Long Island Sound Cleanup Efforts Get Boost -- Courant.com

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Efforts to clean up Long Island Sound and Jamaica Bay got a $3.3 million boost this week, thanks in part to two settlements in pollution cases.

Ten projects will get $1.6 million in grants from the settlements, which involved New York City's water pollution control system and John F. Kennedy International Airport. The groups receiving the grants have raised another $1.7 million for the projects.

Some projects are focused on restoring habitat and species, while others will study ways to reduce the impact of air and water pollution, according to information from the state Department of Environmental Protection, Long Island Soundkeeper and other agencies that oversee the programs.

In Connecticut, The Trust for Public Land will remove derelict cottages from Long Beach in Stratford, eliminating a source of sewage pollution. Long Beach is part of the Great Meadows area, one of the most important areas for birds in the state. Other projects involve research into pollution in West Haven, Greenwich and other parts of Fairfield County.

Most of the projects focus on nitrogen pollution, a growing problem that plagues Long Island Sound and many of the world's coastal waters. Excess nitrogen from sewage treatment plants and storm-water runoff creates seasonal "dead zones," where oxygen levels drop too low to sustain normal aquatic life.