Environmental groups support sewage funding for November ballot

With Election Day less than three months away, ballot propositions in Suffolk County have yet to be finalized, but sewage funding and an equal protection amendment could appear.

Suffolk County executive Ed Romaine signed the Water Protection Bill on July 8, giving a clear path to putting the $3 billion sewage infrastructure initiative up for referendum in November’s general election.

While the Suffolk County Board of Elections is still finalizing the ballot’s exact wording, environmental organizations Save the Great South Bay and Citizens Campaign for the Environment hope to see the water protection bill become law.

“This clean water program has been vetted by scientists, environmental organizations, elected leaders, and the public over the last 10 years. We have a meaningful plan to treat our sewage; now we need the funding,” said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment.

The water protection bill first passed through the state Assembly and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support, before Gov. Hochul passed the legislation to Romaine in May.

To fund the program, a .0125 percent county sales tax increase, one-eighth of a penny, would generate $3 to $4 billion in revenue through 2060, which would expand wastewater treatment systems, replace cesspools and old drainage systems, and more effectively remove nitrogen from treated waste before it re-enters the environment.

“Our current system of allowing septic systems and cesspools to simply leach into groundwater and into our bays and harbors is horrendous, and this lack of long-term planning is now damaging our island with harmful algae blooms, contaminated drinking water, fish kills, and beach closings,” Esposito said.

Voters across New York State may also decide on another referendum to enshrine equal protections for “ethnicity, national origin, age, and disability” or “sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”

If passed by Suffolk County voters, the water protection bill would also allow Suffolk County to create a countywide wastewater management district to address the differences in wastewater treatment tactics across communities.

It is uncertain which communities could see expanded sewage access come first, but Romaine plans to target communities he thinks could benefit the most from the revamped wastewater infrastructure.

“Whenever you have multiple requests, as we do for sewers all over the place, you have to evaluate and put the money where you get the biggest bang for the buck,” Romaine said.

Robyn Silvestri, executive director of Save the Great South Bay, said the program’s cost is marginal for the environmental reward.

“It is a tiny investment with tremendous returns,” Silvestri said. “We can invest now in our water quality, or we can pay the price later in terms of a destroyed bay… we can turn the tide on water quality in the Great South Bay.”