a. An office or agency designated by the mayor shall conduct a feasibility study concerning the beneficial reuse of discharge waters as a result of continuous dewatering operations in southeastern Queens County. The results of such study shall be submitted to the mayor and the speaker of the council no later than two years after its commencement.
b. Such study shall include, but need not be limited to, the following;
1. An investigation of the flow, temperature, quality, consistency and reliability of discharge waters and recommended measures for beneficial reuse including, but not limited to, landscaping, grey water systems, and the extraction or deposition of heat energy from or to such waters for the purposes of heating and/or cooling buildings;
2. An investigation of alternatives to dewatering;
3. An evaluation of existing buildings that are owned or operated by the city or receive financial assistance from the city that have demonstrated continuous groundwater infiltration to basements and cellars for the purpose of determining the feasibility of dewatering and subsequently reusing discharge waters in an open loop heat pump system for heating and cooling such buildings;
4. An evaluation of existing groundwater conditions at each such building site to identify adverse groundwater quality and hydrogeological conditions, if any;
5. An analysis of the environmental impacts and permitting requirements related to the discharge of groundwater, specifically groundwater that has been heated or cooled and discharged to a surface water body or other surface structures;
6. An evaluation of possible impacts of potential sea level rise in southeastern Queens County on geothermal systems; and
7. If such beneficial reuse is not feasible, identification of impediments to such beneficial reuse, whether such impediments may be addressed by the city and, if so, any plans to address to such impediments.
(L.L. 2018/178, 10/27/2018, eff. 10/27/2018)