Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York has announced legislation asking the state to examine the possibility of a public takeover of infrastructure currently owned by New York American Water in Nassau County.  

Cuomo’s bill requires the state Public Service Commission to conduct a study on the matter by next April.

In addition, the bill calls for additional penalties against utilities with poor records during emergency responses in an effort to hold them accountable.

State Sen. Jim Gaughran says he believes the governor’s plan is what’s needed. “I think it’s the beginning of the end for New York American Water in terms of continuing as a private entity providing service for people in Nassau County.”

COVID‑19 Spread Via Wastewater Could Affect Marine Mammals, Says Study

Certain species of whales, seals and other endangered marine mammals could fall victim to COVID-19 infection through wastewater that seeps into their marine habitats, researchers at Dalhousie say in a new study that has found some of the animals to be highly susceptible to the virus.

In a study published in Science of the Total Environment, the team describes how it used genomic mapping to determine which marine mammals would be vulnerable to COVID-19. They looked at key amino acids that the virus binds to and found that there were striking similarities between those in humans and in several marine mammals, including dolphins, beluga whales, seals and sea otters.

Contractor, 80, Injured in WWTP Fall

An 80-year-old contractor was seriously injured after falling about 30 feet into a wastewater treatment reservoir in College Station, Texas.

First responders treated and stabilized him before extricating him from the reservoir and flying him to a nearby hospital.