SUOZZI: “SUMMER IS HERE AND STUDY SHOWS LONG ISLAND SOUND IS BETTER THAN EVER”

With summer approaching, Congressman Tom Suozzi, co-chair of the Long Island Sound Caucus and a committed environmentalist, and EPA officials announced that almost 50 million pounds of nitrogen have been removed from the sewage treatment effluent each year in the Long Island Sound.  As Mayor of Glen Cove in the late 1990s, Suozzi led Glen Cove as the first city on Long Island to cut nitrogen effluent by 50%. 

According to the study, improved water quality can be attributed to successful programs in Connecticut and New York to upgrade wastewater treatment plants and septic tanks to remove nitrogen before treated sewage is discharged into the Sound. The two state-led programs have reduced millions of pounds of nitrogen pollution from being discharged into Long Island Sound and improved ecological conditions for fish and other organisms.

“When I served as Mayor of Glen Cove in the 1990s, we were the first sewage treatment plant on the Long Island Sound to cut our nitrogen load by 50%. Now, after $2.5 billion in investment to improve sewage treatment plants to remove nitrogen, the Long Island Sound is now better than ever,” said Suozzi. “This is good news for everyone who is looking forward to enjoying this summer on the Long Island Sound. Let’s keep moving forward.”

In Congress, Suozzi has continued to fight to improve water quality and clean up Long Island’s environment for future generations. As a Member of Congress, he has increased funding to protect the Long Island Sound by more than 500%. Suozzi grew up fishing and swimming in the Long Island Sound and will continue to do everything possible to protect the national treasure that is the Long Island Sound. 

The peer-reviewed study, published in January of this year in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, titled “Reducing Hypoxia in an Urban Estuary Despite Climate Warming,” documents increased levels of dissolved oxygen (DO) in Long Island Sound since 1994 in response to the nitrogen load reductions. When DO levels are low, that means excess levels of nitrogen fuels are found in the water. This is the first peer-reviewed paper documenting these improving trends in Long Island Sound. 

The measurements used in the study come from samples collected and analyzed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Interstate Environmental Commission as part of a water quality monitoring program funded by the Long Island Sound Study. To see a chart with the year-by-year measurement of the hypoxic area of the Sound since 1987, visit https://longislandsoundstudy.net/ecosystem-target-indicators/lis-hypoxia/. 

Visit https://www.longislandsoundstudy.net for more information.