The following excerpt is from an E&E News by Politico article written by both Miranda Willson and Kevin Bogardu, and published on November 14th, 2024. You can read the entire article with a subscription here.
The majority of voters in Zeldin’s former district supported Trump in last week’s election. But while the incoming president has pledged to slash environmental regulations and claims that climate change is a “hoax,” sea-level rise and water pollution are bread-and-butter issues in the area Zeldin represented in Congress, said Richard Murdocco, an adjunct professor of public policy at Stony Brook University in Long Island.
Last week, for example, over 70 percent of Suffolk County voters approved a $6 billion clean water initiative to curb sewage pollution.
Pollution from outdated septic systems poses a major threat to Long Island’s tourism and fishing economies and is a leading cause of harmful algal blooms. It is also threatening the island’s rivers and harbors as well as its groundwater, the sole source of drinking water, Murdocco said.
“Our water is our economy,” Murdocco said. “Suffolk County voters just swung to the right, and they voted to increase their own sales tax for wastewater infrastructure.”
A representative for Zeldin said he was unable to comment for this story. The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment.
