96244221

The purpose of this agreement is to provide assistance to the Interstate Environmental Commission to implement its project to support the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. The goal of this project is to protect and restore the Long Island Sound. The activities outlined in this agreement are intended to support the recipient's goal of implementing its own water quality monitoring enhancement program for hypoxia and pathogen management. These activities also aim to educate and inform the public and other interested entities about the health and protection of the Long Island Sound and the environment.

Under this grant agreement, the recipient will support activities to:

1) Conduct water quality monitoring of summer hypoxic conditions in western Long Island Sound and its embayments.
2) Continue coordinated weekly and bi-weekly long-term monitoring of a suite of in-situ parameters at a network of 22 historical monitoring stations.
3) Coordinate with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and other Long Island Sound study partners involved in monitoring the Long Island Sound.
4) Implement a pathogen monitoring survey to identify the source(s) of elevated pathogen levels leading to shellfish harvesting area closures.
5) Review prior water quality data from the New York State Department of Health and pathogen track down studies in and around Long Island Sound to determine the best sampling design and analytical methods. Solicit input from local, state, and federal partners.
6) Develop and pilot a methodology that can be applied to areas with similar contamination issues throughout the Sound.

The direct beneficiaries of this program include the general population throughout the Long Island Sound watershed and its surrounding areas, schools, universities, and other institutions of learning, environmental managers and policymakers, and the participants in the Long Island Sound study.

Interstate Environmental Commission

5 - ENSURE CLEAN AND SAFE WATER FOR ALL COMMUNITIES 5.2 - PROTECT AND RESTORE WATERBODIES AND WATERSHEDS

66.437 - Long Island Sound Program

EPA Region 2: New York City [EPA - RO]

Connecticut United States

State-Wide

EPA-CEP-01

Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 09/30/23 to 12/31/25 and the total obligations have increased 828% from $608,045 to $5,639,698.