What Change Looks Like
With your support, we will save this precious resource for generations to come
What is the price for protecting our way of life, for defending our water?
Unfortunately, not everyone values Long Island’s water like Long Islanders. The New York State Legislature is now in session. In Albany, hundreds of miles away, legislators debate on how to manage our bays, harbors, and aquifers.
We, the Long Island Clean Water Partnership—with the power of our members—will ensure our representatives hear our concerns loud and clear.
We have lit the path to safeguard our way of life before. When LICWP has asked members to contact legislators, we witnessed overwhelming success!
With your help, we created the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan, won $2.5 billion in state-wide water-quality funding, and raised millions in local funds from the 2016 extension of the Community Preservation Fund.
These are only a few examples of what was made possible by outreach to legislators though the LICWP’s Action Alerts.
This legislative session, in partnership with our robust environmental network—with officials from local villages, towns, and Nassau and Suffolk county—we have drafted a few simple requests.
In the coming weeks, we will send out Action Alerts as we need your help to ensure State Representatives in the Senate and Assembly hear your support for these proposals:
Septic System Design Cost Reduction – Senate Bill S8253 / Assembly Bill 10438. This measure will cut needless red tape to substantially lower the cost of county-approved onsite wastewater treatment systems. The mechanism is simple. For design flows of less than 1,000 gallons per day, certified design professionals will be able to approve installation of county-tested, plug-in-play wastewater treatment systems.
Financing Onsite Wastewater Upgrades – Senate Bill 8255 / Assembly Bill 10444. This legislation provides homeowners with the option to finance the remaining cost (those not covered by grants) on their tax bill.
Reduce Nitrogen Pollution from Fertilizer – Senate Bill 8170 / Assembly Bill 10276. This is a no brainer. We need to stop excessive nitrogen pollution from fertilizers. This legislation prohibits the sale or use of water-soluble, high nitrogen fertilizer on Long Island—greatly reducing the amount of nitrogen able to reach our waters.
Stay tuned for you chance to make these bills a reality.
We will save this precious resource so that future generations can enjoy the fabric that blends our island society together: Our water!