By GREGORY ZELLER //
Coming soon to a ballot near you: the new-and-improved Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act.
That is, if Gov. Kathy Hochul signs a bill approved by the New York State Senate May 16, after previously earning the support of the State Assembly.
It’s expected she will, likely placing the measure before voters this November.
Hochul’s signature would authorize the Suffolk County Legislature to move forward with a ballot referendum that – if approved by county voters – would raise the county sales tax by one-eighth of a cent to establish a long-term funding source to expand sewers and replace nitrogen-polluting septic systems across Suffolk with newer clean-water technologies.
The bill – sponsored in the Senate by New York State Sen. Monica Martinez (D-Hauppauge) and in the Assembly by Assemblyman Fred Thiele (D-Sag Harbor) – updates proposed amendments to the county tax code that surfaced in 2023.
The previous effort earmarked 25 percent of the raised funds for new sewers and 75 percent for the installation of high-tech septic systems. But the Suffolk County Legislature’s Republican majority, seeking a higher percentage dedicated to new sewers, shot it down before it reached the ballot.
The updated version splits the new tax revenues right down the middle: 50 percent for sewers and 50 percent for new Innovative/Alternative septic systems.
Environmentalists cheered the bipartisan effort to bring a new bill before the governor – “We applaud all the stakeholders, officials and elected leaders who have worked together to achieve this success,” noted Group for the East End President Bob DeLuca – and urged the governor to quickly ensure the measure is put before voters on Nov. 5.
Julie Tighe: Let’s take a vote.
“We applaud Sen. Martinez and Assemblymember Thiele for their leadership on this issue,” Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters, said in a statement. “Suffolk County residents have suffered from nitrogen-polluted water for far too long and now we must work to ensure this measure is placed on the ballot and approved by voters in the fall.”
The quality of Suffolk County groundwater and surrounding waterways has long been a socioeconomic concern, with nitrogen and pathogens leading the list of pollutants harming commercial and recreational fishing zones, shellfish breeding grounds and public beaches.
While Suffolk relies more on individual septic systems (upwards of 380,000 of them) than regional sewers, the 910-square-mile county still contains 27 different sewer districts. In addition to defeating the 25/75 tax-revenue split last year, county Republicans knocked down a plan to consolidate those districts.
Meanwhile, past efforts to partially reimburse homeowners who replace outdated septic systems with newer models have delivered only modest gains.
The updated Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act may be the county’s best chance to rally public support and finally tackle Suffolk’s most critical public-health issue in a meaningful way, according to Vision Long Island Director Eric Alexander.
“The [act] has the support of numerous local chambers, civic organizations and municipalities who will be instrumental in building public support for a referendum in the fall,” added Alexander, also the founder of the Long Island Main Street Alliance. “Kudos to the New York State Legislature for listening to these important local leaders who support the advancement of wastewater treatment projects and the quality of our drinking water.”
