RSS 2.0 FeedJuly 29, 2010, Bellmore Life
The bays need science to recover
The once productive fishing and shellfishing ground, is now dying, some say.
The West Bay shimmered in the late morning sun; its many shades of green were set against undulating patches of sea grasses and a blue horizon.
It was a perfect summer day. People had gathered on Magnolia Pier in Long Beach to gaze at the water; others had come to fish, hoping to catch summer fluke.
“No good,” said one man named Rocco. “I’ve caught a few but they’re under 10 inches. Too small. I have to throw them back.”
His companion nodded. “Can’t catch much anymore. The West Bay, she’s just not right.”
That seems to be the popular consensus: the Western Bays, which include Hempstead Bay’s West, Middle and East Bays, and South Oyster Bay are in trouble. Some go so far as to say that parts of the bays are dying.
Once a productive fishing and shellfishing ground, the Western Bays have been listed for over a decade on the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) list of impaired water bodies for excessive nutrients such nitrogen and phosphorus, and for bacteria such as e coli.
Nutrients are now known to cause explosive growth of vegetation, such as seagrasses and algae, in the bays, which robs the waters of oxygen (hypoxia), reducing fish spawning grounds and the growth of clams.
Last month local environmentalists and county legislators gathered to call upon New York State to release more than $500,000 in funding allocated in 2008 for a scientific study of the water quality in the Western Bays. They are still waiting, as budget woes in Albany have kept the money from being released. Meanwhile the bays remain in trouble.
The study, called Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), will help to determine what natural and man-made impacts have caused the degrading water quality.
This is an important first step, said Rob Weltner, executive director of Stop Polluting, Littering and Save Harbors (SPLASH), in determining how to fix the problem.
“The water is not as healthy as it should be,” said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment. “We need to find out how to bring the marine life back here and we need to do it now.”
Here are the facts: 64.5 million gallons of treated effluent (treated wastewater once solids are removed) are dumped into the Western Bays each day, from four sewage treatment plants – Lawrence, Long Beach, and Bay Park in East Rockaway, and Jones Beach. There is excessive seaweed growth and an increase in shellfish harvesting closures.
Environmentalists, including members of SPLASH and the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, believe the degrading water quality is due to the amount of treated effluent in the bay, thus causing a rise in bacteria. Excessive seaweed growth may be due to the storm water runoff, including the fertilizers from our lawns that dump excessive nitrogen and phosophorus into the bays.
If nitrogen levels are too high, hypoxia can occur. Hypoxia causes oxygen depletion, and can decrease fish spawning grounds.
A similar study was done in the Long Island Sound. That TMDL study helped to limit nitrogen discharge. The Long Island Sound’s TMDL has targets for nitrogen removal that range from 58.5% to 10%. No such standards are in place for the Western Bays.
“This will help to provide more stringent effluent requirements and help design the needed upgrades to the sewage treatment plants, including Bay Park,” said county Legislator David Denenberg.
“We need to base our restoration plans on science, not conjecture,” said Ms. Esposito.
During these tough economic times, can the state afford this study?
“This is environmental money that can only be used for this purpose,” said Legislator Denenberg, Democrat of Merrick.
“The money is there. It has been allocated and is sitting up in Albany. For three years the state has been telling us the money is coming. While the state stumbles, the bays are dying,” said Ms. Esposito.
“The South Shore waterways have been infiltrated with so much effluent that our residents are no longer able to use the waters for recreational bathing, and local fishing businesses are no longer able to harvest shellfish,” said Legislator Denise Ford, Republican of Long Beach.
The funds could still be released this summer, if Albany passes its budget. The fund would allow an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to go forward, allowing Stony Brook University to begin research in conjunction with the TMDL study. The MOU is stalled in the state Division of the Budget.
Ms. Esposito said she and other environmentalists have met with Michael Harrison, a representative of Governor David Paterson, as well as Assemblyman Bob Sweeney and U.S. Senator Charles Schumer’s office.
The next step is a forum on Thursday, August 5 with the consultants who plan to do work on the TMDL study, including Stony Brook University, the United States Geological Survey and Battelle, an outside consultant hired with federal funds to assess damage in the Western Bays.
The meeting will take place at the Nassau County Legislative building in Mineola at 2 p.m. Ms. Esposito said they have invited Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg, Democrat of Long Beach, as well as all the assemblymen and senate members who represent the south shore,” said Ms. Esposito, as well as members of the county Legislature.
“This has been an uphill battle,” said Mr. Weltner, who has been calling for this study since 2004. “We are hoping that anyone who cares about the bays shows up. We need to make our voices heard. Our once beautiful and bountiful bay needs our help. The study will do that. It’s a good first step. Let’s fix it and get people back to work,” he concluded.
