LI wastewater, gas tax holiday, Jan. 6 committee, and more

We must improve LI’s wastewater

Inadequate wastewater treatment in Suffolk County has long been a significant concern, and water quality has been getting worse for 20 years [“Suffolk getting $20M for septic upgrades,” News, July 8].

Thankfully, numerous scientific studies have clearly established that cesspools and septic systems are the primary source of excess nutrients in surface water.

For this reason, Suffolk County’s current wastewater strategy involves the replacement of old and failing septic systems, along with the establishment of a long-term funding source to help homeowners transition to more effective wastewater treatment technology. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent announcement of $20 million in funding to support the installation of improved wastewater systems is an important down payment on this program, and continued government investment will help thousands of families play a direct role in cleaning up our local waters.

Of course, there will always be a reason to do nothing and people who oppose every major advancement no matter the issue. But in this case, we know the history, we have the data, we see the implications, and we have solutions that work. Let’s not endure another decade of fish kills, beach closures and toxic algal blooms before we fully meet this challenge, and let’s work together to preserve our Long Island way of life.

 — Robert S. DeLuca, Southold

The writer is president of the Group for the East End.

Gas tax holiday too detrimental to all

President Joe Biden’s proposal to halt the federal tax on gas would do little to alleviate the burden on families’ pocketbooks while at the same time being profoundly detrimental to infrastructure investments [“Biden urges gas tax holiday,” News, July  19].

A gas tax holiday will have a negligible impact on consumer prices and does nothing to solve the root of the issue.

Meanwhile, hitting pause on money collected from the federal gas tax will deplete infrastructure funds such as the Highway Trust Fund, which pays for most federal spending on highways and mass transit. The economic implications simply do not make sense.

This fund was created as a dependable source for federal funding of construction and was recently given a huge boost by the president’s bipartisan infrastructure bill.

We cannot risk a lack of funding for critical projects across America, in New York or on Long Island. We cannot support any plan that may stop the critical work of rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, period.

 — Marc Herbst, Melville

The writer is executive director of the Long Island Contractors’ Association.

Jan. 6 committee just taking shots at Trump

The special House committee investigating Jan. 6 is not investigating anything [“Alarming picture in Jan. 6 probe,” Editorial, July 13].

They are basically creating a trial. The committee seems to be comprised of haters of former President Donald Trump.

Investigations should seek truth. You can’t achieve truth by only hearing one side with no chance of elaboration and cross-examination.

America deserves the whole truth and let the chips fall where they may. I’d say the committee is only looking for a conviction to knock Trump out of the 2024 presidential race, not seeking the whole truth. Otherwise, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would have been called to testify.

If Trump is indicted, how will any impartial jurors be found after this investigation has been televised? Imagine the outcome of the trial if there was no cross-examination in the movie “My Cousin Vinny.” That’s this committee.

What happened to equal treatment under the law? This select committee is making our country un-American.

 — Timothy Gallagher, Seaford

Some days, it’s like deja vu all over again

Lately when I read Newsday, I get the feeling I’m in “The Twilight Zone” or a John Grisham novel, except none of this is fiction. On Monday’s pages:

The Long Island Rail Road is bringing back trains from the 1980s [“Old cars, new life?”].

Sharks are trying to eat lifeguards [“Shark sighted off Lido Beach”].

The safety board is still unsure why the witnesses saw what they saw when TWA flight 800 exploded over the Atlantic Ocean 26 years ago [“Remembering TWA flight”].

And my favorite:

The Secret Service can’t find its Jan. 6 text messages [“Secret Service’s texts in question”]. Maybe I should text the agency and see whether it wants my grandchildren to retrieve the messages.

 — Susan Hennings-Lowe, Huntington