EPA, states of New York and Connecticut and many partners meet to sign resolution of support for new Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan, and unveil Long Island Sound Partnership’s refreshed name and logo
Rye, N.Y. – Senior officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Connecticut and New York, along with many partners, met on June 20 to celebrate 40 years of progress in restoring and protecting the Long Island Sound and announced a new plan that sets a 10-year roadmap to revitalize the Sound as an ecological, economic and recreational resource.
Hear Administrator Lee Zeldin highlight the 40th Anniversary of the Long Island Sound Partnership and the signing of the Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan.
At today’s event, EPA and state leadership affirmed support for the Long Island Sound Partnership’s new Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP), the program’s third such plan since 1994. The new plan includes updated metrics to improve water quality, restore and protect habitats and wildlife, support community resilience and sustainability, and inspire people to value and protect Long Island Sound. The Long Island Sound Partnership is the new name for the Long Island Sound Study, which was created in 1985 when Congress enacted legislation to conduct a single study to research, monitor, and assess the water quality of the Sound.
“Today’s celebration highlights decades of progress in protecting the Long Island Sound,” said EPA Region 2 Administrator Michael Martucci. “This work showcases what we can achieve when federal, state, and local partners work together to safeguard clean water and healthy ecosystems for a prosperous community.”
“The Long Island Sound is a national treasure,” said U.S. Representative Grace Meng. “It is home to thousands of different species and migratory birds that are critical to our oceans and coastal ecosystems. For the past 40 years, the EPA and the Long Island Sound Partnership have worked hand in hand to keep this important waterway clean and protect its wildlife and their habitats. I have long advocated for efforts to preserve this important waterway and I am proud to support this new conservation and management plan. It will build on our work to create a healthier and more sustainable future not only for the Sound itself, but the communities that surround it.”
“Throughout my 30-plus years in public service, I have dedicated myself to cleaning up pollution in and around the Long Island Sound, reducing nitrogen emissions from sewage treatment plants and stormwater runoff, and restoring and reseeding shellfishing beds in our harbors,” said U.S. Representative Tom Suozzi. “Since coming to Congress in 2017, I have helped deliver a 1,000% increase in funding to improve the Long Island Sound. I am grateful for the bipartisan and collaborative efforts of many, including the EPA, who have overseen significant improvements in water quality. Protecting and preserving the Long Island Sound, our ‘National Park,’ is a top priority and a shared responsibility, and I am encouraged by the EPA’s commitment to revitalizing the Sound for future generations.”
“As a lifelong Long Islander and proud co-chair of the Long Island Sound Caucus, I know how essential the Sound is to our environment, economy, and way of life. This new 10-year conservation and management plan builds on four decades of bipartisan progress and charts a strong course for cleaner water, restored habitats, and resilient coastal communities,” said U.S. Representative Nick LaLota. “It’s supported by both House Democrats and Republicans who represent districts along the Sound because we all understand what’s at stake. I’m proud to co-lead legislation that reauthorizes and strengthens federal support for this effort, ensuring future generations can enjoy the Sound as we do today.”
“As a state legislator, Westchester County Executive, and now member of Congress, it has always been my priority to improve the water quality in the Long Island Sound for the vitality of our communities,” said U.S. Representative George Latimer. “But an undertaking this significant requires the commitment and collective action from all of those who touch the Sound’s watershed. That’s why I celebrate the successes of the past 40 years and I’m encouraged by the signing of a new 10-year Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan to protect this critical resource for our communities.”
“The Long Island Sound is one of the Northeast’s most valuable natural resources,” said New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton. “Through four decades of effective collaboration and ongoing restoration, DEC, U.S. EPA, Connecticut, and our local partners are reducing pollution entering the estuary and significantly improving water quality. By working together under the new banner of the Long Island Sound Partnership, and in accordance with the updated management plan, New York is excited to continue this collaborative effort to protect and restore coastal habitats, educate and engage communities, and improve resilience.”
“Today marks a significant anniversary in the fight to preserve and protect Long Island Sound,” said U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal. “We’ve made great progress, and it’s critical to continue our efforts to safeguard the Sound’s water quality, wildlife, and the recreational activities Connecticut residents cherish. I’ll continue to advocate for this ecological treasure so generations to come can enjoy it.”
“As co-chair of the bipartisan Long Island Sound Caucus, I am proud of the work by our region’s local, state and federal actors to achieve a significant, multigenerational milestone: 40 years of partnership to protect and restore the Long Island Sound,” said U.S. Representative Joe Courtney. “In Congress, I am determined to extend vital Long Island Sound programs by enacting the Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Reauthorization Act in this Congress, which U.S. Representative Nick LaLota and I have cosponsored.”
“The restoration of the Long Island Sound is one of our nation’s great environmental success stories of the last 50 years,” said U.S. Representative Jim Himes. “It was only made possible thanks to the close cooperation between the federal government and the localities and states which border the magnificent body of water. In the years ahead, we must continue to work together to maintain and improve the quality of the Sound so that this shared resource can serve as a place of recreation, economic activity, and biodiversity for generations of Northeasterners to come.”
Since its founding, the Partnership has – through successful implementation of a CCMP – decreased the area of unhealthy levels of dissolved oxygen by half, restored 2,400 acres of coastal habitat, protected an additional 8,000 acres, and reconnected 448 miles of rivers and streams.
Long Island Sound and its coast and watersheds are home to thousands of plants and animal species, and are a recreational treasure for boaters, fishers, birders, and more. Through the decades, the Partnership has launched many programs to protect the Sound and its shoreline. These include a habitat restoration initiative, a Long Island Sound stewardship initiative to help manage critical recreational and ecological areas around the Sound, and a seafloor mapping program to better understand the Sound’s underwater habitats. The Partnership also oversees the Long Island Sound Futures Fund, which has provided millions of dollars in grants to organizations and communities across the Sound’s watershed in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
For more information about the Long Island Sound Partnership, and to read the CCMP, visit: www.LISPartnership.org.
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News release used with permission from the EPA and the Long Island Sound Partnership.
