Who is involved in the Peconic Estuary Program?
The Peconic Estuary Program (PEP) is sponsored by the USEPA , the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), and the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS). The SCDHS, Office of Ecology operates the Program Office and provides the day-to-day management functions and the technical and administrative support to the program. Three additional committees within the Program, the Technical Advisory Committee, the Citizens Advisory Committee, and the Local Government Committee, are comprised of technical experts and federal, state, and local officials, as well as citizens. These stakeholders, collectively known as the PEP Management Conference, completed the final Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP), designed to protect and preserve the Peconic Estuary, in November of 2001. What are the priority issues facing the Estuary? The PEP Management Conference identified five priority management issues facing the estuary: brown tide, nutrient pollu
