CT Senator Murphy Calls for Renewed Efforts to Clean Long Island Sound Following Mixed Report Card

HARTFORD – Following the release of a new report cardon the health of Long Island Sound, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday called for renewed efforts to protect the Long Island Sound.

The report card scores on water quality range from very good (an “A-”) for Eastern Long Island Sound to moderately poor (a “C-”) in lower Fairfield County, according to a release.

“This report card shows that while we are making strides on restoring water quality and ecosystem health in the Long Island Sound Watershed, there is much more to be done,” Murphy said in a release. “Thanks to the advocacy of Save the Sound and local leaders, Long Island Sound was brought back from the brink. I’ll continue to work closely with local partners as I fight in the Appropriations Committee to make sure Connecticut has the resources it needs to keep our shoreline clean and healthy.”

The record card was created by the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science in partnership with the Long Island Sound Funders Collaborative and the New Haven-based Save the Sound organization.

Data was collected by Connecticut Departments of Energy and Environmental Protection, Agriculture, and Public Health.

The U.S. Senate recently passed the Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Act, a bill sponsored by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and cosponsored by Murphy and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) that supports water quality and shore restoration programs and improves oversight and coordination of Sound clean-up efforts.

As a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Murphy released his Long Island Sound Investment Plan, calling for increased investment and coordination to protect and preserve the Sound for generations to come.

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