Legislation to protect Jamaica Bay
goes to Cuomo’s desk once again
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2020 21
BY BILL PARRY
Just last month, state Senator
Joseph Addabbo and Assemblywoman
Stacey Pheffer
Amato reintroduced legislation
that would protect the waters
of Jamaica Bay that was vetoed
by Governor Andrew Cuomo
last year. The measures have
already passed both chambers
of the state Legislature and are
heading back to Cuomo’s desk
once again.
These Jamaica Bay bills
would permanently extend the
current law that was put into
place in 2014, which corrected
the longstanding problem of using
sub-quality dredging material
to fill the borrow pits of the
bay. That law is set to expire on
June 30, 2022.
The bill also seeks to improve
the standards evaluating
the condition of the bay.
“I know the current and future
conditions of Jamaica Bay
are important issues for many
of my constituents. The bay has
seen a resurgence of marine life
since laws were enacted to protect
the waters from unfit dredging
materials and other contaminants,
and is healthier than it
has been in decades,” Addabbo
said. “The delicate and unique
ecology of the Bay demands that
we implement permanent protections
to safeguard against
any actions that may result in
a loss of wildlife, compromised
water quality, or other negative
consequences.”
With water quality the cleanest
it has been in decades, marine
life including a humpback
whale, dolphins, and a new seal
population have been drawn to
the natural habitat.
“Jamaica Bay has been a
successful result of what happens
when government and
community come together to
protect our environment,” Pheffer
Amato said. “ We have made
so much progress bringing wildlife
and an ecological system to
the Bay that hasn’t been seen in
generations, and we have to ensure
that we keep this progress
going. Senator Addabbo and I
are ready to keep working with
the Governor’s office to get it
done, and the passage of this bill
is a great first step.”
In his 2019 veto statement,
Cuomo said the legislation
would change the criteria for
filling in the Jamaica Bay borrow
pits to comply with federal
guidelines for the unrestricted
ocean dumping of dredged material,
which is not applicable
to Jamaica Bay. Under the legislation,
the state Department
of Environmental Conservation
would be required to utilize
more restrictive and costly
federal ocean dumping criteria
to test the materials instead of
DEC’s existing standard.
“There is no legitimate reason
to ever bring in contaminated
fill and place it in the deep
portions of the bay,” Dan Mundy
of the Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers
said. “In addition, recent
research that we have been conducting
indicates how critical
these deep holes in Jamaica Bay
are to the marine life that inhabits
and visits this bay. Seals,
sharks, and even whales have
been in the bay. An event that
would have been unheard of
only ten years ago. The waters
of the bay are the cleanest they
have been in over 100 years and
it is unconscionable to consider
any plan that includes contaminated
fill. We are grateful to
have such proactive legislators
as Senator Addabbo and Assemblywoman
Pheffer Amato
to fight for legislation to protect
this great natural resource.”
Legislation to protect Jamaica Bay marine life heads back to Governor
Cuomo’s desk for a second time. Photo by Mark Hallum
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