Highlights and Happenings: April 2025

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Highlights

Celebrating 40 Years! 
This year we are celebrating 40 years of work to protect our air, land, and water—and fighting climate change! Your generosity has given us these 40 incredible years! Now we are asking you to please help us keep fighting and continue our mission of empowering communities, advocating solutions for public health protection and preserving our natural world. Together we can make a difference! Your contribution helps us continue our fight for a cleaner, healthier future! Please support us today! 

Turning Off the Tap to Toxic PFAS Chemicals!
We are fighting for NY state legislation to prohibit the unnecessary use of PFAS chemicals in a variety of consumer products. The ubiquitous use of these “forever” chemicals has contributed to the contamination of drinking water sources across NYS and threatens our health. We are working to ban the use of PFAS chemicals in a host of everyday products, including rugs, cookware, paints, children’s products, dental floss, and cleaning products. We have been busy lobbying in Albany and doing community presentations on the importance of reducing PFAS in local communities, including talking to over 100 people at the Northport Harbor Yacht Club in April. Take action today and urge your elected representatives to support passing this critical legislation in 2025. 

Reducing Packaging Waste in New York 
One of our top NYS priorities this year is the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. We have been fighting for a strong policy that will reduce product packaging, eliminate toxins in packaging, increase packaging recyclability, prevent plastic pollution, and save taxpayers money—it is estimated the policy would save local governments across the state $300 million annually! We will continue to fight to pass this critical legislation this year, but with just a few weeks of session left we need your help in urging the NYS Legislature to pass the bill. Please send an email urging your representatives to support this bill. 

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Happenings

Earth Day Lobby Day in Albany 
In celebration of Earth Day, advocates from across New York came together to voice their support of a comprehensive legislative agenda to safeguard our water quality, reduce solid waste, protect threatened species, and eliminate toxic chemicals. These are goals that deliver lasting benefits to both our environment and public health! We joined the efforts in Albany and continue to work to advance these priorities in the NYS Senate and Assembly this legislative session.

Fighting Rollbacks to Federal PFAS Drinking Water Standards 
After studies showed that there is no safe level of exposure to PFAS, the EPA finalized historic federal drinking water standards for six PFAS “forever chemicals” in April of 2024. Unfortunately, a lawsuit has been brought by water utilities and the chemical industry attempting to block this science-based drinking water standard. The EPA has yet to announce if it will defend its standards, or if it will cave to industry and weaken or scrap the standards. In April, we released a report with Environmental Working Group that found that more than 1.3 million New Yorkers would lose protections from PFAS if the EPA rolls back the standard. Numerous CT residents would also be adversely impacted. We recently attended an event with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and urged him not to allow rollbacks to the EPA PFAS standard. Join us in telling the EPA that the public’s health is more important than the chemical industry’s profits and that EPA must defend its science-based drinking water standards for PFAS.  

Banning 1,4-Dioxane in Household Products in Connecticut 
1,4-Dioxane is an emerging contaminant and likely carcinogen found in drinking water throughout the nation. Our independent testing found this “hidden carcinogen” in 65 out of 80 products we tested (including shampoos, body washes, baby products, laundry detergents, hand and dish soaps). As a result, New York became the first state in the nation to ban 1,4-dioxane from these products. NY’s law took full effect last year and has been an overwhelming success. Now, Connecticut is considering similar legislation. We are urging the General Assembly to protect public health and drinking water by banning this hidden carcinogen. 

Updates on Our Work to Advance Offshore Wind: 

• Follow Wind Works New York - Follow or Like Wind Works New York on Facebook to get the latest updates on offshore wind news, events, and actions! 

• Earth Day Rally for Offshore Wind  - The Trump Administration announced a stop work order on Empire Wind 1 – the offshore wind farm approved off the coast of Long Island which will power 500,000 homes. The project was already under construction, creating significant investment in local communities and hundreds of jobs in support of the growing “wind-ustry” in NY. On Earth Day, we joined environment, labor, business, and community leaders for a huge rally at the Nassau County Legislature in support of offshore wind. Over 100 Long Islanders came together to show up, stand up, and speak up for offshore wind! You can watch video of the event here. 

• UBS Arena Sustainability Forum - We headed to UBS Arena for their 2025 Sustainability Forum for Earth Month. CCE Executive Director Adrienne Esposito joined an expert panel to discuss offshore wind, climate change, and Long Island’s renewable energy future.

• Climate Change Symposium - For Earth Month, we hosted a Climate Change Symposium in Babylon, on Long Island. This exciting educational program explored how climate change is impacting our local communities and what New Yorkers can do to help. A huge thank you to our featured speakers, Dr. Paul Shepson, Dean of The School for Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University and Dr. J Bret Bennington, Professor and Chair of the Dept of Geology, Environment, and Sustainability, Hofstra University for your excellent presentations. We had a great discussion with all the environmental groups, HS students, teachers, and concerned citizens who attended. If you missed the event, you can watch it here. 

• Long Island Youth Summit - We were thrilled to participate in the first-ever Long Island Youth Summit. We joined over 200 students from across the region to talk about renewable energy, local climate change impacts, and how to take action on the climate crisis. Thanks to Students for Climate Action and Renewable Energy LI for hosting this great event! 

Reducing Nitrogen Pollution in the Western Bays 
We were joined by stakeholders from the South Shore Estuary Reserve for a tour of the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant. This plant has undergone extensive upgrades, including upgrades that remove excessive nitrogen from the effluent. The Bay Park Conveyance Project is almost complete—this will redirect treated effluent (treated at the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant) to the Cedar Creek outfall pipe into the ocean. Scientists agree that this project will restore the Western Bays and is being hailed the most significant restoration project in decades. We’ve worked over 2 decades to bring this project to fruition and we cannot wait to see the project completed and restored water quality in the Western Bays. 

Talking Long Island Sound with Uniondale High School 
We were in Uniondale High School in April talking with students about protecting Long Island Sound and combatting climate change as part of our ongoing partnership with the school. A huge thank you to the teachers and the 250+students who participated! We are looking forward to taking students on a field trip up to the Waterfront Center in Oyster Bay, LI in May so they can get out on the water! 

Saying Yes to Propel Energy 
Long Island, New York City and Westchester need to improve the reliability and resiliency of our energy grid to ensure capacity during high demand times. Our summers are getting hotter, and storms are increasing in intensity. We need to upgrade our antiquated transmission infrastructure to ensure that energy is delivered reliably and in a timely manner. The Propel NY Energy transmission project is part of the solution, strengthening the electric grid with increased transmission capacity and helping inject more clean energy into the statewide grid. This project is critical to ensure New York’s interconnectedness throughout the state. Last month, the New York Public Service Commission held two virtual public hearings on the Propel NY Energy Project and we testified in support. A huge thank you to everyone who joined and testified on the need for upgrading our energy grid in the face of climate change. If you missed the hearings, you can still submit written comments here. 

Learning about 1,4-Dioxane with the Yale Superfund Research Center 
We joined Suffolk County Water Authority at their facility in Northport for a tour with students from the Yale Superfund Research Center. We partner with the Yale Superfund Research Center for a study of 1,4-dioxane and human health on Long Island. We were thrilled to join the students as they saw an advanced treatment system in action, which is successfully removing the likely carcinogen from our drinking water. 

Tell EPA to Protect our Drinking Water from Dangerous PFAS Chemicals—Don’t Roll Back these Critical Public Health Protections!

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has until May 12th to decide—either side with polluters or move ahead with strong, science-based drinking water standards for PFAS and protect our health

In recent years, communities across NY, CT and the nation have discovered their drinking water sources are contaminated with harmful PFAS chemicals. PFAS are referred to as “forever chemicals” because they are very persistent, meaning they build up in our bodies and don’t break down in the environment. Exposure to PFAS is linked to higher rates of cancer and other serious health impacts. The EPA has found that there is no safe level of exposure to PFAS in our drinking water. 

In April of 2024, EPA adopted strong, science-based drinking water standards for six PFAS chemicals—limiting the toxic chemicals to the lowest level feasible in drinking water. Regrettably, a lawsuit has been brought by water utilities and the chemical industry, attempting to block this much needed drinking water standard. The EPA has until Monday, May 12th to announce its intentions for the PFAS standards – whether to continue defending their adopted standards, weaken the standards significantly, ask for more time, or scrap them altogether. If they do not move forward with the standards, more than 1.3 million New Yorkers and many Connecticut residents will lose critical protections from the toxic “forever chemicals.”

Tell the EPA that the public’s health is more important than the chemical industry’s profits. Email Administrator Zeldin today and urge him not to roll back the science-based drinking water standards for PFAS and protect our health!

Thank you for taking action!

Sincerely,
All of us at CCE

Missed our Climate Change Symposium?

Watch the recording of our recent Climate Change Symposium, featuring expert speakers that discussed the latest science and impacts of climate change 

We recently held a free Climate Change Symposium in Babylon, Long Island for Earth Month. A huge thank you to everyone who came out and contributed to a great discussion. This forum was designed for everyone wanting the facts about climate change, its impacts to our communities, and climate change solutions. 

We were excited to welcome Dr. Paul Shepson, Dean of The School for Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, as our keynote speaker. We also heard a fantastic presentation from Dr. J Bret Bennington, Professor and Chair of the Department of Geology, Environment, and Sustainability, Hofstra University. While we are facing an increasing amount of misinformation on climate change and climate science, it was more important than ever to get the facts from the experts.

If you missed the event, be sure to watch the video here.

Thank you for watching!

Sincerely,
All of Us at CCE