Keeping it Clean

by Scott Feldman

I got a "dirty" story today. I was out in Sayville talking to Peconic Baykeeper Kevin McAllister about designating the South Shore Estuary a federal "no discharge" zone. Right now, it is legal for a boater to dump sewage waste into the water as long as it is treated with chemicals. But is that enough to do the job? McAllister tells me absolutely not. He claims the chemicals themselves are toxic to marine life. And while they may knock out some of the bacteria, what is being dumped is pretty powerful and is bad news for bathers and shellfish beds. McAllister has gotten Southampton, Brookhaven, Islip, Babylon, Oyster Bay to sign on to declare the area a federal "no discharge" zone. Hempstead has a local "no discharge" law. McAllister claims they told him their local law was good enough. But when we contacted the town, they said there was a "miscommunication." They say they are ready to join the other towns. To check out what areas are now in the federal "no discharge" zone in New England, just go to www.epa.gov  We've also got clean boating tips for you from the Peconic Baykeeper http://www.peconicbaykeeper.org  Kevin tells me he is hopeful the new federal designation for our area will be in place by June of 2009.