Editors Note: I received this message last week - again sorry for the delay in posting - JK

In a February 19th Blue Room ceremony at City Hall, NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg signed Intro 630-A into law. The bill requires the City to conduct a thorough study of stormwater best management practices, determine the estimated costs and benefits of each practice, and provide a stormwater management plan for implementation.

The Mayor was joined by Councilman Jim Gennaro (pictured above), who is the Chair of the City Council's Committee on Environmental Protection, and by members of the SWIM Coalition, including Rob Crauderueff of Sustainable South Bronx, Teresa Crimmens of the Bronx River Alliance, Allison Chase of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Tatiana Morin of the NYC Soil and Water Conservation District.

In speaking in favor of the bill, Crauderueff (pictured) noted that "the SWIM coalition is a coalition dedicated to ensuring swimmable waters in New York City through sustainable storm water management practices." Speaking to the Mayor, he said SWIM is "extremely grateful for your support. Intro 630 will help to improve all communities in New York City through creating a strategic, cost effective, greening strategy.

"We encourage the City Council to continue to partner with us toward SWIM's goal of creating swimmable waterways. We encourage the Mayor to partner with us, because our communities provide many of the key resources not only to plan, but also to implement these strategies."