Region 1: EPA New England
A Sound Report: EPA Releases Report on 15 Years of Study and Revitalization of Long Island Sound
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
By Mark Tedesco
March 29, 2001
Restoring Long Island Sound is a huge undertaking. With more than 8 million people living in its drainage basin and immensely popular for boating, fishing and tourism, this 1,300-square-mile estuary faces a daunting set of environmental challenges.
This week's release of a new report, "Sound Health 2001," is tangible proof that the sound is making a strong comeback. The improvements are testimony to the cooperative efforts of EPA and other federal agencies, the states of New York and Connecticut, dozens of municipalities, countless businesses and thousands of private citizens.
Among the encouraging indicators:
- Upgrades to sewage treatment plants along the sound and its
tributaries have resulted in a 20 percent decrease in nitrogen
loads from these facilities since 1990. This means clearer, more
oxygen rich waters that are healthier for fish and shellfish.
- In just the past two years, nearly 600 acres of coastal habitat
have been restored and 33 miles of river reopened for anadromous
fish such as salmon.
- Toxic chemicals released into the sound's watershed dropped
by 83 percent from 1988 to 1998.
- The amount of mercury, copper, nickel and lead in many of the sound's harbors – and in shellfish living in those harbors – has been substantially reduced.
These improvements are not an accident. Since its designation in 1985 as an "estuary of national significance," Long Island Sound has seen a wide range of activities aimed at its recovery. The actions cover the gamut, ranging from municipal sewage plant upgrades and coastal marsh restorations to pollution cutbacks by industry and improved handling of boater waste.
As we look ahead, our most immediate priority is nitrogen pollution. Nitrogen discharges act as a ‘fertilizer' in the sound, causing noxious algal blooms and low levels of dissolved oxygen, a condition called hypoxia, the most serious water quality problem affecting the sound.
EPA expects it will soon be approving a plan by the states of New York and Connecticut to slash nitrogen discharges into the sound by nearly 60 percent by 2014. The cutbacks will be achieved by setting a specific limit - known as the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) - on the amount of nitrogen that the sound can safely handle.
The TMDL allocates how much nitrogen sewage plants, factories, stormwater outfall pipes and other pollution sources can discharge so that the total nitrogen limit is not exceeded. The limit is specifically designed to allow the sound to meet water quality standards for dissolved oxygen, which is crucial for marine life to survive.
Tackling this problem will take at least a decade and will cost more than $1 billion. This price tag may seem high, but considering that the commercial value of the sound for boating, fishing, swimming and tourism is worth well over $5 billion a year, it's a price worth paying.
We also need to re-double our efforts to protect and restore our coastal marshes, which provide both flood protection and critical habitat for many species of fish, invertebrates and birds. By 2008, our goal is to restore an additional 2,000 acres of coastal habitat along the sound. We're also aiming to open an additional 66 miles of anadromous river fish runs.
Despite the improvements to date in water quality and habitat protection, the sound's living resources remain vulnerable, as evidenced by the alarming die-off among lobsters and the spread of parasitic diseases that have hit the valuable oyster industry. These problems underscore the need to improve our understanding of the sound's ecosystem and warn against complacency.
Getting to where we are now has taken considerable time, money and energy because of the sheer size of the sound and the complexity of what needs to be done. As we stand on the threshold between the sound's past and future, EPA hopes that everyone living in the watershed will take a personal responsibility for restoring and protecting this magnificent water body that makes our lives richer in so many ways. Its future depends on it.
Mark Tedesco
Director, EPA's Long Island Sound Office
Editor's Note: A copy of the "Sound Health 2001" report is included in today's Sunday paper as a special insert. For more information about the Long Island Sound Study, visit EPA's web site at www.epa.gov/region01/eco/lis