DONT SWIM, DONT FISH....Where are these politicians who seek our vote? Better yet, why hasnt the Long Beach Enviromental Advisory Board responded to this and the many requests from the Long Beach people?

From our Friends at LONG BEACH PATCH

Warning: It's not safe to swim or fish in Reynolds Channel. In March, the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant released 46 percent more suspended solids than legally allowable and continues to dump 40 times the legal limit.

Long Beach resident Scott Bochner is filming the brown plume, documenting illegal dumping and reporting spills to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. SPLASH President Rob Weltner, Point Lookout Civic Association Co-Chair Gerry Ottavino, Nassau County Legislator Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick), activist Beverly Visconti, Bochner and I coordinated a campaign, drafted petitions and demanded that the illegal dumping cease, the public be notified, and hearings convene to learn what effect swimming and fishing in sewage has on our health and environment.

We learned that only two of ten tanks at Bay Park were operable and the new lab was inexplicably dismantled, requiring testing at outside labs. Test results take days to return, making it difficult to timely act on sewage spills. Former County Executive Tom Suozzi and his administration allotted $70 million to upgrades at this plant, and the new administration purchased two gravity belt thickeners — a temporary fix which increases the efficiency of the removal of solids.

Residents believe nitrogen from Bay Park's sewage is causing seaweed growth. Seaweed is a serious health hazard to Point Lookout residents. The health department confirmed complaints that chronic coughs and other ailments are caused by hydrogen sulfide from rotting seaweed. They claim these ailments are short-lived, but residents complain of long-term illnesses that are worsening.

Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) and Mr. Ottavino hosted a public meeting in Point Lookout on Dec. 14 with speakers from the county's health department, the DEC, Hempstead's Conservation and Waterways and Legislator Denise Ford (R-Long Beach). The anger and frustration of over 200 attendants at the meeting was palpable. Children are swimming and fishing in sewage and no one told us. Neither the health department, the Town of Hempstead, the DEC nor the county executive admit responsibility for notifying the public. I pleaded with the panel to establish a protocol for public notification.

Weisenberg will request a "state of emergency," which should expedite solutions. I pressed Legislator Ford to ask Congressman Peter King (R-Seaford) for stimulus money to fund an outflow pipe to the ocean.

Operation of the county's sewage treatment plants must be transparent. Further, the governmental departments need to develop a process for alerting the public when sludge is released into our waterways. Water quality reports should be posted daily in our newspapers.

Lastly, legislative hearings need to convene to discover what's being released into the channel and to hold those responsible for the conditions at Bay Park.

Claudia Borecky, President
North Merrick Community Association and
A Founding Member of the Sludge Stoppers