Dear Suffolk County Resident,
On June 25, 2024, I led the Suffolk County Legislature in a historic vote to extend and revise the Suffolk County Drinking Water Protection Program and establish a Water Quality Restoration Fund. Collectively named the “Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act,” these actions create a long-term plan to expand and upgrade Suffolk County’s aging wastewater infrastructure and gives the County the authority to establish a new, stable, and long-term funding source for wastewater improvement projects. Proposition 2 also extends the current ¼-cent sales tax which funds water quality initiatives and open space acquisitions.
At present, Suffolk County is home to more than 1.5 million people — and relies on merely 380,000 cesspools and wastewater systems. With more than 209,000 designated environmentally sensitive areas, much of our land stands ill-equipped to handle wastewater treatment. This lack of proper infrastructure has been a significant cause of nitrogen pollution in our bays, harbors, and groundwater, contributing to harmful algae blooms, as well as significant barriers to sustainable economic growth.
You, the residents of Suffolk County, will have the opportunity to curtail these environmentally degrading conditions and protect our water quality by approving Ballot Proposition 2 this coming Election Day – November 5, 2024. A vote for Proposition 2 means new sewers and new innovative modern septic systems throughout Suffolk County. Moreover, it means clean water for generations to come.
Throughout this process, I have often quoted an adage declaring “these waterways, bays and steams are not ours — they are borrowed from our children and grandchildren.” We must do everything we can to make sure that we protect our bodies of water and the water that we drink. The only way to do that is to make an investment into our water.
Drafting and adopting the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act was no small task. This legislation was years in the making, and I am proud of our resilience in carrying it through multiple administrations, as well as county and state government. When New York State approved certain spending allocations for wastewater infrastructure needs in 2023, the Suffolk County Legislature’s Republican Majority called for alterations to those allocations – calling out conditions that minimized the potential for the positive environmental impact of the plan and would also lead to unfair dispersal of funds across the county. I am proud of my colleagues who stuck it out and believed we could reach a compromise on the right funding formula to protect Suffolk’s water quality for decades to come.
A number of colleagues and stakeholders deserve recognition for making this possible. The steadfast support of my colleagues in the Legislature and County Executive Romaine are paramount; as are New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele and state Senator Monica Martinez, who both sponsored the legislation in their respective chambers. Additionally, Governor Kathy Hochul, who signed the bill into law on the state level, and our partners in the private sector including The Nature Conservancy, the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, the Building & Construction Trades Council of Nassau & Suffolk Counties, the Long Island Contractors Association, the Long Island Federation of Labor, and others.
A yes vote on Proposition 2 means less pollution, improved water quality, continued open space acquisitions and an increase in solid, local jobs. A yes vote is good science, good economics, and good sense.
Kevin J. McCaffrey
Presiding Officer of the Suffolk County Legislature