’s wastewater infrastructure has now become the defining policy issue, with residents and environmentalists demanding immediate action to address what they consider an environmental crisis.

The Unstoppable Sand Land

The Unstoppable Sand Land

IN THE HILLS of the Hamptons, next to one of the most expensive golf clubs in the country, sits a big pit. It spans an area of just over 30 acres — about six city blocks — and drops more than 100 feet deep in some parts, with heaps of sand scattered throughout. Heavy machinery scoops that sand out of the ground, sifts it, and loads it onto trucks for sale. It’s a mine called Sand Land, and it operates much as it has for more than half a century.

It isn’t supposed to. New York’s highest court ruled more than six months ago that Sand Land’s permits were invalid, and regulators told the company to stop mining. The town slapped a stop work order at the entrance. The state Department of Environmental Conservation (dec) sent inspectors and issued violation notices. Sand Land kept digging.

SCWA unveils new water treatment systems for Huntington

SCWA unveils new water treatment systems for Huntington

In a secluded residential block on Northport’s McKinney Avenue lies an advanced water treatment center masquerading as a barn.

At this site, representatives from the Suffolk County Water Authority joined state and local public officials for a press event on Thursday, Aug. 24, announcing eight new high-tech water filtration systems for local drinking water.

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