Nassau County Legislature's Presiding Officer Diane Yatauro (D-Glen Cove) is pleased to announce that at their Aug. 18 legislative meeting, her colleagues in elected government unaninmously approved an inter-municipal agreement that will bring an end to three decades of pollution and foul odors in "The Birches" neighborhood of Locust Valley.

Presiding Officer Yatauro said, "I hope the agreement between Nassau County and the Town of Oyster Bay solidifies a burgeoning partnership that is based on tow critical priorities: the well-being of our residents and the safe guarding of our environment. I appreciate the comment from a Town of Oyster Bay spokeswoman that I was the driving force in resolving this issue; however the residents of this community, who have lived with this inconvenience for more than 30 years, who provided the real impetus in the resolution of this long-standing problem."

The project includes taking an antiquated pocket sewage tretment plant offline and transferring the sewage from The Birches to the state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant in Glen Cove that was recently acquired by the County as part of its consolidation plan. Nassau County Public Works will construct the sewage infrastructure; the Town of Oyster Bay will do all the roadwork. Once this project is completed, the water quality of Mill Neck Creek will improve and the residents of The Birches can enjoy outdoor activities once again.

"An exciting aspect of this agreement is the possibility that some of the commercial shell fishers could once again harvest oysters from this area. Now that this stressful issue has been resolved, this neighborhood can get back to the basics of what makes for a great community," said Presiding Officer Yatauro.