Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced Tuesday that the county has requested $50 million in state money to provide grants for the replacement of cesspool and septic systems with advanced wastewater treatment systems.

Long Island waters suffer from nitrogen pollution. An excess of nitrogen, which is released from traditional waste treatment systems, causes too much algae to grow, decreasing oxygen levels, harming the quality of the water, and killing off fish. Toxic algal blooms, which make humans sick, also grow.

It is estimated that more than two out of three cesspools and septic systems in the region are too old to function properly, and many require two or more pump-outs per year. 

The $50 million would come from the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s water quality improvement project, and will advance the recommendations in Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan initiative. It would be used to fund the county’s previously announced septic improvement program, which provides grants to homeowners installing advanced wastewater treatment systems. The money will be divided equally among the 10 towns in Suffolk County and could pay for the replacement of up to 5,000 systems.

The estimated cost of the recommended treatment systems is between $15,000 and $20,000. County residents with incomes below $300,000 are eligible to receive up to $11,000 for design and installation of new systems at year-round residences, while those with incomes up to $500,000 are eligible for grants of half that much. Under the county program, homeowners could finance the remainder of the cost of a new wastewater system with a 15-year, low-interest loan.

In East Hampton, town officials will hold a hearing tonight on a town septic replacement rebate program, which is expected to be implemented immediately. As proposed, it would provide grants for the full cost of alternative, advanced systems — up to $16,000 — to eligible property owners in water protection priority areas and those in certain income brackets, and up to $10,000, or 75 percent of the cost, for other town property owners.

Should Mr. Bellone succeed in obtaining the state funding, that money would bolster the money available to the town through the portion of the community preservation fund available for water quality improvement projects.

It would be a “significant supplement,” Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said Tuesday, “with all kinds of benefit to us.” Dedicating the state money to the rebate program would allow the town to advance other water quality improvement projects, or make additional land purchases, using the preservation fund money, he said.

After tonight’s hearing on the septic rebate program, Mr. Cantwell said, “we should be ready to hit the ground running.” 

The Surf Lodge is headed toward legalizing almost all the structures on its property after the East Hampton Zoning Board of Appeals indicated Tuesday night that it would unanimously approve a series of variance requests from the owners, Jayma Cardoso and Michael Walrath, in agreement with the town attorney’s office.

The three exceptions that the Surf Lodge management will have to toss overboard if they are to get a final certificate of occupancy are a flagpole, a movie screen, and a fire pit, all located in a beach lounge area on the northeast part of the property.

“This is an extremely nonconforming property,” David Lys, a member of the board, said as it reached its tentative decision. Decisions by the board are not official until they are written up by the board’s attorney, Beth Baldwin, and each member signs off on them.

The town had reached an agreement with the owners last year after years of legal strife. In 2014, the establishment paid a $100,000 fine, believed to be the biggest in town history. It was around that time that Mr. Walrath, a venture capitalist, became a major partner in the restaurant, motel, and club.

The slightly more than one-acre property, which is off Edgemere Street, is surrounded on three sides by water, meaning many structures on the property need setback variances from Fort Pond. The owners have agreed to install an entirely new septic system. The board agreed to all variances required under a written agreement between the owners and the town. However, the fire pit, the movie screen, and the flagpole are not contained in that agreement, and were rejected.

Once the zoning board finalizes the variances before it, the planning board will schedule a public hearing on the site plan, the next step toward finalizing the agreement and settling the outstanding issues.

“I think it was great that the town and the owners were able to come to an agreement,” John Whelan, the board’s chairman, said.

As happy as Mr. Walrath and Ms. Cardoso may be over the result, the same cannot be said of four owners of units at the Montauk Shores Condominium complex at Ditch Plain, which the board debated on July 25. The owners were seeking variances from the Federal Emergency Management Agency rules governing flood zones.

The most in need of relief was a unit belonging to Eric Cole. The board had granted variances several years ago, seeming to okay Mr. Cole’s plan to build a 765-square-foot mobile home. It was later learned that the structure needs to be elevated an additional five feet above grade to comply with FEMA regulations. Roy Dalene told his fellow board members that this was something that the builder should have been aware of. The board worried that granting variances from FEMA regulations for this project could have a ripple effect, raising flood insurance rates across the town. 

Applications from the owners of three other units — James and Susan Wandzilak, Jim and Kim Welch, and Anthony and Janice Paratore — met similar fates. The decision will not be final until the board signs off on a determination crafted by its attorney. 

East Hampton Town Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc will sponsor a resolution expressing opposition to the expansion of offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean proposed by President Donald Trump.

The president’s America-First Offshore Energy Strategy would reverse President Barack Obama’s action barring energy exploration in Atlantic ocean canyons from Massachusetts to Virginia, as well as in the Arctic.

Trump’s move to expand offshore drilling has earned approval from the energy industry, while environmental groups have voiced opposition and concern. A 45-day comment period on the federal plan ends Aug. 15.

“This ban being lifted and opening up the Atlantic to drilling is of great concern to me,” Councilman Van Scoyoc said at a town board meeting on Tuesday. “An oil spill off our coast could be devastating. It could affect our tourism, our recreation, and our fishing in very negative ways.”

The town board, Mr. Van Scoyoc said, should “take a strong stance” against the new offshore drilling.

The United States House of Representatives last week passed the Plum Island Preservation Act, which would prevent the federal government from selling the island to the highest bidder.

Representative Lee Zeldin, whose district extends to the North and South Forks, including Plum Island, reintroduced the bill in April, following its passage in the House in May 2016. The Senate did not act after its 2016 passage, necessitating its reintroduction. It must pass in the Senate and be signed into law by the president in order to take effect. If it becomes law, it will suspend laws passed in 2008 and 2011 that mandated the island’s public sale.

The federal government has owned Plum Island since 1899. It has been used as a research laboratory since World War II, and a variety of infectious animal-borne diseases have been studied there since 1954.

The Department of Homeland Security announced in 2005 that the Animal Disease Center’s activities would be moved to the new Bio-and-Agro Defense Facility in Kansas. The cost of relocating the activities to Kansas was to be offset by the sale of the island. Elected officials including Mr. Zeldin’s predecessor, Tim Bishop, opposed that plan.

The act passed last week seeks to commission the Government Accountability Office, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, to develop a comprehensive plan for the future of the 840-acre island. The legislation requires that the plan focus on conservation, education, and research and include alternative uses for the island including a transfer of ownership to another federal agency, the state or local government, a nonprofit organization, or a combination thereof.

The bill received unanimous support from the Long Island and Connecticut House delegations and from a coalition of environmental groups.

In a statement issued on July 25, Mr. Zeldin called his opposition to the sale of Plum Island “one of my highest local priorities.” He added, “Preserving this island’s natural beauty, while maintaining a research mission, will continue to provide important economic and environmental benefits to Long Island. It will also ensure that the state-of-the-art research facility at Plum Island does not go to waste.” He said that he would continue to urge New York and Connecticut’s senators to pass the legislation in their chamber. 

The Long Island Rail Road may add midday service on the South and North Forks, and double weekend service to the North Fork during the summer, with the goals of providing more travel options and reducing traffic congestion.

L.I.R.R. officials and a coalition of elected officials and community groups have been discussing enhanced train service on both forks. With regard to the South Fork, discussions have focused on additional intra-Island travel east of Speonk. Proposed service enhancements would provide new morning and evening trains for commuting between Speonk and Montauk, as well as additional midday travel.

Representatives of the North Fork expressed support for additional morning and midday service. A revised weekday schedule would increase service to four round trips between Greenport and Ronkonkoma and allow for a midday arrival in New York City, as requested by North Fork residents. Additional Ron­kon­koma-to-Greenport round trips were also proposed for summer weekends.

Changes to the Greenport weekday schedule could go into effect as early as November, with additional summer service to begin next year, according to Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., who has facilitated the discussions. Additional service on the South Fork is a longer-range plan, with the identification of infrastructure needs for rail service being a prerequisite. Discussions are ongoing, and formal planning could begin in 2019.

“Our journey to provide more trains and commuter service for our local residents has taken a major step forward,” Mr. Thiele said in a statement issued on Monday. “We challenged the L.I.R.R. to provide additional service opportunities to be more responsive to local residents and businesses and they delivered.”

“Improving rail service to the South Fork is one of the only opportunities to decrease the growing vehicle traffic crisis in this region,” East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said in a statement. “I am encouraged by the unified efforts of the Towns of East Hampton and Southampton, L.I.R.R., and Assemblyman Thiele and Senator [Kenneth] LaValle to bring improved train shuttle services to the South Fork.”

Prior to implementation of enhanced service, L.I.R.R. staff will advise the Metropolitan Transit Authority board of the anticipated changes. At that point, a timeline for service implementation would be developed while the railroad reorganizes crew and equipment allocations.

The Town of East Hampton is holding an online auction to sell surplus property. Bids can be submitted until Sunday on the auction site aarauctions.com, with payment due by 1 p.m. on Tuesday. Items must be picked up by next Thursday.

Among the items for sale are a 2013 Kawasaki Jet Ski, cars and trucks, trailers, mowers, and lights. They can be seen on the auction site, and an in-person preview of them can be arranged by calling Lisa Valcich at the town purchasing office.

Stony Brook University has received a nearly $170,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to support marine science and fisheries research. The money will be used to improve management of protected species of fish and marine mammals within what is called the Northeast United States Large Marine Ecosystem.

The grant will support the use of state-of-the-art climate models to develop tools to assist the commercial fishing industry in reducing bycatch of marine mammals and fish in long-line and midwater trawl fisheries, according to a statement by Lesley Thorne, a Stony Brook University assistant professor. This, Dr. Thorne said, will increase the efficiency and profitability of marine harvests.

Representative Lee Zeldin, who serves New York’s First Congressional District, announced the grant on Friday. “Stony Brook University is a world leader in groundbreaking scientific research,” he said in a statement, “and I am pleased to announce that this funding has been awarded to support their amazing work.” The grant, he said, “will be used to improve decision making pertaining to the management of fish and aquatic wildlife. Fishing is incredibly important to our life, culture, and economy here on Long Island, and as part of this community we must do all we can to support this historic tradition.

A recreational vehicle parked at the Solé East resort on Second House Road in Montauk last weekend drew the attention of town officials, who observed a waste pipe running from the vehicle to a storm drain. They said the pipe had been emptying sewage directly into the drain.

Kelly Kampf, assistant director of the town’s Division of Public Safety, said yesterday that she had notified the State Department of Environmental Conservation, which sent an officer to the site. There was no one occupying the R.V., but Ms. Kampf was told at the resort that it belonged to Tom Feeley, an owner of the hotel who was among the group that purchased and renovated it just over a decade ago. The vehicle is registered to Jane Feeley of Sunny Island Beach, Fla., Ms. Kampf said.

In the Feeleys’ absence, summonses for illegal discharge were issued to Solé East. Additional charges from the D.E.C. were expected, though not immediately made public.

Mr. Feeley could not be reached, but David Ceva, another partner in Solé East, said yesterday that the situation “was a complete honest mistake.” After emptying the R.V. waste tank at a designated station at Hither Hills, he said, Mr. Feeley parked it on site during his stay at the hotel.

The pipe coming from the R.V. was connected to a shower drain, Mr. Ceva said. It was meant to be emptied into the hotel’s drainage system, he said, but was mistakenly put into the public storm drain. After town officials arrived, a hotel manager was asked to go into the R.V. and shut down the pipe, but pulled the wrong lever, Mr. Ceva said, releasing a small amount of septic waste.

“We were trying to cooperate,” said Mr. Ceva, who expressed dismay at the situation. “We respect the neighborhood; we respect the environment. There was a mistake.”

Fred Havemeyer’s name was stricken last week from the September primary ballot in Southampton Town after two Suffolk County Board of Elections commissioners denied petitions that would have allowed him to challenge Supervisor Jay Schneiderman for the Democratic Party line.

The town’s Democratic Committee, which is supporting Mr. Schneiderman, a member of the Independence Party, for re-election, had challenged 671 signatures of the 699 submitted by Mr. Havemeyer.

Gordon Herr, the party chairman, said this week by email that he “had a team of people who worked tirelessly in reviewing every single line of every single sheet of Fred Havemeyer’s petitions.” They found “major irregularities with the petitions,” he said.

The Democratic and Republican commissioners agreed and invalidated nearly 400 of them, Mr. Havemeyer said, leaving him 163 shy of the 500 required.

“For someone who wants to be town supervisor, he did not perform well in the very basic process and procedures of petitioning,” Mr. Herr said. After the Democratic committee challenged the petitions, Mr. Havemeyer hired Vincent J. Messina Jr., an elections-law specialist with Sinnreich Kosakoff & Messina L.L.P., to represent him.

On Tuesday, Mr. Havemeyer, a Bridgehampton resident who served as a Southampton Town trustee for 12 years, said his supporters were filing a Freedom of Information request with the county regarding the decision and supporting documentation. “At this point,” he said, “everything is up in the air.”

In an official statement, he said he would continue his campaign to make the environment “a major objective of government in Southampton” even though his name will not be on the ballot. He has been an opponent of The Hills at Southampton, a planned development district that proposes a residential development and golf course on 600 acres in East Quogue. Mr. Havemeyer had been asked to run against Mr. Schneiderman by the Long Island Environmental Voters Forum, a group opposed to The Hills.

“I remain hopeful that the other members of the Southampton Town Board will disapprove The Hills in the wake of their having repealed planned development districts as 'let's-make-a-deal zoning,’ ” he said. The town board repealed the P.D.D. law last month, making The Hills the last such application to be allowed before it.  Mr. Herr and the Democratic committee are now focusing on the Nov. 7 general election, hoping to retain a majority on the town board.

The Long Island Power Authority has declined a proposal from Deepwater Wind, the Rhode Island company that plans to construct a 15-turbine wind farm some 30 miles off the Montauk shore, to significantly expand that installation.

Newsday, quoting an unnamed senior official, reported last week that LIPA had declined the proposal as part of a review of more than a dozen “green” energy projects, on the grounds that it has sufficient sources of emission-free energy to meet state mandates. The agency will, however, consider future offshore wind projects, the official said. A LIPA official had not returned a call from The Star as of noon yesterday.

Deepwater Wind’s South Fork Wind Farm, from which LIPA has agreed to purchase electricity, is a 90-megawatt project that could be online late in 2022, provided all federal, state, and local regulatory agencies approve. The rejected proposal was for a 35-turbine, 210-megawatt installation.

“Offshore wind will play a major role in meeting Governor Cuomo’s ambitious clean energy goals because it’s the most cost-effective option for supplying new power to densely populated areas like Long Island and New York City,” Jeff Grybowski, Deepwater Wind’s chief executive, said in a statement. “The South Fork Wind Farm will be the state’s first offshore wind farm, and we’re working hard to bring that project online and deliver affordable, renewable energy to the South Fork. While we are disappointed that additional wind power from our site was not selected . . . we’re confident that our future projects will help New York reach its 2,400-megawatt offshore wind target. We applaud LIPA for being a forward-thinking utility and playing such an important part in growing this new American industry.”

The South Fork Wind Farm has drawn ample criticism from the Town of East Hampton’s commercial fishing industry, whose members worry that its installation will destroy essential habitat and disrupt their work. At the town trustees’ meeting on Monday, Rick Drew, who heads the trustees’ harbor management committee, noted that the addition declined by LIPA would have been sited in the same waters as the South Fork Wind Farm, which includes the fish-rich Cox’s Ledge.

Mr. Drew also said that Deepwater Wind’s exploration of an alternative southern route for the South Fork Wind Farm’s transmission cable, a route that would bypass Gardiner’s Bay, was “a positive for our inshore commercial and recreational fisheries.”

The harbor management committee will meet again on Aug. 16, with Deepwater Wind officials attending.