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Long Island Sound Study to Update Agreement to Clean Up Long Island Sound

Release Date: 09/18/2000
Contact Information: Peyton Fleming, US EPA Region 1, 617-918-1008 Mary Mears, US EPA Region 2, 212-637-3669 Michele Sullivan, CT DEP, 860-424-4100 Jennifer Post, NYSDEC, 518-457-5400

Stamford, CT, September 18, 2000 - The Long Island Sound Study's (LISS) Policy Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, September 27 at SoundWaters' new Community Center for Environmental Education located at Holly House in Cove Island Park, Stamford to review progress in implementing the Long Island Sound cleanup plan.

The Policy Committee, which consists of high-level officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, will meet to charge the LISS Management Conference with developing a 2001 Long Island Sound (LIS) Agreement, an update to the 1996 (MORE) LIS Agreement, for adoption by the New York and Connecticut Governors next year. The agreement would establish priorities by setting targets and time frames for implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP), similar to the nitrogen reduction target and habitat restoration goal, for other CCMP areas such as open space, reserves, living resource populations, and pollutant reduction.

The Policy Committee is also expected to sign a habitat restoration Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) along with eight other Federal and state agencies. The habitat restoration plan, adopted in 1998, set goals to restore at least 2000 acres of coastal habitat and 100 miles of river used by migratory fish by the year 2008. The Memorandum of Understanding will establish the roles and responsibilities of the Management Conference partners in meeting these goals. "Long Island Sound is tremendously valuable to all who live, work, and vacation along its shores," said Jeanne M. Fox, EPA Region 2 Administrator. "Many people depend on the Sound for their livelihoods and others enjoy it for its tranquil beauty. The signing of these two documents reenforces our commitment to continue restoring the Sound and ensuring its health for future generations."

"We were pleased to sign the LISS Habitat Restoration Strategy in February 1998, and have made excellent overall progress to date, with nearly 100 acres of habitat restored and 22.5 miles of rivers reopened to anadromous fish," said Mindy S. Lubber, Regional Administrator of EPA's New England Office. "The MOU will set the stage for aggressively identifying and (MORE) obtaining funding for this high-priority habitat restoration work. This document coupled with a renewed desire to continue establishing targets and time frames for other areas of the CCMP will secure the Sound for long-term recreational opportunities and expand its economic promise."

"Long Island Sound has long been cherished by New Yorkers and others for its scenic shorelines, abundant and diverse natural resources, and the recreational and commercial opportunities it provides," New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner John P. Cahill said. "Through the Policy Committee's actions, we are moving ahead with our aggressive agenda to restore the Sound and ensure the protection of this vital resource for years to come."

"Restoring the overall health of Long Island sound continues to be one of Connecticut's top environmental priorities," said Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Arthur J. Rocque, Jr. "The efforts being acted upon by the Policy Committee build upon and complement initiatives underway to restore this vital estuary, establishing a framework that will lead to a cleaner, healthier Long Island Sound."

The day's agenda will also include updates on the development of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for nitrogen and on the health of the lobsters in Long Island Sound. The TMDL, developed by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, focuses on the control and reduction of nitrogen entering the Sound from the Long Island Sound watershed. The TMDL approach parallels the 1998 "Phase III" nitrogen reduction plan of the federal and state sponsored Long Island Sound Study (LISS), which calls for a 58.5% reduction in nitrogen to the Sound over the next 15 years. The TMDL will allocate allowances of nitrogen among sewage treatment plants and industrial and nonpoint source discharges. The plan includes five and ten-year targets to track and ensure the success of the program.

The habitat restoration plan, which compliments efforts to reduce nitrogen loads and improve dissolved oxygen levels in the Sound, sets priorities for restoring more than 450 sites on which information has been compiled in a Habitat Restoration Geographic Information System. More than two-thirds of the sites are located in tidal and inland wetland areas. Other important habitat areas include beaches and dunes, coastal and island forests, bays and harbors, cliffs and bluffs, and coastal grasslands. Loss of habitat in Long Island Sound and its watershed has negatively impacted the Sound's living resources.

The habitat restoration plan was developed by EPA, NYSDEC, and CT DEP with assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Marine Fishery Service, the New York Department of State, New York City's Department of Environmental Protection and Parks and Recreation, New York Sea Grant, the Long Island Sound Study Citizens Advisory Committee, and Save the Sound, Inc.

A press conference will be held at the end of the meeting from 1:30-2:00 PM when principals at the meeting will entertain questions and provide answers regarding the efforts to cleanup Long Island Sound.