$2 Mill for L.I. Sound Rehab

Representative Lee Zeldin was among the officials who on Monday announced that 31 grants totaling $2 million are to be awarded to municipalities and community groups to improve the health and vitality of Long Island Sound. 

The grants are aimed at water quality improvement and natural habitat restoration projects, as well as efforts to educate and involve the public in protecting and restoring the Sound. According to Mr. Zeldin’s office, 439,000 gallons of water runoff is to be treated, reducing nitrogen flow and removing 2,800 pounds of floating trash each year. 

Pete Lopez, the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s regional administrator, Carrie Meek Gallagher, the State Department of Environmental Conservation’s regional director, Amanda Bassow, northeast regional director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and other state and municipal officials joined Mr. Zeldin at the Flax Pond Marine Laboratory in the Village of Old Field on the North Shore for the announcement.

“The Long Island Sound is a precious feature of our life, culture, and economy, one that affects the livelihoods of all Long Islanders, as well as our local recreation and tourism industries,” Mr. Zeldin said in a statement in advance of the event. “Protecting and restoring this critical waterway, which has suffered from pollution and overdevelopment over so many years, is so important to improving our area’s water quality, restoring our area’s natural habitats, and improving Long Islanders’ quality of life.”