New Grant from New York State to Address Drinking Water Quality in the Towns of Riverhead, Shelter Island and Southold

Peconic Land Trust and partner organization Peconic Estuary Program will work together with the towns to identify and acquire land or development rights to support watershed protection.

At the end of 2018, the Trust was awarded $3 million to implement Phase II of our Regional Aquifer Protection Land Acquisition Program (RAPLAP)! The State will cover 75 percent of the costs to acquire properties that will benefit our local drinking water resources.

Trust staff will continue to work with the Peconic Estuary Program, the towns, Suffolk County and water supply specialists and geologists to identify appropriate parcels for prioritization.

We thank Governor Cuomo and the New York Regional Economic Development Council for recognizing this important initiative, and we look forward to sharing more news on this program in the coming years.

You may recall the Trust was awarded a grant for Phase I of RAPLAP in December 2017 to work with the Town of Brookhaven.

We are close to announcing the first acquisition … stay tuned!