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[Page S10866]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP ACT
Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise to celebrate final passage of
the Long Island Sound Stewardship Act. I am proud to have coauthored
and introduced this bill in the Senate in April 2004. This body passed
the bill that October, but then the bill died in the House. So we
reintroduced it in the Senate last January, and Representative Rob
Simmons reintroduced its House companion. The House passed its bill on
Wednesday, and we in the Senate have just followed suit. Now the bill
will go to the President, who is expected to sign it into law without
delay. Today's final passage will ensure expanded protection and
restoration of a national treasure.
A healthy Long Island Sound is crucial to our region's economy,
quality of life, and heritage. I am deeply gratified that Congress has
acted to support a new way for communities and citizens to work
together to preserve this ecologically important estuary for years to
come. The Long Island Sound Stewardship Act, or LISSA, will help
protect the sound by providing financial incentives for land owners
within the sound area to preserve the environmental quality of and
public access to this endangered habitat.
Long Island Sound is a unique estuary with profound economic,
ecological and cultural importance for the United States. This critical
resource contributes approximately $6 billion annually to the economy
of the region, and it is especially important to the tens of millions
of people who live within 50 miles of its shores.
We have come a long way in restoring the Sound and its rich
biodiversity. Take, for example, the osprey--a bird that has come to
symbolize the Sound. In 1940, there were approximately 1,000 osprey
nests along the Sound shoreline. But by 1974, pollution reduced the
number of osprey nests to just nine. Because of proactive conservation
measures, the osprey has rebounded. That is real progress.
Despite our efforts, however, the sound remains in a diminished
condition. It suffers from hypoxia, habitat loss, and contamination by
toxic substances, pathogens, and solid waste, all of which negatively
affect the health of all the organisms, including humans, who live in
or near the sound.
I have been working to defend the sound since I arrived in the
Senate. In 1989, I sponsored legislation that established a Long Island
Sound office within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA's
Long Island Sound Office went on to identify the sound region as
vulnerable to degradation and, with my support, established the Long
Island Sound Study to develop a plan for protecting the sound. In 2000,
I kicked off a ``Listen to the Sound'' campaign, which focused on
establishing a comprehensive network of open space and natural areas
along the sound's rim, as well as creating more opportunities for
public access and habitat restoration. More than 1,500 Connecticut and
New York residents attended those meetings. In 2002, the EPA released
the results of its Long Island Sound study, which concluded that
coordinated action to save the sound was necessary.
Building on several of the EPA study's recommendations and on
feedback from my Listen to the Sound meetings, I introduced LISSA in
April 2004 with Senators Dodd, Schumer, and Clinton as cosponsors.
LISSA establishes a broad-based Long Island Sound Stewardship
Advisory Committee comprised of all sound stakeholders, including
Federal, State, local governments, tribal interests, nongovernmental
organizations, academic interests, private interests including land,
agriculture, and business interests, and recreational and commercial
fishing interests. The advisory committee is charged with evaluating
the parcels of land within the sound region and recommending crucial
parcels for designation by the Environmental Protection Agency as
Stewardship Sites eligible for special preservation funds. LISSA
authorizes $25 million per year for fiscal years 2007 through 2011 to
the EPA Administrator to carry out this act.
By enacting this legislation, we aim to preserve the natural beauty
and ecological wonder of this majestic waterway between New York and
Connecticut. LISSA will ensure that our children and grandchildren can
enjoy the sound's beauty, ecology, and recreational opportunities.
In closing, I wish to acknowledge the many Long Island Sound
advocates in Connecticut and New York who have worked so hard to
achieve today's great success.
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