Weisenberg secures funding for bays study

In an effort to continue environmental studies of the polluted Western Bays, Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) advocated for and successfully secured $300,000 in funding under the Environmental Protection Fund in the final state budget to conduct a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Study. The Assemblyman wrote to Speaker Sheldon Silver in early February to request that this item be a priority for the Assembly.

The funding will ensure the critical next step in ongoing measures to scientifically assess the damage already done to this waterway and to protect the bays from further harm. 

“Our local environmental groups and civic organizations were instrumental in ensuring this money was included in the budget. The Citizens Campaign for the Environment, the Point Lookout Civic Association, Sludge Stoppers, Operation Splash, and Assemblyman Bob Sweeney, chairman of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee, all pulled together to help me secure the funding,” Weisenberg said.

Home to four sewage treatment plants and one power plant which discharge 64.5 million gallons of wastewater on a daily basis, the Western Bays have suffered from degraded water quality, excessive seaweed growth and increased shellfish harvesting closures. The treatment plants have amassed several violations over the years for releasing harmful materials into the bays. Beginning in 1998, the Western Bays have been on the Department of Environmental Conservation’s list of impaired water bodies, first for pathogens and again in 2006 for excessive nutrients.