By Julia Katz
The Suffolk County Legislature’s Environment, Parks, and Agriculture (EPA) Committee was recently introduced to a technology that could transform how Long Island addresses its water quality challenges, focusing on the use of naturally occurring microbes to reduce pollutants in both wastewater systems and local waterways.
The August 25 presentation was delivered by environmental attorney and biologist Frank Piccininni and Marshall Brown. More than a decade ago, Brown co-founded Save The Great South Bay after recognizing that Suffolk County’s estimated 560,000 cesspools and septic tanks were a serious impediment to the bay.
In their search for solutions, they partnered with Empire Organic, a company using beneficial bacteria to digest sludge. As Brown told the legislators, “Seeing is believing,” recalling a pilot project in Pennsylvania where sludge volumes dropped by 25% in just 45 days, and by 50% after 180 days. Similar applications could replace costly dredging projects on Long Island. For example, at Sands Point Preserve, a pond once buried under muck cleared dramatically within 90 days of treatment, revealing its bottom for the first time in decades.
The key to this new technology is strains of Bacillus, a bacterium commonly found in soil, water, and even the human gut. It has long been known that these microbes break down organic matter. However, it was only three and a half years ago that Empire Organic developed a way to cultivate Bacillus on-site, at a scale that makes the process cost-effective.
“By reintroducing these microbes into our surface waters, we can stabilize oxygen levels, suppress harmful algal blooms, and restore ecological balance,” Piccininni said, emphasizing that the bacteria are nonpathogenic, fully sequenced, and already used in probiotics.
Piccininni cited economic benefits as part of his argument. The traditional dredging of a pond in Southampton was estimated to cost $4 billion, while microbial treatment could cost $370,000. At wastewater facilities in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Florida, the technology has already been successful in reducing total solids by 63%, cutting fats and oils by 95%, and lowering energy costs by 37%.
“It doesn’t require heavy equipment, and it works with nature instead of against it,” Brown said.
The legislators reacted with a mix of enthusiasm and caution. Legislator Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset) praised the proposal, calling it refreshing to see established science applied to a local environmental challenge. Still, she worried about the sheer volume of sludge the technology is designed to digest and raised the possibility of excess bacteria spilling into the ocean.
In response, Piccininni and Brown explained that Bacillus bacteria already belong in aquatic ecosystems. They are self-limiting, they said, and pose no ecological threat. Toxicology screenings even showed no impact on key indicator species.
“This may be excellent for our fish population,” Kennedy remarked after learning that the microbes could actually strengthen ecological balance rather than disrupt it.
Legislator Catherine Stark (R-Riverhead) raised practical questions regarding scale, questioning how the technology could be practical in large bodies of water, such as Lake Ronkonkoma.
Legislator Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) shifted the conversation toward cost, noting that current upgrades to replace cesspools with advanced septic systems typically cost $20,000 to $30,000 per home, a price tag that is difficult to imagine across Suffolk County’s hundreds of thousands of households. Brown and Piccininni countered that their system would be significantly more affordable and could be installed quickly by local plumbers. This could make it a practical alternative to the more disruptive upgrades now on the table.
Skepticism was voiced most strongly by Legislator Nick Caracappa (C-Selden), who questioned the safety of introducing microbes into Suffolk’s aquifer system.
He warned, “There are good forms and bad forms of Bacillus,” using anthrax as an example. “We need clarity on exactly what species you’re using.”
Brown responded that the strains are the same ones found in dietary supplements and fully vetted by the Department of Environmental Conservation but noted that proprietary restrictions limit how much detail can be shared publicly. Legislator Ann Welker (D-Southampton) urged the presenters to focus first on small-scale pilot projects.
“We need scalable, replicable results before expanding into larger ecosystems,” said Welker, suggesting golf course ponds as potential test sites. Piccininni agreed but noted that many Long Island ponds are already impaired under the Clean Water Act and urgently need solutions.
As Chair of the EPA Committee, Legislator Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville) described the proposal as promising, though not a cure-all.
“Obviously, this isn’t the magic bullet, but this is part of a system that we are trying to create here,” Piccirillo told The Messenger. For him, the bigger picture involves wastewater treatment on multiple fronts—retrofitting septic systems, addressing storm drains, and keeping pollution from reaching the bays in the first place. Representing South Shore communities, Piccirillo pointed to recurring beach closures in Sayville and Bayport after rainstorms as an example of why stormwater solutions are urgently needed.
Piccirillo also emphasized the importance of measurable results, asking for before-and-after oxygen data from pilot projects.
“That’s a big problem on Long Island,” he said, referring to low oxygen levels tied to fish kills and algal blooms. At the same time, he raised concerns about Suffolk’s aquifer, questioning how large-scale sewer expansion might impact the county’s already strained freshwater reserves. In his view, microbial treatments could have a “bright” future as an alternative, particularly when weighed against the high costs of sewering and septic replacement.
“Instead of spending millions of dollars on systems that may or may not work, something that is proven and tested and went through the rigors of the DEC, I’d like to see that move forward,” said Piccirillo.
Despite the questions, the overall tone of the meeting was one of cautious optimism. The EPA Committee seemed eager to see more testing and pilot projects. At the same time, Brown and Piccininni remained committed to their belief in their prototype and technology’s ability to deliver measurable improvements at a fraction of current costs.
“Government alone won’t save us,” Piccininni reminded the committee. “We all have to participate, residents, civic groups, and Legislators. But if we work together, I believe we can turn this around in our lifetime.”
