By KIMBERLY ACEVEDO
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has expanded a pre-existing program. The expansion requires permits for the control of storm-water runoff in urban areas and at construction sites. The storm-water program is designed to prevent pollutants from entering and ultimately destroying the waterways.
The City of Long Beach, along with every other municipality in the state, will have to submit to the DEC a proposed plan using management practices and technology to address storm-water runoff before a March 10 deadline.
It's a plan that will result in cleaner waters around our city, said Long Beach City Manager Harold Porr.
Storm waterfrom rain or melting snowcarries litter, bacteria, fertilizer, eroding soil and other pollutants into rivers, lakes, bays and oceans. Pollutants can destroy the natural marine environment, resulting in closed beaches and spoiled fishing.
The DEC's program will be phased in over a five-year period, said Robert Raab, Long Beach's commissioner of public works. The phase-in will involve the public as well. The targets are public education and outreach, public involvement and participation [and] pollution prevention and good housekeeping, Raab said.
For the most part, the city won't have a problem meeting the guidelines, officials claim, especially since some of them have already been implemented by the city.
A lot of what we're going to be required to do is already standard practice for the city, including keeping the street clean, using our street sweeper and educating the public about keeping our environment clean, Porr said.
While there isn't an exact estimate of the program's total cost, the city is working to keep it to a minimum. Until the final proposal is complete, the city won't have an exact figure. The preparation of the proposed plan will cost $17,495.
The city also intends to cut its costs by applying for federal and state grants, Porr said. We would pursue any state or federal grant money available for this plan, he said. I hope there would be, since it is a federal mandate.
A total of $3.4 million will be made available by the state's Environmental Protection Fund to communities that must comply with the program's guidelines.
