Statement of the Hon. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) on the Introduction of the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative Act

Statement of the Hon. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) on the Introduction of the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative Act

U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro today issued the following statement on the introduction of the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative Act. The Act, co-sponsored by the entire Long Island Sound Caucus, would authorize $40 million to preserve and maintain sensitive lands around the Sound. Sites would be chosen based on scientific criteria, to ensure that taxpayers get the most benefit for their dollars. Over the last four years, the LIS Caucus has helped direct more than $20 million to clean up Long Island Sound, one of the most environmentally and commercially important estuaries in the world. DeLauro spoke at a press conference this afternoon with other sponsors of the measure, along with representatives of Audubon Connecticut, Audubon New York, and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. Her statement is below:

We are all here today because of a shared commitment to preserving the Long Island Sound. I think everyone here would agree that there will always be differences of opinion between Connecticut and New York State with respect to the Long Island Sound. But we have come together today because we all understand how valuable and special the Long Island Sound is to the communities we represent - economically and environmentally.

As you have heard, the Long Island Sound Stewardship Act is desperately needed legislation. You all know the facts about the pressures facing the Sound: 10 percent of the nation's population lives within 50 miles of it - 20 million people in all. And because the shoreline is extensively developed, it is not always easy to balance habit maintenance, water quality and access to the Sound at the same time.

To be frank, the situation is often complicated by the view that environmental conservation is considered an impediment to economic activity - that you cannot do both at the same time. That we are all here today should tell you that we do not believe that is the case when it comes to the environmental and economic health of Long Island Sound.

The Sound provides an economic benefit of almost $6 billion to the economy of the region - much of it to fishermen, shellfisherman, not mention tourism business and marine vendors, boatyard workers and harbor pilots. If we do not continue the commitment to adequately fund clean-up of the water and conservation of shoreline, that substantial economic benefit will decline. It is that simple.

That is why, for almost two decades, the Long Island Sound Study has been guiding Connecticut and New York through the restoration process. We have a ways to go, but real progress has been made. Since 1993, more than 300 acres of shoreline wetlands have been restored in Connecticut, and we have lower by about 19 percent nitrogen deposits in the Sound that result from inadequate sewage treatment.

But there is still much to be done. Hypoxia and nitrogen run-off into the Sound continue to threaten wildlife that call the Sound home. The lobster catch remains abnormally low, and the shoreline remains under tremendous pressure from development.

The Long Island Sound Stewardship Act will allow us to protect some of the most threatened shoreline, using not politics but sound science as the means of directing federal and state dollars. Right now, we have an office within the EPA that governs the Long Island Sound Study - and coordinates the various research and clean-up activities in the Sound. What this legislation does is create an advisory committee that will provide a framework for those efforts and help direct money to the most environmentally sensitive sites on the Sound's coast. And it will maximize the protected region at the same time it minimizes the cost to the taxpayer.

I think what will make this bill particularly effective is that it puts in place a science-based system that encourages all stakeholders to share in the management and protection of this vital national resource. It makes us treat the stewardship of the Sound for what it is: a shared responsibility. That is what this effort is ultimately about - trying to figure out the best way for us for us to deal with this very serious issue in a way that benefits everyone.

So again, let me thank my colleagues for their leadership on this issue.