Assemblyman Thiele: Assembly Budget Proposal Includes $900,000 for Peconic Estuary Program
Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. today announced the inclusion of $900,000 in the 2021-22 Assembly budget proposal for the Peconic Estuary Program. Dubbed one of the "Last Great Places in the western hemisphere” by the Nature Conservancy, the Peconic Estuary is situated between the North and South Forks of Long Island. The watershed begins at Brookhaven National Lab with the headwaters of the Peconic River, spans the several bays from Flanders to Gardiners, and ends in Block Island Sound between Plum Island and Montauk Point. More than 125,000 land acres and 158,000 surface water acres are included in the Peconic Estuary.
In 1992, the Peconic Estuary became the 20th estuary in the nation to receive the designation as an “Estuary of National Significance” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Currently there are 28 estuaries in the program. As part of the National Estuary Program (NEP), the Peconic Estuary Program (PEP) is an innovative partnership of local, state, and federal governments, citizen and environmental groups, businesses and industries, and academic institutions.
Additionally, over $340,000 in separate state funding was announced earlier today to support the Peconic Estuary. The Suffolk County Soil and Water Conservation District received two awards, the first to work with twenty-six farms to address the Nassau Suffolk Sole Source Aquifer and Peconic Estuary to replace petroleum product storage facilities and aid in the protection of the drinking water supply. The second award to work with one farm to address the Peconic Estuary and the Long Island Sole Source Aquifer to improve the efficiency of an anaerobic digester system, and to support the protection of drinking water.[1]
Assemblyman Thiele stated, “On eastern Long Island, our environment is our economy. Since its inception, the Peconic Estuary Program has worked diligently to protect our water, habitat and wildlife, and to support coastal resiliency projects throughout the estuary. The work of the Peconic Estuary Program in protecting water quality on the East End has been unmatched, and this funding is essential to ensuring it can continue this vital work on behalf of our environment and our community. I thank my colleagues for recognizing the importance of this program and supporting this funding in the Assembly budget proposal.”