Part Three of Three
As previously reported in the Feb. 4 issue of the Oyster Bay Enterprise-Pilot, Assemblyman Joseph Saladino discussed ways in which the plume could be remediated and decontaminated. In this final installment, Saladino extends his heartfelt thanks to all who helped him, and discusses why he is positive the cleanup plan will be successful.
“Sen. Kemp Hannon said I got it done out of ‘sheer tenacity,’” said Saladino of his friend, who was a major key player in the passing of the Grumman Plume bill. “I reached out to community groups, elected officials, civic associations, people who are involved with the DEC, Sen. Schumer, Peter King and the governor’s council. I always knew that if I didn’t give up, then I would eventually get them to see the importance of passing this bill.”
Saladino thought that it would come off as hypocritical to ban hydro-fracking—a new development in natural gas extraction—based on what it might do to groundwater, and then not address what is happening to the groundwater at the same time.
“With 12 years in the Assembly and 26 years in government, I have found that experience is a mighty teacher,” said Saladino, who has learned quite a bit in his many careers as an elected official, news broadcaster and journalist. “I knew that I needed to present the data in a way that everyone could understand, agree with and build a consensus among different parties.”
Among those parties, Saladino credits a plethora of people, without whom the bill would have remained unsigned on Cuomo’s desk.
In order to make the public aware of what Saladino and his team are trying to do, he is giving people a tax incentive to remove their steel oil tanks, if they are not removed already. This will not only safely modernize and replace the tanks, but further prohibit chemicals from leaking out of any damaged ones.
“People used to have steel oil tanks in their basements or buried underground. Many homes had the oil tank below ground, so when the tank started to rupture, people wouldn’t know why,” said Saladino, who was part of the group in Albany to sponsor and pass the legislation, which provided homeowners with an income tax write-off for the cost of replacing their home tanks.
The incentive further serves to educate Long Islanders about the importance of preserving marine life, an essential part of Long Island. Saladino has sat on the environmental conservation committee for 11 of his 12 years in Albany. He also holds a marine expo every year to teach people about the environment, freshwater and saltwater ecosystems.
“This is my legacy work; the work I’ve been elected to do, to protect the people. It’s interesting because the particular skillset that I have as a bay man and an environmentalist allows me the opportunity to utilize those skills,” said Saladino.
In regard to the success of the decontamination, former water district commissioner John Caruso is sure that it will go off without a hitch.
“There’s 35 years of evolution in the science of it,” he said. “The Purex Center and Nassau County Fireman’s Training Center represent two real pilot programs, and that was in the 1980s. It’s been a learning process for everyone including the DEC, but now we’ve come to the point—within the last 10 or 12 years—and there’s no more question of what has to be done, just the execution.”
Caruso went on to explain that Nassau County has achieved clean water in other sites throughout the county. The largest project in Nassau County was to install a sewer treatment process, which worked very well, adding more proof to Saladino’s claim.
“Sewers are there to protect groundwater, which is what some people don’t know or forget,” added Caruso. “The U.S. Clean Water Act, through Congress, was 95 percent paid for by the Federal state. We paid 5 percent and the benefits were tremendous.”
So what’s next? According to Saladino, it’s bringing everyone together and finding the best way to go about the decontamination process. He is, however, very happy that the DEC also wants the hydraulic containment.
“We have to employ the best science and take everyone into consideration. We have to put the people who live here first,” he said, giving the example of Rosie the Riveter as a comparison point. “She was there for you when it was time to win WWII, build the technology to bring the world forward, so now it is the responsibility of the U.S. to be there for Rosie the Riveter and her children and grandchildren. It’s time to give back.”
Lastly, Saladino would like to extend his most sincere and heartfelt appreciation to all involved, stressing that he did not do this alone.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues in the Assembly and Senate, who came from all parties and walks of life—Republicans, Democrats, men and women—especially all of my colleagues on Long Island, who came together and voted for this unanimously. It is my goal to keep this team going until the very end.”
The Enterprise-Pilot plans on following Saladino’s progress with the Grumman Plume. Updates will follow.
Visit www.antonnews.com for the first two parts of this story.
