A new management and conservation plan for Long Island Sound identifies six problem areas that should be addressed by governmental agencies and environmental and university groups.

The plan, created by the Long Island Sound Study, calls for more attention to addressing hypoxia - low dissolved oxygen - as well as toxic and pathogen contamination, floatable debris, diminished water quality, habitat degradation and loss, and land use and development issues. Now in draft form, the plan will be available during a meeting from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. today in the Adanti Student Center at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven for public comment.

The study, sponsored by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the states of Connecticut and New York, comes from a partnership of federal, state and local agencies along with universities, businesses and environmental and community groups working to restore and protect the Sound.

Today's meeting will open with remarks by Mark Tedesco, director of EPA's Long Island Sound office, and a presentation titled "Hurricanes and Sea Level Rise" by James Tait, associate professor of science education and environmental studies at Southern. Public meetings also are taking place in New York, and there was a presentation to municipal officials earlier this month.

Comments by email are being accepted until Nov. 8 at

contact@watervisionllc.com. Oral and written comments will be incorporated into the draft, and a final version will be released next year.

The plan, last completed in 1994, is a "blueprint to restore and protect" the Sound, according to a news release from the EPA. Along with identifying the main problems, the plan also makes recommendations and names specific agencies that have committed to taking action. It sets 20 targets to be achieved by 2035, including reducing beach closures due to sewage, improving water clarity, reducing areas of hypoxia, increasing shellfish harvests and reducing marine debris. It also summarizes major progress in the last 20 years.

Rob Klee, commissioner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said the public has an important opportunity to contribute to the "collective vision and shared action agenda" in the plan that will set the course for the future of the Sound.

"This draft plan recognizes Long Island Sound as a vital recreational, ecological and economic resource for the citizens of our state and region - and proposes measures to protect water quality, public access and the safeguarding of natural resources and habitats," he said.

j.benson@theday.comTwitter: @BensonJudy

LIS MANAGEMENT PLAN

The draft Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for Long Island Sound can be found at http://longislandsoundstudy.net/about/our-mission/management-plan