S.W.I.M. Coalition

Letter from BMP Task Force

Dear stakeholder:
We are sending this reminder to ask you to take a moment and fill out the registry form on our website at the following address:  http://www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/html/plan/water_quality-bmp-task-force.shtml.  In order for us to consider the information in our stormwater plan that is due on October 1, we ask that you enter the information by August 8, 2008.

As we explained in our initial email of July 3rd, we are collecting as much information as we can about all the stormwater source controls or best management practices (BMPs) that have already been installed in New York City.  This information will help us determine which types of BMPs are the most widespread, BMP performance and dependability, the costs of installation and operation, and other factors necessary for our mission of exploring cost-effective source controls.  Just the fact that BMPs have already been installed in New York City will encourage others to rely on these technologies, and make informed choices about the ones that will meet site-specific needs.

To ensure that we reach the widest possible audience, we would appreciate your passing this registry information and request on to other interested parties.

Thank you.
Regards, the Interagency BMP Task Force

On July 18, 2008, the Bronx River Alliance placed more than 350 stormdrain markers (left) in Bronx River sewersheds, HP-007, HP-004, HP-009 and HP-008. Support, in the form of funding and ten energetic volunteers, for this project was provided by Goldman Sachs. Thank you to all of the staff from both the Alliance and Goldman Sachs who braved the extreme heat in the name of stormwater education! The Alliance aims to have a total of 500 markers placed by the end of August.

At the request of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, the New York Chapter of the US Green Building Council will form a NYC Green Codes Task Force to recommend changes to “green” the laws and regulations that govern construction in New York City. The task force will create a report to be delivered to the Mayor and the Speaker by the end of the year.

The Green Codes Task Force will consist of a Steering Committee and an Industry Advisory Committee that will offer oversight and eight Technical Committees that will generate recommendations based on the field-specific expertise of their members. While the task force will primarily be made up of an directed by leading building industry professionals from the private sector, certain key agencies be represented on the appropriate Technical Committees.

Please see below for list of invitees and the task force schedule.

gctf-contact-list.pdf   gctf-schedule.pdf

2008_07_23_flyer1.pdf

EPA’s Watershed Academy sponsors free monthly webcasts for watershed practitioners from around the globe. On Wednesday, July 23, 2008, Clark Wilson, Senior Urban Designer for Smart Growth Program with the Environmental Protection Agency and Ellen Greenberg, Visiting Practitioner, University of California Davis, will discuss how  communities can more effectively manage rainwater and snow melt where it falls. Green streets can make great places, preserve water quality, and restore our nation’s waterways. These and other practices are helping many urban communities like Portland and Seattle address stormwater runoff as well as provide great aesthetic benefits. In addition, green streets and other environmentally-friendly landscape designs can help minimize urban heat island effect, reduce a community’s carbon footprint, and cool the planet. Join us for this Webcast to learn how your community can incorporate more green designs into long-term urban and transportation planning. To register, visit http://clu-in.org/live/ – click on the July 23 Webcast link. Archived audio versions of past webcasts are also available at www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts

epa-green-infrastructure-newsletter.pdf

OR

Click here

     In May, the City launched the Interagency Best Management Practices (BMP) Task Force to pursue implementation of stormwater management strategies through all 16 relevant agencies, including the Departments of Transportation, Parks & Recreation, Buildings, and City Planning. To codify these efforts, the Administration worked with the City Council on a stormwater management planning bill, Local Law 5 (LL5), which Mayor Bloomberg signed into law on February 19. LL5 requires the City to conduct a thorough study of stormwater BMPs, determine the estimated costs and benefits of each practice, and provide a draft stormwater management plan by October 1, 2008 for public comment. The Interagency BMP Task Force is charged with implementation of this law. This year, the Task Force will pilot three of the most promising BMPs followed by a series of additional pilots across New York and measure the results. After 18 months, the Task Force will announce a plan to integrate the most successful BMPs on a larger scale. The recommendations of this plan will not only reduce CSO volumes, they will also help cool the city and reduce construction and demolition waste creation by City agencies. The Task Force has held three public outreach meetings so far and continues to meet with other local, State, and Federal stakeholders.

Your suggestions and input are a valuable contribution to this planning process. In order to facilitate your participation, the BMP Task Force has launched The BMP Registry and The NYC BMP Stakeholder Wiki.  Access these new stakeholder materials below or on the SWIM resources page.

The BMP Registry
The BMP Registry is an inventory of innovative stormwater management tools, or Best Management Practices (BMPs), in New York City.  The information gathered will be used to help meet the water quality goals set forth in PlaNYC 2030.  The information that you provide us will be collected in a database.  The more information that we can collect, the better informed we will be about BMPs that already exist in New York City.

The NYC BMP Stakeholder Wiki
This site is a forum for you to play an active role in ensuring that the ideas from the Outreach Meetings are captured accurately and to offer additional thoughts and observations as you think of them. The Wiki also provides notes from public outreach meetings and allows you to sign up to receive mailings on important BMP milestones.