Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
nomic meltdown. Fortunately, Group for the East End (GEE), an environmental ad-
vocacy organization for eastern Long Island, was willing to take over as fiscal sponsor.
They were included in the grant proposal originally to provide the native plants and
volunteer coordination. They planned to cover costs from nearby Glover Perennials,
growers of the native plants, some even from locally collected seed. With a mountain
of paperwork and help from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation assistant re-
gional director, Lynn Dwyer, we were able to switch the federal grant from the town to
the GEE. The permitting process was one that challenged my abilities, since the skill
to negotiate bureaucracy is rarely found in an artist's toolbox. In addition, I spent a
long time researching permeable pavement options and meeting installers to find a
company on a similar wavelength. Bob Govenale, owner of Excav Services, has a de-
gree in geology and experience with environmental restoration, so he was not the
usual “earth mover.” He followed through enthusiastically with all our challenges and
agreed to do it, “just this once,” for the funds we had budgeted, far less than his usual
fee. He also discovered a new permeable pavement—a recycled glass material that ap-
pealed to us both for several reasons, including the fact that it would allow more var-
ied design opportunities than porous pavers and because it uses glass that would oth-
erwise be landfilled. At a preapproval meeting, the DEC asked us questions about the
suggested yearly vacuum maintenance and the flow-through rate that was lower than
usually required. Allowances were made considering the entire scope of WATER-
WASH™. After all, it is a total system with three buffer zones beyond the parking area:
the vegetated swale, a steel weir adequate to distribute overflow evenly in a five-year
storm, and the sizable strip of common reed that would be harvested quarterly. When
we actually submitted the paperwork, asking for speedy processing due to grant sched-
uling, the DEC permit was obtained in record time.
The five-member Southold Board of Trustees, which owns the park and has juris-
diction over all construction within one hundred feet of the waterfront, also had to is-
sue a permit. Trustee president Jim King, a lobsterman residing on the inlet, was ini-
tially skeptical, thinking it would contribute little to water quality improvement.
Although he had seen the drawings and engineering plans, he seemed to have a hard
time visualizing the proposal until it was nearly finished. But I persisted in calling him
to discuss progress and eventually provoked his participation by incorporating his sug-
gestions into the “Wildlife Habitat” sign. This was one of three filmstrip-format signs
(along with “Stormwater Solutions” and “Native Plants”) designed to engage viewers
who might not normally be drawn to reading interpretive signage. In the end, Jim's in-
credible knowledge about the local fishery helped draw a contrast between an area
widely recognized in the nineteenth century as a prime source of the tastiest oysters
and an area that has been closed to shellfishing in recent decades.
After convincing the trustees, we had to gain final permission from the town board
who still had reservations about liability and other issues even though the project
would actually cost them nothing. I came prepared with a letter from the DEC desig-
nating WATERWASH™ as the first MS4 federally compliant project in Southold.
With the support of supervisor Scott Russell, the town board greenlighted the project.
The area was graded and some of the resulting clean sand was used to restore the
ditch beside the boat ramp and the scoured spot behind the swale. Both saltmeadow
