By:Scott Brinton
Estuary council issues recommendations and convenes public hearings
On a clear day, the saltwater bays that hug Nassau's south shore glimmer like giant mirrors. A gentle ocean breeze might blow through the abundant reed grasses, while hundreds of sea birds ply the shallow wetlands for a meal of small fish.
This natural habitat appears pristine at first blush. Appears, however, is the operative word.
Taxed by decades of development dating back to World War II, the bays are suffering from heavy-duty pollution that threatens to destroy them.
In 1994, the State Legislature set aside 173 square miles of bays and surrounding shoreline communities, from the Atlantic Beach Bridge to Shinnecock Inlet in Suffolk County, as the South Shore Estuary Reserve. Estuaries, fragile but vital ecosystems where freshwater rivers meet saltwater bays, serve as breeding grounds for numerous birds, animals and fish.
Home to 1.5 million people, the reserve takes in all or part of the Towns of Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Babylon, Islip, Brookhaven and Southampton, the City of Long Beach and 31 villages.
The legislature also impaneled a 23-member estuary council to develop a reserve management plan. The council, comprising governmental, environmental, academic, business, recreation and citizen representatives, recently issued its five-year estuary plan and convened two meetings to hear public concerns about its proposal.
Repairing south-shore bays is a massive proposition, according to the council. Already, the state has pumped $16 million into more than 70 projects to help stem pollution and restore aquatic habitats in these waters.
An additional $98 million is needed to carry out all the council's recommendations. Those funds should come from private and government sources, including federal, state and local agencies, the estuary report says. Compliance with the council, however, is entirely voluntary.
Storm water, greatest worry
Many of the 33 residents who spoke during the March 1 hearing at Freeport Village Hall reiterated the council's biggest concern in its report: That storm-water runoff is choking the life out of the southern bays.
Atlantic Beach environmentalist Morris Kramer told the council: The problem is Reynolds Channel is dying.
Kramer said pesticides and fertilizers from home and golf-course lawns flow into the bays via storm drains, which carry rainwater from streets. The chemicals then accelerate seaweed growth, depleting saltwater oxygen, which marine life needs to survive.
Runoff can also cause bacterial infections among shellfish in the bays. Such infections result from pet feces left on streets by residents, the estuary report says.
The council recommends that local governments enact pooper-scooper laws requiring cleanup of pet droppings. The Town of Hempstead already has, but Oyster Bay, Babylon and Islip have not.
According to the estuary report, some 33,000 acres of South Shore clam beds
