Graziosi may become storm water officer

At the Glen Cove City Council meeting on Dec. 8, the City Council will vote to appoint Rocco Graziosi, the city’s Department of Public Works project manager, as the new storm water officer.

“We need to have a person designated in that position and Lou Saulino thought that Rocco would be good for that position and I don’t see any reason not to designate him,” City of Glen Cove Mayor Tim Tenke said. “He’s the person that will be the contact for the [Department of Environmental Conservation.]”

As the storm water officer, Graziosi will not receive an additional salary, Tenke said.

Graziosi has been managing the storm water down at Garvies Point Road, which was often flooded during extreme weather events until the road was paved earlier this year.

According to Saulino, the director of Public Works, the city decided to advance the construction of Garvies Point Road in 2016. Reconstruction of that road, along with Herb Hill Road, goes back a decade. The project was funded in 2016 by federal aid administered by the New York State Department of Public Transportation and went to competitive bid the same year. 

However, the project was not awarded until 2017 because of legal issues. During that time period, Saulino said, the DEC added protocols regarding excavation and testing, which impacted construction procedures and had a significant financial impact to the city. 

The city was required to implement a comprehensive storm water management program that was needed to include pollution prevention measures, treatment or removal techniques, monitoring, use of legal authority and other appropriate measures to control the quality of storm water discharged to the storm drains and then the surrounding water bodies, said Graziosi.

Tenke said that Graziozi’s position as storm water officer would entail completing reports and monitoring how various city projects would affect the city’s storm water system. 

“This is something that Rocco has been doing and he received training on,” Gregory Kalnitsky, the city attorney, said. “It’s important to make sure the various projects downtown don’t affect our storm water systems. This is something he’s already been doing for quite some time.”

Tenke said that managing storm water runoff, which according to the Environmental Protection Agency could lead to the deposit of harmful pollutants such as trash, chemicals and sediments into lakes, streams and groundwater, is especially important considering the city’s proximity to the Long Island Sound and Hempstead Harbor.

“We have to be extra careful, especially with our wetlands,” Tenke added. “It’s good that we have someone who oversees that.”

Graziosi has also overseen the city’s investigation and replacement of existing lead service lines.

At the next City Council meeting, the council will also vote on a resolution to authorize the city to enter into a proposal with Waldon Environmental Engineering for professional engineering and inspection services for the state’s Lead Service Line Replacement Program.

“If you have a lead line, that is your sewer line with lead in it, that runs from your house to the street, it has to be replaced,” Tenke said. “This is another one that Rocco Graziose had been in charge of. He wanted this to be put on. We have until the end of the year to adopt something in regard to this.”

For those that opt into this program, they will only be charged a small fee to replace their lead service line, receiving insurance coverage to replace the line. The City Council had voted in May to enter into a grant with the state that includes a budget of $535, 950 for construction and $62,700 for engineering and inspection, also covering a portion of the cost of the city’s and the Glen Cove Community Development Agency’s staff time on the project.

Tenke said the city could be sued for failing to adhere to DEC regulations under the Clean Water Infrastructure Act if the council does not pass this resolution. The Clean Water Infrastructure Act requires municipalities to take affirmative steps to ensure that there is no leakage on sewer laterals, Kalnitsky explained.

“The newer houses don’t use those,” Tenke explained. “It’s when you had these lead pipes that were put under ground that didn’t rust, didn’t corrode because they were made out of lead, but yet they leached out into the soil and contaminated ground water. That’s really why they’re looking for these home owners who have these laterals that connect to their house to the street.”