Connect

Facebook icon
Twitter icon

News

-A A +A

Steve Bellone holds call-in on nitrogen campaign

Jan
28
2014

Jan. 28--More than 9,700 Suffolk residents listened to a telephone town hall hosted by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone Monday night, as he took his still-evolving campaign to address nitrogen-polluted waters in the county directly to the public.

Bellone announced on Thursday in a news conference at the county building in Hauppauge that addressing the problem of nitrogen in water -- which pollutes bays, contaminates the aquifer and harms tidal wetlands that protect from storms -- would be his administration's top priority.

He made the same promise Monday night, as he spoke to residents and answered a handful of questions from the public for about an hour, with county staff and water officials on hand.

Bellone acknowledged that reversing the...| read more ››

An Open Letter to Steven Bellone, Suffolk County Executive

Jan
24
2014

To: Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone
From: The Membership of Save The Great South Bay
Re: Water Quality on Long Island

Dear Mr. Bellone,

We of Save The Great South Bay applaud your leadership in helping to shine a light on the major issue threatening all of Long Island’s bays, rivers, ponds, its very drinking water, and with that our way of life. With the release of The Comprehensive Water Resources Management Plan, the public at large, the 1.5 million people who live in Suffolk County and the 1.35 million in Nassau County, can begin to understand the collective threat we face from nitrogenous waste in our groundwater.

The public release of the report was truly a watershed...| read more ››

Save Our Water

Jan
24
2014

Yesterday I announced the single most important initiative of my administration and what should be the single most important goal for all Long Islanders: Curbing the decades of nitrogen poisoning we have been inflicting on our ground and surface waters here in Suffolk County.

As I stated in my press conference, where I was joined by scientists, environmentalists, representatives from the business and agricultural communities, the water supply and construction industries, and elected officials from both sides of the aisle, nitrogen poisoning is public enemy number one for our bays, waterways, drinking supply, and the critical wetlands and marshes that protect us from future natural disasters. There is no denying the harmful and destructive nature of this problem or the...| read more ››

Bellone: Long Island’s Water Quality Is No. 1 Priority Of My Administration

Jan
23
2014

In the wake of a new study on Long Island’s water pollution, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone says improving the water quality is his new No. 1 goal.

“I consider this issue the most important priority of my administration,” Bellone said during a news conference in Hauppauge Thursday.

According to the report, nitrogen levels in the Island’s ground and surface water have become so critically high that it is impacting drinking water, recreational waterways, and reducing wetlands. Wetlands act as Long Island’s last line of natural defense against disasters such as Superstorm Sandy.

Stony Brook professor Chris Gobler told 1010 WINS’ Mona Rivera that the new water study is alarming. “Certainly in our coastal waters too much nitrogen is leading...| read more ››

Bellone eyes added sewers to fight pollution

Jan
23
2014

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone Thursday announced a campaign to clean up nitrogen-polluted waters that could include building sewer systems and advanced wastewater-treatment plants.

Bellone said nitrogen flowing into aquifers and local waterways from septic systems and cesspools, as well as fertilizer runoff, hurts water quality and damages coastal areas that serve as storm buffers.

"We have been polluting this precious resource in a way that has had devastating impacts on our surface waters, shows negative declines in the quality of our drinking water and puts us at enhanced risks for future storms," he said. "For the health of our region today and for the sake of future generations, we must reverse these trends."

Bellone made the announcement in Hauppauge...| read more ››

Pages