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Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SOCGESS STORY
Multifaceted Program Restores Shellfish Harvesting in Northern
Hempstead Harbor
Watprhnrlv Imnrnx/prl Elevated fecal coliform (FC) bacteria levels from runoff and
other sources caused New York's northern Hempstead Harbor
to exceed the FC water quality standard for shellfish harvesting. As a result, the New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) added the northern segment of
Hempstead Harbor to the state's 1998 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired
waters because of pathogens. A multifaceted effort by the DEC, Nassau County and munici-
palities adjacent to the harbor reduced FC pollutant sources and led to the restoration of
northern Hempstead Harbor. In June 2011, after having been closed for more than 40 years,
the northern segment of Hempstead Harbor was reopened for shellfishing. DEC proposes
to remove this segment of the harbor from the state's list of impaired waters in 2012.
Problem
Hempstead Harbor is an estuarine embayment off
the Long Island Sound in Nassau County, New York
(Figure 1). A shellfish harvest restriction was placed
on the harbor in 1966 because of water quality
concerns. Data collected in the mid-1990s showed
elevated pathogen levels that prevented the harbor
from meeting its shellfishing, primary contact
recreation and fish consumption uses. As a result,
DEC added the northern segment of the harbor
(covering 2,520 acres) to the state's 1998 impaired
waters list. Nonpoint sources of pollution including
stormwater runoff, boater waste, waterfowl, and
failing on-site disposal systems were suspected
of being the primary problem, with wastewater
discharges also contributing.
In 2007 DEC developed an FC total maximum
daily load (TMDL) for Hempstead Harbor. The
TMDL called for a 95 percent load reduction from
nonpoint sources of pollution. The goal was an FC
geometric mean that did not exceed 14 colonies
(col) per 100 milliliters (ml), with no more than
10 percent of all samples exceeding 49 col/100 ml.
Project Highlights
The multi-jurisdictional setting around northern
Hempstead Harbor created a challenge in coordi-
nating stakeholders and developing partnerships
to address the FC impairment in the harbor. The
Figure 1. New York's Hempstead Harbor is an estuarine
embayment off the Long Island Sound.
Hempstead Harbor restoration effort is an excellent
example of an integrated, collaborative effort to
control both nonpoint and point sources of pollut-
ants. The Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee
(HHPC), a partnership between state and federal
agencies, Nassau County, local municipalities and
citizen groups, led the development of the Water
Quality Improvement Plan in 1998, as well as the
Harbor Management Plan in 2004.
Since 1995 the HHPC has coordinated implementa-
tion of efforts to address the nonpoint sources of
pollution that were the primary contributors to water
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Figure 2. After being closed for 40 years, the Hempstead Harbor
shellfishery yielded a bountiful clam harvest on opening day.
quality impairments, such as managing stormwater
and boater waste. Significant efforts to control and
manage runoff were initiated prior to the permitting
of municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4)
entities in the surrounding watershed. Stormwater
management practices carried out prior to MS4 per-
mitting included extensive education and outreach
efforts, implementing municipal stormwater man-
agement program plans, and controlling waterfowl.
These nonpoint source control efforts, together
with securing the designation of the Harbor as a
Vessel Waste No Discharge Zone, installing sew-
ers in previously unsewered areas where onsite
disposal systems were an issue, and adding point
source controls, had a significant impact on improv-
ing the harbor's condition.
Results
Management efforts have improved water quality in
the northern segment of Hempstead Harbor. Over
the pastfive years, water sampling has shown that
FC levels in northern Hempstead Harbor meet the
stringent standards for a certified (open) shellfishing
area. In addition, the results of testing of hard clam
samples for the presence of various metals, chemi-
cals (PCBs, dioxins, furans, pesticide residues), and
radionuclides has supported lifting the shellfishing
restriction in the area.
DEC reopened shellfish harvesting areas in
the northern segment of Hempstead Harbor in
June 2011 (Figure 2). Continuing monitoring activi-
ties in the northern segment of Hempstead Harbor
include sanitary surveys, water quality monitoring
and shellfish tissue testing. DEC will continue to
monitor the water quality of these reclassified areas
as part of its participation in the National Shellfish
Sanitation Program.
Because water quality monitoring conducted by the
New York State Department of Health and DEC con-
cluded that the northern segment of Hempstead
Harbor fully supports shellfish harvesting for human
consumption, DEC will propose to remove this seg-
ment from the state's impaired waters list in 2012.
Partners and Funding
Hempstead Harbor has been a focus of federal and
interstate partnerships (such as the Long Island
Sound Study), as well as inter-municipal (particularly
the HHPC), interagency and community partner-
ships of environmental and business groups.
The HHPC supported planning studies, capital
improvement projects, educational outreach, water
quality monitoring, information and technology
sharing, development of model ordinances, coor-
dination of enforcement, and working with other
governmental agencies as well as environmental,
educational, community and business groups.
The HHPC oversaw the preparation of a Water
Quality Improvement Plan (1998) and the Harbor
Management Plan (2004) for Hempstead Harbor.
The DEC Bureau of Marine Resources has also
worked cooperatively with Hempstead Harbor com-
munities to collect and examine additional water
samples.
The New York Water Quality Improvement Project
program was the principal source of funding for
projects, contributing approximately $8 million
in total funding. This funding supported sanitary
sewer installation, stormwater runoff management,
and other projects to address nonpoint pollution
sources around the harbor. Other Nassau County
and municipal funds were also directed to these
efforts.
I
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-11-001NN
September 2011
For additional information contact:
Don Tuxill
New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation
518-402-8168 • detuxill@gw.dec.state.ny.us
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