Town gets $50,000 LIPA grant

By Deborah S. Morris
deborah.morris@newsday.com

The town of Huntington received a $50,000 grant from the Long Island Power Authority for research of Long Island Sound.

The grant is being provided in conjunction with the $100 million Northport-to-Norwalk cable project sponsored by LIPA and Connecticut Light and Power. The project will replace the electric transmission cable system that links Northport with Norwalk, Connecticut.

Huntington Town Supervisor Frank Petrone said the funds will be used to continue the town’s efforts in complying with the Environmental Protection Agency. In 2002, an EPA directive required operators of small, separate municipal storm sewer systems to develop practices to control polluted storm water runoff. This involves sampling runoff from major outfall pipes to determine which are the most significant contributors of coli form.

“Since high coli form counts can result in closures of public beaches and restrictions on shell fishing, it can have very negative social and economic impacts in an area like Huntington,” Petrone said. “This study will complement our ongoing efforts to improve water quality in Huntington Harbor while providing valuable information.”

Work on the cable project began earlier this month when seven fluid-insulated lines were taken out of service. The removal of those cables is scheduled to begin next month. Those cables will be replaced with three state-of-the-art solid core cables that can transmit 300 megawatts of electricity between Long Island and Connecticut.

Installation and testing of the new cables is expected to be completed by the end of 2008. The new cables will help strengthen the reliability of the electric grid on both sides of the sound, according to LIPA.