Provide assistance to the interstate environmental commission to implement its project to support the long island sound comprehensive conservation and management plan to protect and restore the long…

Provide assistance to the interstate environmental commission to implement its project to support the long island sound comprehensive conservation and management plan to protect and restore the long island sound. These activities are intended to support the recipients goal to implement its own water quality monitoring enhancement program for hypoxia and pathogen management to educate and inform the public and other interested entities in the health and the protection of long island sound and the environment. Specifically, under this grant agreement the recipient will supports activities to 1) conduct water quality monitoring of summer hypoxic conditions in western long island sound and its embaymentsand 2) continue coordinated weekly and BI-weekly long-term monitoring of a suite of in-situ parameters at a network of 22 historical monitoring stationsand 3) coordinate with the connecticut department of energy and environmental protection and other long island sound study partners involved in monitoring long island soundand 4) implement a pathogen monitoring survey to identify the source(s) of elevated pathogen levels leading to shellfish harvesting area closuresand 5) review prior water quality data from the new york state department of health and pathogen track down studies in and around long island sound to determine the best sampling design and analytical methodsand solicit input from local, state, and federal partnersand and 7) develop and pilot a methodology that can be applied to areas with similar contamination issues throughout the sound. Direct beneficiaries of this program include the general population throughout the long island sound watershed and its surrounding areas, schools, universities and other institutions of learning, environmental managers and policy makers and the participants in the long island sound study.