‘Save, Don’t Sell’ Plum Island bill introduced
Congressman Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) will hold a press conference on the beach in Orient on Tuesday, July 16, to announce the introduction of “Save, Don’t Sell” Plum Island legislation seeking to overturn the 2008 bill mandating the sale of the 840-acre island to help finance a new $1 billion animal disease research center in Manhattan, Kansas.
Mr. Bishop is to be joined by representatives of several environmental groups, including the Group for the East End, the Nature Conservancy and the Citizens Campaign for the Environment.
Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut is working on a companion Senate bill, said Oliver Longwell, Mr. Bishop’s spokesman.
An environmental impact statement completed by the federal General Services Administration recently supported the construction of up to 500 dwellings on the island, which in addition to animal disease center is home to an abandoned World War I military installation.
The Town of Southold is working on new zoning for the island that would prevent large-scale residential or commercial development.
