Protect Our Drinking Water from Dangerous PFAS “Forever Chemicals”

The federal government is rolling back critical drinking water protections--urge Governor Hochul to take action and protect the drinking water of all New Yorkers

Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicated that they intend to weaken the first-ever federal drinking water standards for dangerous PFAS chemicals. EPA intends to delay implementation of drinking water standards for two PFAS chemicals (PFOA & PFOS), while completely scrapping protections for four others (PFHxS, PFNA, GenX, PFBS). Rolling back these standards would put at least 1.3 million New Yorkers at risk to higher levels of dangerous PFAS chemicals in their drinking water!

Regardless of what the federal government does, Governor Hochul has the authority to maintain strong limits on PFAS in drinking water and protect the health of all New Yorkers—we need her to act!

Exposure to PFAS can lead to higher rates of kidney and testicular cancer, higher cholesterol levels, thyroid problems, adverse developmental effects and decreased immune response in children, and other serious health impacts.

New York State has authority to enact state regulations that will provide strong limits on PFAS in drinking water. Email Governor Hochul today and urge her to ensure New Yorker’s water is protected from dangerous PFAS chemicals!

Sincerely,
All of us at CCE

Highlights and Happenings: November 2025

Help CCE build on our success, and support our campaigns to protect public health and the environment in NY and CT. 
Make a contribution today.

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Highlights

Urging Governor Hochul to Save the Horseshoe Crab—Time is Running Out!
Horseshoe crabs have existed for over 350 million years, having shared this planet with the dinosaurs. Sadly, the species is now vulnerable to local extinction unless action is taken soon. In order to save the horseshoe crab and the species that depend upon them, Connecticut passed a ban on harvesting them in 2023. This year, the New York State Legislature passed a bill to ban harvesting horseshoe crabs. Governor Hochul now has until the end of 2025 to decide whether to veto the bill or sign it into law. Email Governor Hochul today and urge her to sign this important bill into law! 

Suffolk Legislature Honors CCE for 40 Years of Work 
We were thrilled to be recognized by the Suffolk County Legislature for 40 years of safeguarding Suffolk County’s drinking and coastal waters and protecting our natural environment. A huge thank you to Legislator Steve Englebright for this incredible honor. We’re excited to continue this important work together! 

NYLCV Honors CCE 
A sincere thank you to the New York League of Conservation Voters for recognizing us as the 2025 Education Fund Honoree at this year’s Long Island Cocktail Party. We are incredibly proud of our work educating the public on the benefits of offshore wind in our community and we are grateful for the recognition. We look forward to working together with our partners at NYLCV to transition away from dirty polluting fossil fuels and embrace renewable energy in NY! 

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Happenings

Advocating for the Great Lakes in Washington, D.C. 
In November, we traveled to D.C. with a team of environmental groups and student researchers to meet with members of New York’s Congressional Delegation (pictured above with Representative John Mannion). We explained the ongoing threats to the health of the lakes, ranging from legacy toxic contamination, to sewage, to microplastics, and called on members of Congress to support efforts to protect and restore the health of our Great Lakes through reauthorization of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. 

Fighting to Fund Clean Water Protection in New York 
We joined NYS Senator Pete Harckham and our environmental partners in November to urge Governor Hochul to include $500 million for the Clean Water Infrastructure Act (CWIA) in the 2026 state budget. The CWIA program allows communities to upgrade sewers and septic systems, replace lead drinking water pipes, install treatment technology for emerging contaminants, protect source water, and more. Since 2017, New York has provided over $6 billion for this important program, which has provided significant results for New York’s environment and economy. 

Learning about Whales & Sharks 
Last month, we hosted a South Shore Estuary Reserve meeting featuring an excellent whale and shark panel discussion. We learned a lot from our speakers, Dr. Artie Kopelman from Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island, Rob DiGiovanni from Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, Dr. Merry Camhi as our local shark expert, and Carl Lobue from The Nature Conservancy, who provided informative presentations and cultivated an engaging discussion on whale and shark conservation. Thank you to the Marine Nature Study Area in Oceanside for hosting us at their new educational facility and tour of the nature preserve! 

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Lunch and Learn: Success of South Fork Wind
It's officially been one year since South Fork Wind, America's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, began its operations. To highlight its success, Orsted joined us and our Wind Works partners for a Lunch and Learn webinar followed by Q & A. This was a great opportunity to learn more about how the South Fork Wind Farm is powering 70,000 homes and strengthening our energy grid. If you missed it, you can check it out here. 

Yes to Wind Economic Roundtable 
As part of the #YesToWind National Offshore Wind Week of Action, we brought together industry leaders to highlight how offshore wind is powering economic growth, creating good-paying jobs, and strengthening New York’s clean energy supply chain. We had a fantastic panel discussion with the Long Island Federation of Labor, Haugland Group, Institute for Workforce Advancement, and Port of Coeymans Marine Terminal. You can watch a video of the event here. 

Join us for our Lunch and Learn: Success of South Fork Wind

Join us for a virtual presentation and Q &A with Orsted to learn about the success of the South Fork Wind Farm and get updates on the Sunrise Wind project

The South Fork Wind project, America’s first commercial offshore wind farm, has now been operational for one year. Join us for an update from Orsted on one year of progress and learn the benefits of powering 70,000 south fork homes with renewable energy. In addition, the Orsted team will be giving an update on Sunrise Wind, which is currently under construction and will power 600,000 Long Island homes via a cable connection to Holbrook. 

This is a great opportunity to learn about South Fork and Sunrise Wind and have a discussion with the experts. There will be an opportunity for Q & A after the presentation. We hope you can join us.

When: Wednesday, November 19th from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Where: Via Zoom  (Register here)

This event is cosponsored by Citizens Campaign for the Environment, NY League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, New York Offshore Wind Alliance, LI Federation of Labor, Students for Climate Action, Sierra Club, Renewable Energy Long Island, All our Energy, Win with Wind and other Wind Works NY partners!

Sincerely,
All of us at CCE