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Office of Ecology

Peconic Estuary Program FAQs

The Peconic Estuary is one of 28 estuaries in the National Estuary Program (NEP), administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) under the auspices of Sec. 320 of the Clean Water Act to protect and preserve nationally significant estuaries which are threatened by pollution, development, or overuse. The Peconic Estuary was accepted into the program as an “estuary of national significance” in 1992.

Where is the Peconic Estuary and why is it important?
The Peconic Estuary is located between the North and South Forks of Long Island, and consists of over 100 harbors, embayments and tributaries which span more than 125,000 acres of land and 158,000 acres of surface water.

The Peconic Estuary provides important habitat, as well as spawning and nursery grounds, to a wide variety of marine organisms. Most notable are shellfish such as bay scallops and hard clams, and fish such as bay anchovy, Atlantic silverside, scup, (also called porgy), summer flounder (also called fluke), winter flounder, windowpane flounder, weakfish and blackfish. One of the most important underwater habitats of the Estuary is the meadows of eelgrass found along its eastern margin. These eelgrass beds provide food, shelter, and nursery grounds to many marine animals including shrimp, scallops and other bivalves, crabs, and fish.

Who is involved in the Peconic Estuary Program?
The Peconic Estuary Program (PEP) is sponsored by the USEPA , the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), and the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS). The SCDHS, Office of Ecology operates the Program Office and provides the day-to-day management functions and the technical and administrative support to the program. Three additional committees within the Program, the Technical Advisory Committee, the Citizens Advisory Committee, and the Local Government Committee, are comprised of technical experts and federal, state, and local officials, as well as citizens. These stakeholders, collectively known as the PEP Management Conference, completed the final Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP), designed to protect and preserve the Peconic Estuary, in November of 2001.

What are the priority issues facing the Estuary?
The PEP Management Conference identified five priority management issues facing the estuary: brown tide, nutrient pollution, threats to habitat and living resources, pathogen contamination, and toxic chemicals. These five priority management issues, together with the need for public education and outreach, financing, and a framework for the long-term management of the estuary, form the basis for the actions included in the Peconic Estuary Program’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan.

What happens now that the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) has been adopted?
The existing Peconic Estuary Program Management Conference structure will remain intact. The Local Government Committee, Technical Advisory Committee, and Citizens Advisory Committee will continue to be integral to the long-term management process. The Program office will continue its management, coordination, and administrative functions, as they are applicable to post-CCMP management, and as resources allow.

How much has been spent on planning and implementing the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan?
To date approximately $5 million in USEPA funding, with significant Suffolk County match, has been provided for the implementation of the management plan and associated research and monitoring activities. Over 90 priority demonstration and implementation projects have been funded using federal and state funds totaling over $13.9 million. Even more significantly, with state and local funding sources such as the New York State Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act and the Suffolk County ¼% Sales Tax, tens of millions of dollars will be committed to the Peconic Estuary within the next decade. Furthermore, the Community Preservation Fund (CPF) Transfer Tax has generated nearly $500 million since its adoption. Approximately half of the revenues generated by the CPF are spent to acquire open space within the Peconic Estuary watershed.

What are a few of the Peconic Estuary Program’s achievements and initiatives?

Adoption of a nitrogen guideline and a point source nitrogen freeze for the western estuary

Adoption of a water quality preservation policy for the eastern estuary

Development of a preliminary submerged aquatic vegetation and management strategy, including a long-term monitoring, restoration trials to develop survival criteria, and integration with water quality monitoring and modeling

Demonstration and implementation projects dealing with a broad range of initiatives, including bay scallop and eelgrass restoration, artificial wetlands construction, and stormwater runoff management

State-of-the-art technical characterizations and management tools, including sediment nutrient flux and surface water modeling studies

Focus on preservation, as well as restoration. Emphasis on sub watersheds as well as main bays system

Early funding of implementation initiative, including tens of millions committed from NYS Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act and Town Open space/Farmland Preservation Bond Acts

Development and implementation of the Critical Lands Protection Plan

Development of a Nitrogen TMDL

Implementation of a Ludwigia Early Detection, Rapid Response Eradication Plan for the Peconic River

Installation of a fish ladder at Grangebel Park in Riverhead,

How can I get a copy of the Peconic Estuary Program’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP)?
A copy of the final CCMP can be obtained from the PEP Program Office (see below), or by visiting the following link: CCMP. In response to public comments from the September 1999 draft, the Management Conference has fully revised the CCMP. The final CCMP will be available shortly.

What other reports have been written for the Peconic Estuary Program?
For a complete listing of reports in "Portable Document Format" (pdf), visit the following link: Reports & Publications.
For copies of reports, contact the PEP Program Office.
Peconic Estuary Program
Vito Minei, Program Manager
Suffolk County Department of Health Services
Office of Ecology
360 Yaphank Ave. Suite 2B
Yaphank, NY 11980
Tel: (631) 852-5750
Fax: (631) 852-5812