Spotlight
On...
Facilitating
Cooperation in a Complex Jurisdictional Environment
New
York’s Long Island is characterized by beautiful beaches,
bays, wetlands and harbors. It has also experienced tremendous
development and population growth over the last 50 years. Contaminated
stormwater on the island has resulted in restricted bathing,
reduced fisheries, poor surface water quality and degraded wetlands
and wildlife habitats. The vast majority of municipalities on
the island are now subject to the U.S. EPA’s Stormwater
Phase II regulations.
New
York Sea Grant (NYSG) started a NEMO program to help Long Island
municipalities address nonpoint source pollution and protect
natural resources. One of the challenges to stormwater management
on Long Island is the many levels of municipal government. Within
the Island’s two counties are 2 cities and 13 towns. In
addition, within the 13 towns, there are 95 incorporated villages.
Hence, NY NEMO’s stormwater management recommendations
emphasize intermunicipal approaches to ensure cost effective,
optimal resource protection. In doing so, the NYSG NEMO
Program, while facilitating municipal Phase II compliance, has
also contributed to increased efforts to leverage expenditures
and to jointly address shared water quality concerns through
co-implemented Phase II stormwater management programs.
For
example, Nassau County, which has a population of 1.3 million
and a population density of 4,665 people per square mile, has
now taken the lead in forming an intermunicipal stormwater coalition
comprised of over 50 villages. The coalition is working
to devise effective, coordinated stormwater management policies
and practices. NYSG NEMO has provided support regarding
model ordinance development, illicit discharge detection and
elimination, municipal pollution prevention and both construction
and post-construction stormwater management.
Municipalities
in Suffolk County are now engaged in intermunicipal management
strategies as well. For example, the Town of Southhampton has
formed a Phase II stormwater management partnership with its
five villages. Additionally, elsewhere in Suffolk, joint runoff
control efforts are underway in the Town of Huntington and in
the Nissequogue River drainage basin.
Such
activities represent important resource protection milestones
on Long Island, in that they entail a new, broader perspective—one
which surpasses local jurisdictional boundaries. Through these
approaches, municipalities are likely to realize more effective
water quality improve- ments than could be achieved otherwise.
Perhaps of equal significance is that these partnerships serve
as models for replication throughout Long Island. NYSG NEMO looks
forward to facilitating that important process.
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