Citation:

Impact/Purpose:

The Peconic Estuary is located on the eastern end of Long Island, New York. Under the Federal Clean Water Act, the Peconic Estuary was named an "Estuary of National Significance" in 1992. Because of its high concentration of rare, threatened and endangered species and habitats, The Nature Conservancy named the Peconic Ecosystem as one of the "Last Great Places in the Western Hemisphere." With population increasing in the watershed, the Peconic Estuary is being threatened by over-development and misuse of its resources. A key management concern is nutrient over-enrichment. Key nutrient sources, primarily entering the estuary through groundwater include residential and agricultural fertilizer applications and on-site waste water disposal systems (septic systems), as well as atmospheric deposition, and in a limited number of areas, sewage treatment plants. Historical loadings have also contributed to a significant reservoir of nutrients in some bottom sediments.

Description:

The Peconic Estuary is located on the eastern end of Long Island, New York. Under the Federal Clean Water Act, the Peconic Estuary was named an "Estuary of National Significance" in 1992. Because of its high concentration of rare, threatened and endangered species and habitats, The Nature Conservancy named the Peconic Ecosystem as one of the "Last Great Places in the Western Hemisphere." With population increasing in the watershed, the Peconic Estuary is being threatened by over-development and misuse of its resources. A key management concern is nutrient over-enrichment. Key nutrient sources, primarily entering the estuary through groundwater include residential and agricultural fertilizer applications and on-site waste water disposal systems (septic systems), as well as atmospheric deposition, and in a limited number of areas, sewage treatment plants. Historical loadings have also contributed to a significant reservoir of nutrients in some bottom sediments. The Peconic Estuary Program (PEP) Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) was approved by the EPA Administrator in November 2001. The CCMP addresses the environmental management topics in the estuary and its watershed, including brown tide (a nuisance algal bloom), nutrients, habitats and living resources, pathogens, critical lands protection, and toxics, as well post-CCMP management structure, public education and outreach, and financing. The preparation of the hydrodynamic and model water quality is called for in the CCMP.

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