Hempstead Harbor makes a comeback

The once-polluted waters of Hempstead Harbor will be reopened to shellfishing in the next six to 12 months - a concrete sign of progress for a water body that for decades was off limits to clammers.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis is expected to announce the anticipated reopening at a waterfront news conference today in Glen Cove. The news comes as environmentally-minded Long Islanders prepare to celebrate the 40th annual Earth Day on Thursday.

"This once was a body of water that was damaged by industrial pollution, inadequate wastewater treatment and storm water runoff," Grannis said in a statement. "We are looking at a renewed ecosystem."

Between 3,000 to 4,000 acres where contaminants had made shellfish unsafe to eat will eventually be reopened by the state. The last hurdles: the DEC must identify outfall pipes on shore that could carry pollutants into the bay, and map out boundaries for the certified areas in conjunction with the federal Food and Drug Administration.

Hempstead Harbor, on the North Shore, had been fouled by more than a century of pollution from sewage, sandmining and heavy industry. During the past three decades, residents, environmental advocates, and state and local officials have worked to undo the damage. Rotting barges were removed; outdated sewage plants and an incinerator were shut.

State and federal Superfund sites still ring the harbor. But as those cleanups move forward, life has returned to the shoreline. Migratory birds and diamondbacked terrapins are there. Anecdotal reports indicate a healthy clam population nestled along the harbor bottom.

After a lengthy round of tests, the agency confirmed that water in the proposed area meets state standards for shellfish harvesting, said DEC Marine Resources director Jim Gilmore. Last week, the state health department said tests of clam tissue showed no trace of contaminants from polluted sites on shore.

"That is the best indicator you can have about improved water quality and the change in the environment," said Carol DiPaulo, programs director for the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor, a citizens group founded in 1986. "The harbor had suffered from all the assaults of the industrial past, and there has been such an incredible turnaround."