S.W.I.M. Coalition

Below, please find an announcement of a hearing to be held by the New York City Council’s Environmental Protection Committee on two bills relating to wetlands protection. We would appreciate your testimony on the bills, which are attached to this email. Invitations are forthcoming by mail as well – this announcement is intended to help with schedule planning. Thank you for your input.

Thursday, January 22^nd, 2009 in Chambers at 1 p.m.

The topics are:

Proposed Int. No. 506-A: By Council Members Gennaro, Addabbo Jr., Brewer, Fidler, Gentile, Gonzalez, James, Koppell, Liu, McMahon, Nelson, Sanders Jr., Weprin, Gerson and White, Jr.

Title: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the creation of a comprehensive wetlands protection policy for New York City.

Preconsidered Int. No. By Council Member Vann

Title: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to coordination between the department of buildings and other governmental agencies when development is proposed for the city’s coastal zone

Contact: Enesta Jones, (202) 564-4355/7873/ jones.enesta@epa.gov

(Washington, D.C. – Jan. 15, 2009) The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and the U.S. Botanic Garden produced an on-line video , “Reduce
Runoff: Slow It Down, Spread It Out, Soak It In,” that highlights green
techniques such as rain gardens, green roofs and rain barrels to help
manage stormwater runoff.

The film showcases green techniques that are being used in urban areas
to reduce the effects of stormwater runoff on the quality of downstream
receiving waters. The goal is to mimic the natural way water moves
through an area before development by using design techniques that
infiltrate, evaporate, and reuse runoff close to its source.

The techniques are innovative stormwater management practices that
manage urban stormwater runoff at its source, and are very effective at
reducing the volume of stormwater runoff and capturing harmful
pollutants. Using vegetated areas that capture runoff also improves air
quality, mitigates the effects of urban heat islands and reduces a
community’s overall carbon footprint.

The video highlights green techniques on display in 2008 at the U.S.
Botanic Garden’s “One Planet – Ours!” Exhibit” and at the U.S. EPA in
Washington, D.C., including recently completed cisterns.

To watch the video: http://www.epa.gov/nps/lid
More information on stormwater management:
http://www.epa.gov/greeninfrastructure

The sixth initiative under PlaNYC’s Water Quality goal calls for an Interagency Best Management Practices (BMP) Task Force to coordinate stormwater planning issues. Formed in May 2007, the Task Force brings together all relevant City agencies to analyze ways to incorporate source control stormwater management techniques, known as BMPs, into the design and construction of both public and private projects to reduce pollution from untreated discharges and combined sewer overflows.

The Sustainable Stormwater Management Plan is the culmination of the Task Force’s efforts and the result of Local Law 5, legislation that SWIM initiated with Councilman Gennaro and other City Council members.

Click here to view the plan.

Three new installments in the Green Infrastructure Municipal Handbook series have been released:

Retrofit Policies
Green Streets
Rainwater Harvesting Policies

Click here to view the handbook. (URL: http://cfpub2.epa.gov/npdes/greeninfrastructure/munichandbook.cfm)