Region 1: EPA New England

The Long Island Sound Study at EPA New England

The U.S. EPA funds and administers the Long Island Sound Study. EPA's funding is used to support EPA's Long Island Sound Study Office (LISO) in Stamford, Connecticut. The Long Island Sound Study is coordinated by LISO. The Long Island Sound Study is unique among National Estuary Programs in having separate funding authorization under the Clean Water Act (Section 119) and an EPA Office mandated to provide support to the bi-state effort. The structure of the LISS is also unique in having program staff distributed among support agencies instead of centralized within one program office. EPA New England is one of the primary partners that participate in the Long Island Sound Study. Along with LISO, EPA Region 2 in the New York area, and the States of Connecticut and New York, we work to a number of Committees to help to ensure broad input into development and implementation of the plan. These Committees represent policy, management, citizen and technical interests from around the Sound region. Each EPA Regional Office is responsible within its states for the execution of the Agency's programs. EPA New England is responsible to work with the State of Connecticut, and the other New England states, on issues related to the Long Island Sound.

What is Being Done to Protect and Restore Long Island Sound? Since the federal Clean Water Act became law in 1972, investments in water pollution control programs have led to measurable improvements in the water quality of Long Island Sound. Obvious sources of pollution were controlled through permit programs. Tidal wetlands were protected, sewage treatment plants improved, and industrial discharges controlled. However, to fully restore the health of the Sound, a cooperative effort focusing on the overall ecosystem was needed. As a result, EPA, New York, and Connecticut formed the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) in 1985, a bi-state partnership consisting of federal and state agencies, user groups, concerned organizations, and individuals dedicated to restoring and protecting the Sound.

What's the Plan for Long Island Sound?

In 1994, the LISS completed a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan that identified seven issues: (1) low dissolved oxygen (hypoxia), (2) toxic contamination, (3) pathogen contamination, (4) floatable debris, (5) living resources and habitat management, (6) land use and development, and (7) public involvement and education.

Learn more about the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan.
What's going on with the CCMP

Read the Long Island Sound 2003 Agreement signed by the States of New York and Connecticut, EPA Region 2 and EPA New England (PDF) (5 pp., 48 KB, about PDF).

The LISS partners have made significant strides to restore and protect Long Island Sound, giving priority to hypoxia, habitat restoration, public involvement and education, and water quality monitoring.

Nitrogen (Hypoxia) Management (examples)

• In 1998, the LISS adopted a 58.5 percent reduction target for nitrogen loads from human sources to the Sound by 2014, with interim five- and ten-year targets to assure steady progress.

• In 2001, the EPA approved Connecticut's and New York's plan, called a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), for achieving the 58.5 percent nitrogen

• As of 2002, upgrades to sewage treatment plants have decreased nitrogen loads to the Sound by 28 percent compared to the peak year of 1994.

• The severity of hypoxia (lack of oxygen) has decreased in the Sound since the late 1980s

• reduction from point and nonpoint sources of pollution.

• The summer of 2003 had the largest area below 1mg/Lsince 1991. The good news is that the areas below 1mg/L have been steadily decreasing since 2003 and the summer of 2007 had no areas below 1 mg/L. - Sound Health 2008.

What exactly is a Total Daily Maximum Load?

To learn more about the Total Daily Maximum Load established for Long Island Sound:

• Check out the Long Island Sound TMDL (PDF) (73 pp., 330 KB, about PDF)

• Read EPA's approval letter for the TMDL (PDF) (22 pp., 73 KB, about PDF)

A nitrogen credit exchange program in the State of Connecticut is making huge strides in reducing nitrogen into Long Island Sound. To understand how this program works, click here.

October 24, 2003 EPA presents the State of Connecticut with funding to help distressed communities improve nitrogen removal at their sewage treatment plants.

(left to right) CT Lieutenant Governor M. Jodi Rell, CT Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Arthur J. Rocque, Jr. and US EPA Regional Administrator – New England Robert W. Varney

(left to right) CT Lieutenant Governor M. Jodi Rell, members of the CT Nitrogen Trading Board, US EPA Regional Administrator – New England Robert W. Varney, and CT Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Arthur J. Rocque, Jr.

Habitat Restoration (examples)

• There are twelve priority habitats

• Since 1993, more than 465 acres of tidal wetland habitat have been restored in Connecticut. Since 1996, New York has restored 65 acres of tidal wetlands.

• As of 2002, 42.9 miles of river migratory corridors have been restored for anadromous fish passage by installing fish ladders and removing dams.

Public Involvement and Education (examples)

• The LISS awards grants up to $5,000 for projects to educate and involve the public in the cleanup of the Sound. As of 2003, almost $400,000 in grants have funded 100 projects, including curriculum development, teacher training, beach cleanups, educational posters, and summer programs for children.

• LISS partners hold conferences, summits, and workshops where municipal leaders, research scientists, and educators can share their experiences and highlight their success stories regarding issues such as nitrogen reduction, habitat restoration, research on living marine resources, land use, open space, and smart growth.

• The International Coastal Cleanup takes place annually on the third Saturday of September. Thousands of volunteers from Connecticut and New York remove and document the trash that they collect along the shoreline and underwater. Contact Connecticut Sea Grant at (860) 405-9127 or the American Littoral Society in New York at 718-318-9344 to be a part of the next beach cleanup in your area.

• Underwater tour of habitats and organisms
• Other educational material available

Water Quality Monitoring

• A number of organizations and citizen monitor water quality to identify how Long Island Sound responds to management initiatives such as nitrogen reduction. Water samples are collected and tested for dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, chlorophyll a, and other parameters.

Are These Efforts Working?

Sound Health 2008 is our report to the public on the environmental issues affecting Long Island Sound. It provides information on water qusality, the abundance of animal and plant life in the Sound, and trends in land use along the shore.

• Part 1 (PDF) (4 pp., 1 MB, about PDF)
• Part 2 (PDF) (5 pp., 5.14 MB, about PDF)
• Part 3 (PDF) (4 pp., 709 KB, about PDF)
• Part 4 (PDF) (3 pp., 1 MB, about PDF)