Polluted stormwater runoff in our waterways negatively impacts water quality and the health of the entire ecosystem within the waterbodies that surround NYC. Not mention that it also makes the waters we wish to use for educational, recreational and cultural activities potentially dangerous to our health!
Image Credit: Hudson Riverkeeper
The NYC Department of Environmental Protection is hosting a virtual public meeting on Thursday May 21st from 4-6 p.m. to review their annual report on the Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP) for the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (aka the MS4). Register for the meetinghere.
The MS4 collects polluted stormwater runoff in storm drains from nearly 40% of the city's landmass and discharges it (untreated) directly into our waterways. Polluted stormwater runoff contains trash, oil, sediments, dead rats, animal waste such as dog poop, and who knows what else. The city's plan for reducing polluted stormwater is just getting underway. In fact, NYC DEP and several other city agencies are currently in the process of mapping the MS4 drainage areas and outfall points as part of the stormwater management plan for the MS4. Here is a link to the current map.
In addition to polluted stormwater from the MS4, there are incidents of improper sewer pipe connections called illicit discharge. Illicit discharges happen when a building is inadvertently connected to the MS4 pipes instead of the combined sewer system pipes underneath our streets. When this happens, wastewater from the building's toilets, sinks, showers, etc., is discharged directly into a waterbody. Illicit discharges are a health hazard for people and wildlife and are notoriously difficult to track down. Here is a link to an article about illicit discharges by City Limits.
The city's Stormwater Management Program Plan (better known as the SWMP) for the MS4 system outlines how NYC is planning to reduce pollution in stormwater runoff and address illicit discharges between now and 2030. At the May 21st public meeting DEP will review their draft 2019 annual report for the MS4 SWMP.
It is vitally important for waterway stakeholders and stewards to be familiar with the city's plans to address the pollutants from the MS4 and provide public input on the implementation of the plan and to document what we see in our local waterways. Citizens are often the first to detect illicit discharges and see trash in their waterways and can help with tracking the sources of the pollution by reporting the incidents to NYC DEP. You can report an incident by contacting them through the MS reporting system on their MS4 web page.
Be sure to tune in and weigh in on the city's presentation of their annual report at the virtual public meeting! Clickhere to see DEP's draft annual report on their 2019 activities to address the pollutants, and here to check out the full Plan.
Waterway stakeholders from NY and NJ have formed a coalition, led by the Waterfront Alliance and key environmental leaders from NY and NJ, to call for a regional coastal resilience plan. On May 12, members of the coalition and the public participated in the Waterfront Alliance's Rise2Resilience virtual symposium to review the Points of Unity in the coalition platform and talk with various officials from NY and NJ about the importance of equitably addressing climate change in our region.
Many members of the coalition signed onto a letter to Congress urging them to fund and refine the US Army Corps of Engineers New York and New Jersey Harbors and Tributaries Study. Just as our letter was on its way to Congress, the federal government abruptly canceled the study along with several others. While the study was flawed, it is critical to our region, and with the recommended refinements we requested in ourletter, would be a vital tool for building holisitic solutions to address the impacts of climate related sea level rise, tidal flooding, and coastal storm surge. We followed up on our first letter to Congress with another one requesting that the study be reinstated and refined.
In light of the NY/NJ study's cancellation, the coalition's Rise2Resilience campaign, which will formally launch in July 2020, is ever more important. In the meantime, you can visit the new Rise2Resilience website to learn more about the coalition's platform, sign up to get updates, and join the coalition!
The New York League of Conservation Voters has launched a New York City Climate Tracker to highlight how well we are doing on our climate preparedness goals under the mayor's OneNYC Plan.
You can check it out here to see how far we have to go on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, conversion to renewable energy, and other metrics set forth in the OneNYC Plan.The tracker notes that we've got a long way to go on our Zero Waste goals among many others.
Thank you to the NYLCV for providing this important tool!!
We enjoyed this Earth Day image from Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson as we contemplated the fate of our planet this past Earth Day. Eliasson issued a series of nine abstract map images images called Earth Perspectives on Earth Day this year. If you stare at the black dot at the center of the map for at least ten seconds and then look at blank surface, an afterimage of the map will appear. You can take a look at each of the nine images and a series of videos on his website here.
This image is of the sacred Ganges River in India. Fun Fact: The Ganges was granted the same legal rights as a human being in 2017. It now has the same status as a living human being which means that polluting or damaging the river will be legally equivalent to harming a person. You can read more about this in Guardian here.
Image Credit: Olafur Eliasson,Earth perspectives, 2020, Earth viewed over the Ganges River.
On Earth Day this year, SWIM signed onto a letter to Governor Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, and Assembly Speaker Heastie, recognizing their commitment to important environmental policies in the FY 2021 state budget, especially in the face of an anticipated economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter specifically urged them to continue their support for theRestore Mother Nature Bond Act .
The Restore Mother Nature Bond Act is the largest environmental bond act in State history. The Act is part of Governor Cuomo’s $33 billion, five-year plan to fight climate change. Acertification still needs to be made by the State’s budget director that the State can proceed without adversely affecting other necessary projects and then voters will need to approve the $3 billion authorization at the ballots in November.
The Restore Mother Nature Bond Act specifies that at least $1 billion of the funds will go toward restoration and flood risk management; $550 million will go to water quality and other projects; $550 million will go to open space, conservation, and recreation; and $700 million will go to climate change mitigation.
