Two New York coastal organizations are taking legal action to stop sewage pollution in Suffolk and Nassau County waterways.
Peconic Baykeeper and Long Island Soundkeeper are challenging the New York state parks department in court, alleging that it failed to have federal Clean Water Act sewage discharge permits and did not comply with the law.
“If you’re a Suffolk County resident and you live near a body of water, chances are it’s polluted,” Peconic Baykeeper attorney Kevin McAllister said in a statement.
“We are announcing the commencement of legal action pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act against the New York state parks department for its failure to have Clean Water Act sewage discharge permits for state park-operated facilities located at Robert Moses, Heckscher, Sunken Meadow, Wildwood [and] Belmont Lake state beaches and parks,” the statement read. “Astonishingly, three of those parks operate outdated cesspools, which were required by federal law to have been closed and upgraded by 2005.”
