Cleaning up Long Island Sound

The latest wave of good news for Long Island Sound is the Environmental Protection Agency's authorization of a no-discharge zone for New York's part of the Sound, starting this week.

That means boat owners can't just dump sewage overboard. They have to deposit it at pump-out stations on shore. Together with a recent visit by bottlenose dolphins and an outbreak of cooperation among public officials over the Sound, that's an encouraging turn of events.

No-discharge zones had already been established in bays and harbors along the Long Island shore. And Connecticut had won approval for a no-discharge zone for its half of the Sound in 2007. Now, New York's Department of Environmental Conservation has gotten the EPA to approve a zone covering 760 square miles of New York waters in the Sound. So the whole Sound is now covered. In reviewing the state's petition, EPA found that there are adequate pump-out stations to handle the sewage.

Last month, Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) gathered officials from both sides of the Sound to develop relationships and strategies for protecting it. And the pod of dolphins seen in mid-August was a harbinger of improving water quality. Still, a lot remains to be done to upgrade sewage plants and treat polluted stormwater runoff.

This body of water is vital to our economy and our island way of life. Keeping it clean must be a top priority. So these bits of news are welcome signs of progress.