The saga of Suffolk County’s quest for wastewater solutions has reached its penultimate stop – at least for now – as County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) signed the bill to put the proposition in front of voters in November.
The Monday afternoon bill signing was over a decade in the making, as legislators, stakeholders, and interested parties collaborated to design a formula, plan, and scientific outlook for the future of the county’s water quality. Negotiations came to a head last summer as the Suffolk County Legislature expressed doubt over ratios of taxpayer-funded wastewater solutions, with roughly 75% of funds generated from an eighth-cent sales tax increase going to Innovative Alternative Wastewater (I/A) Systems, 10% going to administrative costs, and 15% possibly going to sewers, although stipulations on the final 15% were not solid in the bill’s language.
The Legislature voted to table the resolution, citing dissatisfaction with the lack of funds and prioritization for sewer infrastructure, a piece of water quality remediation in large demand across the county as it pertains to development, downtown revitalization, agriculture, aquaculture, preservation of coastal waterways, and the protection of the sole-source aquifer.
As Suffolk County government cannot institute sales taxes without authorization from the State government, new negotiations had to be submitted to the State legislature and passed in both chambers. Assemblyman Fred Thiele (D-Sag Harbor) sponsored the Assembly version of the bill and Senator Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood) sponsored the Senate version of the bill. It passed earlier this year and Governor Kathy Hochul (D) made the trip to Captree to sign it within Suffolk County’s borders.
The bill then entered a period of public portion, where the Legislature formally voted to adopt it and send it to Romaine’s desk for signature. It passed 15-2 with one absence at the Legislature’s general meeting in Riverhead last Tuesday.
After another public portion, the bill was ready for Romaine’s approval. Suffolk voters will now be faced with a ballot proposition in November over whether to approve an eight-cent sales tax increase that will go towards funding septic and cesspool replacements across the county. The fund will work on top of the existing quarter-cent sales tax – colloquially referred to as the “quarter-percent fund” that already serves to fund wastewater solutions.
“It is a happy day because for years, we’ve struggled and watched as our bays, waterways, and groundwater have become contaminated and impacted,” said Romaine at the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge. “70% of this county is on cesspools; there has to be a better way.” Romaine added that while sewers and enhanced sewers are needed, some sewers within the county’s twenty-six sewer districts are “old and need to be refurbished.”
“Many of the sewers pour out into the Port Jefferson Harbor or into the ocean. We need sewers that are tertiary in nature and we need sewers for a new generation,” said Romaine.
Romaine said that the effort has been largely bipartisan and he was joined by a bipartisan group of lawmakers at Monday’s bill signing.
“This will now be in the hands of the people of Suffolk County. We’re going to make an investment, I expect, in the next few years,” said Romaine, adding that some sewers projects, such as Forge River, Kings Park, and Smithtown are progressing well.
Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) spoke on behalf of the Legislature and the Republican Majority, saying the initiative has been “a long time coming.”
“There’s been a lot of back-and-forth and different opinions, but one opinion we all share is the need to do something to protect our groundwater and our surface waters,” said McCaffrey. “We reached a compromise that is going to enable us to make these changes that are not only monumental, but generational.”
McCaffrey added that there is a “lot of work to be done” on the East End, namely in terms of implementing I/A systems “where appropriate,” as many areas are not topographically suited for sewer systems.
Legislator Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) spoke on behalf of the Democratic Legislative conference and opened by saying that Executive Romaine has been “working on this problem” before he took office.
“That led directly to our being here today to put this issue before the people,” said Englebright.
Assemblyman Thiele, who has previously served as Southampton Town Supervisor and as a County Legislator, has been one of the primary sponsors of this initiative for years.
“Improving water quality on Long Island isn’t just about the environment, it’s about the economy. No matter what aspect of our local economy you talk about, and certainly that’s the case on the East End with farming, fishing, and tourism, all depend on clean water,” said Thiele. “And that is why you see this rather unique coalition of people that have come together for this. It’s in business, in labor, in the environment, in local government, all coming together for the issue of clean water.”
Thiele referenced the Grateful Dead album What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been, comparing it to the years of work and research put into getting this referendum passed.
Kevin McDonald, Conservation Project Director for Public Lands at the Nature Conservancy, invoked a Winston Churchill quote: “Americans will always do the right thing after they’ve tried everything else.”
“This is an example of people continuing to work to find a solution that we can bring to the voters,” said McDonald. “I’m really proud on behalf of the Nature Conservancy to say we think this is a nation-leading initiative unmatched by any county anywhere in America.”
Executive Romaine added that he would be “remiss” if he did not mention the “support of labor unions who have been key” in the passage of the legislation.
“They know this means good-paying jobs and they know that these jobs will be doing great work for Long Island’s future,” said Romaine.
Marc Herbst, Executive Director of the Long Island Contractors’ Association, said that the brutally hot weather over the past week serves as a reminder to keep the beaches and waterways clean for public enjoyment.
“We can’t close our beaches. We need a good quality system to care for the water, so we keep the beaches open,” said Herbst. Organized labor, the Long Island Federation of Labor, the Nassau-Suffolk Building Council, all of us are working together to make sure we are willing, ready, and able, once the voters make the decision that we know is needed, to build the sewers and put the I/A Systems in.”
Herbst added that the coalition present at the bill signing are “not disbanding,” and that they will continue working with local government and the communities to see the project through.
Finally, Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director for the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said that the bill will allow Suffolk County to lose its title as the “septic capital of the world.”
“Fixing our water problem will make Long Island’s coastline stronger. It will improve our wetlands, allow seagrass beds to regrow, making us stronger and more resilient to hurricanes and storms, sea level rise, and nor’easters,” said Esposito. She added that the coalition of environmental and labor groups will be “working together to do a massive public education campaign through Suffolk County to inform and educate the voters about the importance” of the bill.
“I cannot thank enough the people behind me and the people that are here that are behind him who made this all possible,” said Romaine before signing the bill. “Today is a lesson. Together, we’re stronger. Together, we’re Long Island. Together, we’re Suffolk. We can build a better Island.”
Romaine added that clean water is “step one,” while “step two” is improvements to transportation and infrastructure, saying that Suffolk County regularly gets “short changed” by Albany and Washington based on how much tax money goes to higher levels of government relative to how much of that money Suffolk receives back.
“This is a coalition that got it done, a coalition that will move this island forward,” said Romaine, seated before the legislation, pen in hand. “When we work together, when we put our partisan concerns aside, when we focus on what’s best for this island, we do the things that are right for the future of this island and for those who will be here afterwards.So, let’s stick together, let’s work together, let’s focus on our mission.”
Romaine then signed the bill into law, formally putting the decision in front of voters this November.
Romaine was joined by Suffolk County Legislators Catherine Stark (R-Riverhead), Ann Welker (D-Southampton), Dominick Thorne (R-Patchogue), Trish Bergin (R-East Islip), Rebecca Sanin (D-Huntington Station), Tom Donnelly (D-Deer Park), and Stephanie Bontempi (R-Centerport).
Other partners in attendance were Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters, David Seigerman of Save the Sound, John Turner of the Seatuck Environmental Association, Peter Topping of the Peconic Baykeepers, and Kevin McAllister of Defend H2O.