Politics & Government

Lake Ronkonkoma Advisory Board Creates Two New Organizations in Quest for Improvements

Watershed Intermunicipal Organization and Lake Association to be formed.

At Wednesday evening's Lake Ronkonkoma Advisory Board meeting Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization President George Schramm made a presentation proposing the creation of two new organizations that would maintain and improve the ecological health of the lake and coordinate activities of each of the surround municipalities.

The Lake Ronkonkoma Watershed Intermunicipal Organization (LRWIO) and the second is a 501(c)(3) Not-for-Profit named the Ronkonkoma Lake Association (RLA). 

The LRWIO would be created through a Memorandum or Understanding signed by each of the municipalities. It's comprised of representatives from the municipalities within the Lake Ronkonkoma Watershed: the County of Suffolk, the Towns of Brookhaven, Islip, and Smithtown.

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"The purpose is to develop a Lake Ronkonkoma Watershed Management Plan and oversee and administer it," said Schramm. "To this end, the LRWIO would recognize the interrelatedness of all activities within the watershed and would collaboratively and collectively work to address issues and problems."

The objective is to promote understanding that is vital to maintain and improve the ecological health and beauty of the watershed along with building and maintaining a productive economy and also sustain a healthy social environment for the people of the Lake Ronkonkoma Watershed. 

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The following is quoted directly from the proposed LRWIO bylaws:

The organization shall develop a Lake Ronkonkoma Watershed Management Plan, access funding, and oversee and administer the plan, including:

-Establishing watershed priorities;

-Approving an annual work plan and budget;

-Approving requests for funding and for endorsement of projects consistent with the priorities;

-Providing a forum for all municipalities within the watershed to interact and exchange information;

-Reviewing technical and fiscal summary reports.

The cooperating municipalities share a number of common goals, including:

-The prevention of non-point source pollution of both surface and groundwaters in the watershed;

-The remediation of existing pollution;

-The preservation of open space and natural resources;

-The expansion of economic activities consistent with the watershed environment;

-Developing programs for educating the public and public officials;

-Developing compatible components of their comprehensive plans and zoning and natural resource ordinances;

-Exploring mutually beneficial ways of securing and sharing federal, state, and county-agency funding for the programs that accomplish their objectives in the above areas;

-Sharing the costs of monitoring compliance and enforcement of regulation;

-The resolution of disputes regarding development projects with intermunicipal impacts;

-The resolution of disputes regarding development projects that impact environmentally sensitive areas;

-Working with federal, state, and county agencies and authorities to assure that their activities in the watershed are compatible with the plans and programs of the cooperating municipalities.

The RLA would be dedicated to enhancing, preserving and protecting the quality of Lake Ronkonkoma, its adjacent water bodies, and its surrounding watershed through the promotion of responsible, effective environmental and educational policies, according to Schramm. 

"The mission would be to preserve and protect this regionally unique resource as a pristine legacy for future generations," he said.

The following is quoted directly from the proposed RLA bylaws:

-The purpose for which said ASSOCIATION is formed are the following, to wit:

To strive to promote, protect, encourage, and advance interests, activities, and projects that will improve the Lake and the surrounding areas;

-To coordinate and promote cooperation between the four municipalities that border the Lake, the County of Suffolk, the Towns of Brookhaven, Islip, and Smithtown, and the adjacent private property owners;

-To purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire, hold, develop, improve, repair and maintain land under and adjacent to the waters of Lake Ronkonkoma, and any and all riparian rights or easements in such lands or waters;

-To purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire to sell or otherwise dispose of, to lay out, construct, develop, maintain, improve and operate roadways, walks, gardens, parks, lakes, ponds or other waters, buildings or portions thereof, wharves, piers and other structures;

-To affiliate with any other town, county, state or national organization for such purposes as may be consistent with the objectives and purposes of the association;

-In aid of the foregoing purposes, to receive voluntary contributions, assess and collect fees, dues, and other payments from members, solicit grants, and seek other sources of funding and to do all other things lawful, necessary and appropriate to effect the same.

"These two organizations would work together to maintain and improve the ecological health of the lake, and coordinate the activities of each of the surrounding municipalities, and be eligible to receive state grants," Schramm said.

The proposed bylaws of the Ronkonkoma Lake Association are available for public review and comment at: http://www.ronkonkomalakeassociation.org.


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