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Spotlight On... New York NEMO Sea Grant
The New York Sea Grant NEMO Program (NYSG NEMO) is based on Long Island, where vast aquatic resources fringe the nearly 1000 miles of Long Island coastline. Long Island Sound, the South Shore Estuary Reserve and the Peconic Estuary sustain economic, recreational, cultural and environmental resources that are integral to the quality of life for Long Islanders. However vast these resources are, the threats to them are equally great. Spreading east from New York City with a population topping 2.8 million, land use regulations on the island are carried out by over 100 independent cities, towns and villages. After decades of rapid growth, Long Islanders now face impaired surface water quality, restricted or closed bathing beaches, closed shellfish beds, reduced navigability, declining shoreline aesthetics and degraded wetlands and wildlife habitats. Not surprisingly, nonpoint source pollution has been identified as a primary cause. Initiated in May 2000, NYSG NEMO started in support of two intermunicipal watershed management programs to reduce the impacts of runoff on Hempstead Harbor and Manhasset Bay. Using presentations and fact sheets adapted from CT NEMO materials, NYSG NEMO illustrated the regional context of local land use decisions. A three-tiered strategy of watershed-based planning, site design and BMPs were recommended, and several villages responded by making changes to village laws and pollution prevention practices. In 2001 when EPA Phase II stormwater regulations came on the scene, the Hempstead Harbor and Manhasset Bay Protection Committees’ municipal officials recognized NYSG NEMO’s ability to synthesize Phase II implementation with existing resource protection initiatives, and in 2001 they requested NYSG NEMO’s help again. Comprehensive in scope and applying to nearly all localities on the Island, these new regulations dovetailed nicely with existing NEMO themes. Perhaps most importantly, the New York Phase II program, like the federal program from which it originates, encourages watershed-based intermunicipal implementation. Spinning off from these experiences, NYSG NEMO began to work with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation to assist in the development and dissemination of State-specific municipal Phase II guidance information. NYSG NEMO has also spoken at conferences, seminars and workshops at the state and local level and has provided Phase II presentations to the Suffolk County Planning Commission, the Nassau and Suffolk County Legislatures and the Long Island Regional Planning Board. NYSG NEMO was also a primary sponsor of the 2002 Long Island stormwater conference, which was endorsed by both county executives and attended by over 130 officials. In addition to the overlap between the “classic NEMO” message and the EPA Phase II regulations, NYSG NEMO identified similar cross-initiative overlaps with the three estuary programs on Long Island. NYSG NEMO now advances a proactive watershed-based management strategy that leverages the objectives of a flexible Phase II program alongside the objectives of the Estuary programs in order to better respond to local concerns about funding, staffing, expertise and generating practical results. Specifically, NYSG NEMO demonstrated that watershed-based intermunicipal delivery of Phase II activities could extend Phase II budgets, promote consistent intermunicipal approaches to land use planning and maximize resource protection. NYSG NEMO is now progressing with Phase II implementation support. They have developed a focus topic presentation entitled, “Protecting Water Resources: Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping for Municipal Employees,” which was delivered to nearly 100 municipal staff and officials from throughout Nassau County in November 2004. The session included information on road and storm sewer system maintenance, illicit discharge detection, landscaping practices, transportation, yard pollution prevention and hazardous materials control. NYSG NEMO recommendations emphasize regional operations, consistent practices, clear standards, joint service contracts, cooperative acquisition and use of equipment and effectiveness evaluation. All the while, they continue to stress how land use activities affect water quality, and that the best management practice really is a deliberate and comprehensive planning program. |
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