Dear Danielle,

Happy Labor Day weekend and welcome to our August Newsletter! Read on for updates on the next phase of the Ditch Plains Recovery Project, what heavy August rainfall has meant for our water quality trends this month, breaking down the numbers in our water quality reports, waste management and the closure of a local landfill, and CCOM’s kids microplastic beach cleanup & art day event.

CCOM is also very excited to introduce Rebecca Holloway as CCOM’s Manager of Environmental Advocacy. Rebecca is coastal climate scientist with a Bachelor’s degree in Environment and Sustainability from Barnard College. While she is a physical Earth Science researcher by training, Rebecca is most passionate about shaping durable coastal resilience programs through both high level partnership with local communities, policy-makers, and experts, and scientifically rigorous decision-making. You’ll hear from her in next month’s newsletter, where she’ll keep us all abreast of any environmental concerns we are facing in our community.

At CCOM, we're working hard to move the needle for a sustainable future to ensure that our kids get to enjoy the Montauk environment that we’ve been so fortunate to experience. We’re grateful for your ongoing support and hope you’ll continue by donating. Your generosity continues to be critical to protecting and preserving Montauk’s environment.

Kind regards,

For more than 50 years, CCOM fought for Montauk’s waters and coastal environment, and since Superstorm Sandy, we have helped lead coastal resiliency efforts here. CCOM joined our government and community partners on August 9, to celebrate a great win, as Governor Hochul announced increased resiliency efforts to protect Long Island from extreme storms and then presented East Hampton Town (EHT) with $2.5 million to rebuild and strengthen Ditch Plains Beach and protect the Ditch Plains community.

This funding is focused on recovering the dunes to protect the residents of Ditch from breaches, flooding, and damage to nearly 400 homes and infrastructure. This phase is crucial for ensuring the recovery of the coastline and will be designed by the engineering firm Coastal Science & Engineering, Inc. A total of $1.75 million was already allocated by EHT in the capital budget for both phases of this project and a request for matching funds was sent to New York State to assist with the costs a few months ago. 

The funding is announced ahead of an anticipated ‘above average’ hurricane season and builds on the Governor’s comprehensive resilience plan to protect New Yorkers from extreme weather events.

You can read about the event here where Governor Hochul also acknowledged and shook hands with CCOM’s STEAM Club, who call themselves, “The Young Filmmakers of Montauk,” who made a video of the devastation at Ditch Plains, with their teacher Jody Kennedy and help from the Montauk School. That plea for help was heard by our government partners who heard all of us and took action.

At CCOM, we believe that it is every community member’s right to know the quality of the water in which we recreate. CCOM provides our community with the critical service of weekly water quality status updates. By partnering with the Surfrider Foundation’s Blue Water Task Force, we join efforts to provide year-round, high quality water quality information on popular ocean and bay beaches, and on potential freshwater sources for pollution like stormwater outlets.

Water quality monitoring is essential for community safety. Our weekly reports provide information on many metrics, including levels of enterococcus bacteria, which are crucial for assessing the safety of Montauk's recreational waters.

 Many are confused about what these numbers really mean… 

Why check water quality reports? What reported levels are safe?



Look out this month for a detailed review explaining our water quality testing program.

August water quality trends showed abnormally high enterococcus levels, corresponding with the high level of rainfall we received this month. Read Newsday’s detailed coverage of our work this month and see the breakdown below:

8/5: we saw abnormally high levels of bacteria, in accordance with the remnants of Hurricane Debby. 

8/12: we reported medium to high bacteria levels. Problem areas that showed high levels were Fort Pond, at both testing sites, Louse Point Beach and Folkstone Drive in East Hampton. We also saw Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) occur in both Fort Pond locations.

8/19: we saw exceptionally high bacteria levels at sites including Atlantic Ocean spots at Ditch and Surfside Place. The only safe water bodies that we tested were the Long Island Sound on Soundview Drive Beach and Napeague Harbor East. This extreme event can be traced to heavy rain and flash flooding from the night before testing. See our coverage on CCOM’s Instagram post, and read more about the event in this coverage by The East Hampton Star. 

8/26: many areas returned to safe levels, but still a high number of our sites showed medium and high levels of bacteria, including Fort Pond, Lake Montauk, and Soundview Drive Culvert.

The approaching closure of the Brookhaven landfill, estimated to finish its closing process in 2027, could significantly impact the Montauk community. The landfill was originally slated to close completely this year, but was now pushed to 2027, or possibly early 2028, when it will reach its capacity. The first stage in a 2 phase closure plan will begin towards the end of 2024.

The approaching closure of the Brookhaven Landfill, estimated to finish its closing process in 2027, could significantly impact the Montauk community. The first stage in a 2 phase closure plan will begin towards the end of 2024. Officials reported that the effects of the facility’s closure will have a probable cascading effect, “from increasing the costs of waste disposal to exacerbating the Island's traffic problems and worsening environmental pollution” (Newsday, 2024). 

President of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk Counties stated, “With the imminent closing of the Brookhaven Town landfill, we must create new and innovative solutions that include a state-of-the-art transfer station to dispose of our construction and demolition debris. As we embark upon the path to export this material off Long Island, the natural and most environmentally sound solution is by rail.” (Brookhaven NY.gov)

Thinking to the future… 

Across the U.S., states like Massachusetts and California have implemented successful programs to boost waste-related sustainability, and waste generation prevention. For instance, California implemented successful programs to divert waste from landfills. Jurisdictions reported diverting 11.2 million tons of organics at the end of 2022, and increased recycling rates via bottle deposits. Massachusetts has introduced a "Waste Ban" policy that prohibits the disposal of certain recyclables and compostables in landfills. 



When one door closes, another door opens. With the closure of the Brookhaven Landfill, we hope to see new opportunities to step in and fortify new sustainable, earth-friendly solutions to our waste issues.

Every month, we’ll cover a new timely sustainability subject, and share best practices that community members can adopt in order to live consciously with respect to sustaining our natural environment and human health.

This month’s sustainability topic is the circular economy, a concept that emphasizes reducing waste and reusing resources. Unlike the traditional linear economy (take, make, dispose), the circular model focuses on designing products for longevity, choosing to take care of our items and mend them when they show signs of aging, and finally, recycling them when they’ve reached the end of their life.

Underconsumption, a related concept, and increasing in popularity, promotes reducing overall consumption to minimize environmental impact. By adopting these practices, we can contribute to a more sustainable future (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2024).

By staying informed and engaged with these local and global sustainability efforts and best practices, we can collectively contribute to a healthier environment for Montauk and beyond. 

This month, we had an awesome day, and incredible turnout(!) at our August 13th microplastics beach cleanup. Kids and parents got to come out to the CCOM office and take a group walk at our backyard (the beach!) for a family beach cleanup day. Afterwards, we cooled off with some ice cream, and the kids had a blast creating and personalizing mason jar piggy banks using mod podge, bright materials, and found objects from the beach. 

See our full event calendar here on our website, and follow CCOM’s Instagram @preservemontauk for live invites and coverage on our ongoing events. 

Saturday, September 21 | 10AM – 12PM

6 S. Elmwood Ave. Montauk

September is National Cleanup Month! Do you have a favorite spot in Montauk? Help keep it pristine by taking part in National Cleanup Day & East Hampton Cleanup Day!

Stop by the CCOM office anytime between 10am-12pm to grab some gloves, hand sanitizer and a reusable sack. The dumpster donated by Mickey’s Carting will be on site. No registration is required.

Not in the East Hampton area? That’s ok. CLICK HERE to find a cleanup near you

CCOM participates in the adopt-a-road program. Over the month, CCOM board members Rich Silver, Andy Harris and Richard Newman spent the mornings maintaining CCOM’s adopted Second House Road. Big thanks to your commitment to keeping Montauk beautiful!

Summer is coming to an end. Savor your beach memories and get 50% off with code CCOM50 on everything. Every order comes with a free tote bag too! Check out our website's SHOP PAGE. Sale ends on Labor Day, Monday 9/2.