Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan –

November 2018 Newsletter

This month’s topics:

• Treated Wastewater Reuse Roadmap Developed
• Suffolk County Issues a Request for Proposals for a Countywide Water Quality Improvement District Feasibility Study
• The New York Ocean Acidification Task Force Will Examine Adaptive Strategies for Ocean Acidification in State Waters
• The United States Environmental Protection Agency Nitrogen Endpoints Memorandum Available for Public Comment

Treated Wastewater Reuse Roadmap Developed

The LINAP Water Reuse workgroup recently published a “Treated Wastewater Reuse Roadmap”  that will help municipalities and engineering and consulting firms navigate the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s permitting and regulatory process for projects involving the reuse of treated wastewater effluent. The interactive roadmap was developed in response to a recommendation by the workgroup which had been tasked with investigating wastewater reuse as a possible means of achieving additional nitrogen removal prior to effluent discharge to groundwater and surface waters on Long Island.

Properly treated wastewater effluent has been reused around the country and the world to achieve water conservation and environmental protection goals, e.g. to reduce pressure on local water supplies, replenish aquifers, and reduce nutrient inputs to surface waters and groundwater. Facilitating wider adoption of this practice for additional nitrogen removal is an early action item in the Long Island Nitrogen Action plan.

Suffolk County Issues a Request for Proposals for a Countywide Water Quality Improvement District Feasibility Study

Suffolk County, in partnership with the Long Island Regional Planning Council and the Department of Environmental Conservation, has released a Request for Proposals (RFP)  for the evaluation of technical and financial implications of a Countywide Water Quality Improvement District in Suffolk County. The establishment of a countywide district is identified as an early action item in the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan (LINAP) and will be funded by the LINAP grant.

Suffolk County and its partners and consultants will be identifying and prioritizing watersheds where nitrogen reductions would be most beneficial to groundwater and surface water quality.  This initiative will determine the locations where sewers and advanced onsite treatment systems are needed to improve water quality and the health of the bays, as well as supporting local economies, and protecting public health.

A countywide water quality district has been suggested as an effective financing and management strategy to implement these actions. A single district approach recognizes that broader participation is needed in order to resolve the nitrogen pollution problem. The RFP will call for the preparation of an in-depth analysis of the establishment and operation of a single water quality district that is equitable and sustainable.

For more information, or to obtain a copy of the RFP, contact Thomas J. Malanga at (631)-852-5196 or [email protected].

The New York Ocean Acidification Task Force Will Examine Adaptive Strategies for Ocean Acidification in State Waters

The Ocean Acidification (OA) Task Force held its first meeting on November 1, 2018.  The 14-member task force will assess the impacts of acidification on the ecological, economic and recreational health of New York’s coastal waters, work to identify contributing factors and recommend actions to reduce and address negative impacts. The Task Force includes experts in climatology, hydrology, economics, marine fisheries, aquaculture, oceanography and ecology.

New York is one of the states most vulnerable to ocean acidification, due to our economic dependence on shellfish harvesting and because our waters have high levels of nitrogen pollution, which exacerbates acidification. Among other things, the OA task force work will help the state to better understand the link between ocean acidification and nitrogen pollution. It will play a complimentary role with state efforts to address nitrogen pollution through the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan and other measures.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency Nitrogen Endpoints Memorandum Available for Public Comment

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) welcomes the public to read and comment on: Establishing Nitrogen Endpoints for Three Long Island Sound Watershed Groupings (Subtask F and G: Summary of Empirical Modeling and N Endpoints Memorandum).

The Subtask F&G Memorandum explains how three parallel lines of evidence – a literature review, a distribution-based approach, and a hierarchical stressor-response model created with water quality monitoring data – were used to develop a range of protective nitrogen concentration endpoints. The EPA is seeking specific, technical comments on the scientific and methodological merit of this document. The EPA is not seeking recommendations for alternative methodologies or comments on policy matters. All relevant technical comments will be reviewed and considered. The EPA does not anticipate conducting a formal, individual, response-to-comment for this document’s public release.

Email comments to: [email protected] no later than December 14, 2018.