The following letter to the editor was published in Newsday on 9/4/12. You can read the digital copy here: http://www.newsday.com/opinion/letters/letters-merge-lipa-and-water-districts-1.3943313
Hello, my name is Richard Murdocco and I am writing regarding Kevin Law’s recent op-ed on the consolidation of Long Island’s water and power utilities. I have my MA in public policy from Stony Brook University, where I studied planning with Dr. Koppelman, Long Island’s veteran planner. I write on local land use issues for various print and online sources.
Kevin Law is correct in his call for consolidation. Long Island needs to start dismantling the “fiefdoms” that have arose as the result of fragmented policy for the last 60 years. Long Island’s groundwater system is complex, frail, and directly impacted on the regional scale by the daily decisions that are being made on the very local level.
Moving forward, it is crucial for Long Island to think regionally, and take a big picture view of the management of our utilities and water. Water and energy policy decisions transcend political borders, and we need to ensure our future policies do the same. If we are to build for the needs of the 21st century, than we must break free from our current 20th century approaches.
Thank you,
Rich Murdocco
Setauket
