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Advisory Committee Activities

 

I. Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan (JBWPP)

On October 28, 2008, the Advisory Committee submitted their response on the 1 year progress report of the Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan to the Speaker of the New York City Council and the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). View the Advisory Committee's cover letter; attachment A; attachment B.

On October 16, 2008, the Advisory Committee submitted their response on Public Notice No. 09 Jamaica Bay Federal Navigation Channel, which proposes to use dredged materials from Rockaway Inlet to cap the Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS) off Sandy Hook, to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the New York State Department of State. On December 3, 2008, the USACE submitted a response. View the Advisory Committee's cover letter; USACE's cover letter.

On October 1, 2008, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released the 1 year progress report on the Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan. View the DEP's report.

On December 17, 2007, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released her response to the Advisory Committee. View the Commissioner's cover letter; attachment A; attachment B.

On November 1, 2007, the Advisory Committee submitted their response on the Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan to the Speaker of the New York City Council and the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). View the Advisory Committee's cover letter; attachment A.

On October 1, 2007, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released the Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan. View the plan (2 volumes) on the DEP JBWPP web page.

On August 2, 2007, the Advisory Committee along with the National Park Service (NPS) released a study on the disappearing salt marshes in Jamaica Bay. View the press release; study report.

On June 1, 2007 the Advisory Committee submitted their final recommendations to the Speaker of the New York City Council and the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) pursuant to Local Law 71. View the Advisory Committee's cover letter; report.

On March 1, 2007, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released the first DRAFT of the Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan.

On September 1, 2006, the DEP released their Interim Report in response to the Advisory Committee's preliminary recommendations. View the DEP's report.

On June 29, 2006 the Advisory Committee submitted their preliminary recommendations to the Speaker of the New York City Council and the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) pursuant to Local Law 71. View the Advisory Committee's cover letter; report.

Together with the sponsor of Local Law 71, Council Member James F. Gennaro, and Angela Licata, DEP's Deputy Commissioner for the Bureau of Environmental Planning and Assessment, the Advisory Committee held a press conference also on June 29, 2006 at the Gateway Environmental Study Center, Building 272, to release the report and encourage further public comment on the document. View the press release; fact sheets.

Background on Local Law 71

On July 20, 2005, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg signed Local Law 71, which:

  • Requires the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to create a watershed protection plan for Jamaica Bay;
  • States that the goal of the Plan is to restore and maintain Jamaica Bay's water quality and ecological integrity;
  • Created the Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan Advisory Committee to advise the DEP on the Plan and to provide independent recommendations to the Speaker of the City Council and to the DEP Commissioner.

In developing the Plan, Local Law 71 requires DEP to assess the technical, legal, environmental and economic feasibility of including the following measures:

  • Best management practices to minimize/control soil erosion, reduce point and nonpoint source pollution, e.g., development practices that control and minimize stormwater;
  • Measures to address threats to aquatic habitat, e.g., restoring natural features and water flow;
  • Land acquisition, planning/development practices that encourage or discourage certain land uses;
  • Protocol for agency coordination;
  • Public education program;
  • Enhanced enforcement against polluters.

Additionally, the Plan must include:

  • Specific goals for restoring and maintaining the Bay's water quality and ecological integrity;
  • Boundaries of the Bay's watershed/sewershed for purposes of the Plan;
  • An explanation for any Advisory Committee recommendation not assessed or incorporated;
  • A schedule, with interim and final milestones, to implement the Plan's measures and achieve the specific goals, and methods for monitoring progress.

Under Local Law 71, the Advisory Committee is to provide recommendations concerning the measures that should be included in the Plan. The Advisory Committee will also provide recommendations concerning the other required Plan components, i.e., Plan goals, Plan boundaries, interim and final milestones, and monitoring methods.

Originally, under Local Law 71, the Advisory Committee was required to complete their recommendations concerning the Plan by July 1, 2006 and the DEP Commissioner was to finish the final Plan by September 1, 2006 and submit it to the Speaker of the Council and the Mayor no more than five business days later. Under an extension bill signed into law on August 23, 2006, the July 1 recommendations submitted by the Advisory Committee are considered preliminary and their final recommendations are due on June 1, 2007. The DEP has been provided until October 1, 2006 to complete an interim report on the Plan’s preparation that included a response to each preliminary recommendation submitted by the Advisory Committee. No later than March 1, 2007 a draft Plan from DEP is due and the final Plan is due October 1, 2007. The DEP must review the Plan’s progress by October 1, 2008 and every second year afterwards.

The full text of this legislation is available.

The Advisory Committee supports the recent extensions to the planning deadlines and welcomes the opportunity to collect additional public and agency feedback on its work through the amended process. View the Advisory Committee's testimony in support of Int. No. 376.


Important Dates

October 1, 2008 (and every 2 years afterwards):
DEP is required to submit a report to the Mayor and the Speaker of the Council on the Plan's progress and reasons why, if any, Plan changes are needed.


Who is on the Advisory Committee?

Under Local Law 71, three of the seven members of the Advisory Committee are appointed by the Speaker of the Council and the remaining four by the Mayor. The current Committee members are:

  • Doug Adamo, National Park Service (NPS)
  • Manny Caughman, Queens CB #12
  • Len Houston, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
  • Dan Mundy, Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers
  • Brad Sewell, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
  • Larry Swanson, Stony Brook University
  • Chris Zeppie, Port Authority of NY/NJ

Biographies of the Advisory Committee members are available upon request.


Meetings

A series of Advisory Committee, public outreach, and strategy meeetings have been held since November 2005:

Related Sites II. Addressing the Nitrogen Problem

On February 25, 2010, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis, Deputy Mayor for Operations Edward Skyler, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway and Natural Resources Defense Council Executive Director Peter Lehner announced an agreement to improve the overall water quality and mitigate marshland loss in Jamaica Bay through a total of $115 million in new investments. View the DEP press release, DEP press conference (high bandwith, low bandwith), NRDC press release. Dan Mundy Jr., Vice President of Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers recaps the events that led to this agreement.

The DEP delivered a Comprehensive Jamaica Bay Report (45 Mb) in October 2006, to the New York State Department of Environmental Protection (DEC). The Advisory Committee submitted a letter to the Commissioner of the DEP stating their concerns in handling the nitrogen pollution problem.

III. PLANYC 2030

On December 12, 2006, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg delivered a major speech outlining sustainability challenges and goals for the City of New York through the year 2030. The Advisory Committee submitted a letter to the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding with recommendations for PLANYC 2030 regarding Jamaica Bay.

  • Sustainable Stormwater Management Plan mentions a case study on page 48 called the DEP Rain Barrel Pilot Program, an effort to reduce stormwater runoff in the ecosystem of Jamaica Bay. This program is one of several implementation strategies planned for addressing the Stormwater Management through Sound Land Use category described in the Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan (JBWPP).
 

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