Microplastics have been found in bodies of water all over the globe, from the Arctic to the Caribbean Sea to Long Island Sound. They can leach into groundwater from those waterways, and from septic systems and cesspools, or from rainwater runoff that collects particles from streets or landfills.

And they make their way into our bodies from the food we eat and the water we drink, whether from the tap or bottled in plastic.

Tracy Tullis reports in NEWSDAY that it's not clear if microplastics and the even smaller nanoplastics are in Long Island's drinking water, in part because testing is not required, and there's no standardized test.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last month it will consider regulating microplastics — particles that can be smaller than a grain of sand, or even microscopic — as a contaminant in drinking water.

California is the only state that requires testing for microplastics, and had to develop new ways to test for them.

“The New York State Department of Health is closely watching the rapidly evolving science on microplastics and supports the addition of microplastics to the sixth candidate contaminant list,” Marissa Crary, spokesperson for the NYS Department of Health, wrote to Newsday in an email. At the moment, however, “no widely available standard method exists for evaluating microplastics in drinking water.”

Tests conducted by the Suffolk County Water Authority found no detectable microplastics in its samples, probably because water drawn from an aquifer is somewhat protected from plastic contamination.

“I can’t think of an issue that hits closer to home for American families than the safety of their drinking water,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in announcing the move to regulate microplastics as a contaminant in drinking water.

Water suppliers in the United States are not required to test or filter for microplastics, "which is why this is important," Judith Enck, president of the nonprofit Beyond Plastics and a former EPA regional administrator, told Newsday.

There are no guarantees that this first step will lead to anything. Last month the EPA declined to regulate any of the contaminants from the previous list, issued in 2022. And the administration also is trying to weaken regulations on PFAS in drinking water established by President Joe Biden.

The EPA is required to name at least five possible drinking water contaminants every five years and to study their presence in drinking water, their health effects and whether they ultimately should be regulated.

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A county effort to preserve a nearly 10-acre parcel of vacant land on the south side of Peconic Bay Boulevard in South Jamesport has run into resistance at Riverhead Town Hall.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the property, part woodland and part fallow farm field, is located between a residential subdivision and the town boat ramp.

Suffolk County Legislator Greg Doroski met with the Town Board at its work session Thursday to discuss preservation of the site as open space. Doroski said the county wanted the town to partner in the acquisition by agreeing to maintain the site for passive recreation use.

That got pushback from board members, who said they’d prefer to see a development rights purchase rather than outright acquisition, so the property could be farmed. Some members objected to its conversion to county parkland, expressing concern that the use could be disruptive in a quiet residential area. Others voiced concerns about the cost of establishing and maintaining amenities like the walking trail and gravel parking area suggested by Doroski.

An appraisal of the property has been completed, Doroski said. If it moves forward, the county would make an offer to the property owner, which, if accepted, would then require approval by the full Legislature.

But the deal would stall without the town’s participation, he told Riverhead officials.

The Suffolk County Legislative committee was scheduled to discuss preservation of the site during its executive session yesterday. However, the discussion was postponed.

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The Regional Tick-Borne Disease Resource Center at Stony Brook / Southampton Hospital will hold a discussion on all the latest information about tick-borne diseases tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. in the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Free Library.

Registration required.

Medical Entomologist Dr. Scott Campbell, Chief of the Arthropod-Borne Disease Lab at Suffolk County’s Department of Health Services, and a member of the Scientific Advisory Panel of the Regional Tick-Borne Disease Resource Center at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, will discuss the medically important tick species on Long Island, their biology, habitat, the pathogens they transmit, and the best strategies to prevent tick bites in adults and children.

Tomorrow’s program is sponsored jointly by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital, and the Tick Resource Center at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital.

All attendees will receive a free tick removal kit and a tick disease handbook.

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A portion of the brand-new dune at Ditch Plains in Montauk took the brunt of the winter, eroding by about a dozen feet, but East Hampton Town officials have a plan to fill in the damaged gaps with fresh sand. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that one stretch of the new dune, located due west of Ditch Plains’ western parking lot, got the most battered over the course of the winter, and that is where town officials are planning to jump in and give the wall of sand a facelift.

There the face of the dune, which would otherwise be lined with freshly planted beachgrass, has been fully peeled off, and the sand itself has receded. Elsewhere, the beachgrass remains, and the dune, in all other stretches, has successfully weathered its first winter.

Where town officials expected to see the erosion was in the center portion of the beach at Ditch Plains, which is where the brunt of erosion has been felt in the past, like with the storms that battered the area in the winter of 2024. But the erosion instead was felt west of there, between the parking lot and the bluffs. Drone photos suggest the sand was peeled back about 10 or so feet.

This restoration project has its roots in that brutal string of storms a few years back, when the storm surge breached the dune and pushed up beyond the houses that line the coast. The impacts were uncovered not long after, as it became known that the storms dwindled the beach and the dunes to the point of near nonexistence — or down to the hardpan, a beneath-the-sand layer of clay.

Montauk has been front of mind for the East Hampton Town Board, as the severe weather events continue to roll through the area, sweeping away sand and highlighting the need for long-term planning. Among these initiatives was the approval of a 30-year agreement, part of the Fire Island to Montauk Point, or FIMP, project, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and New York State government that put East Hampton Town officials on the hook for around $27.6 million, or 15 percent of the total cost, over that span of time.

But for the immediate future, as FIMP measures continue to inch forward, Ditch Plains will be the main beneficiary of the town-led stopgaps against erosion.

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Over the past year, lawmakers across New York State have proposed protest buffer zones around houses of worship in response to vitriolic protests.

Both New York City and Nassau County passed laws meant to protect worshippers from harassment near religious institutions. Suffolk County officials, state legislators and a Long Island congressman are pushing their own versions.

Steve Hughes reports in NEWSDAY that proponents, including Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, argue that buffer zones balance the need to protect people from harassment while also allowing protesters to exercise free speech. They point to a jump in hate crimes across the state, including a sharp increase in reported cases of antisemitism.

But civil liberties groups and other critics argue that buffer zones infringe on freedom of speech and break with established legal precedent. On Friday, a group of labor unions, including 1199 SEIU and the New York State Nurses Association, sent a letter to state leaders voicing their opposition.

The unions argue that the measures are so broad they would effectively criminalize picketing activities outside certain buildings and subject unionized employees to potential felony charges if they come too close.

State Sen. Sam Sutton, D-Brooklyn, who is sponsoring a buffer zone bill in the State Legislature, said during a March rally that he believes the state could balance the right to protest and the right to pray. He said he does not see them as competing values.

"We will protect our communities, we will defend our civil liberties, and we will uphold the values that make this state strong," Sutton said.

But Justin Harrison, senior policy counsel with ACLU of New York, said the proposed state law is far too broad since it would apply to everyone, including protests that a church or clinic might support. The proposal makes no difference between places that might want a buffer zone and those that don’t, he said.

"You’re capturing a lot of constitutionally protected protest," he said. "These laws are going to be used to single out people wi...