 | |
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | New York City |
| Headquarters | 59-17 Junction Boulevard Elmhurst, Queens |
| Employees | 6,210 (2020[update])[1] |
| Department executives |
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| Key document | |
| Website | www |
TheNew York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the department of thegovernment of New York City[2] that manages thecity's water supply and works to reduce air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution.
Under a 1.3 billion dollar budget, it provides more than 1.1 billion US gallons (4,200,000 m3) of water each day to more than 9 million residents (including 8 million in theCity of New York) through a complex network of nineteenreservoirs, three controlled lakes and 6,000 miles (9,700 km) of water mains, tunnels andaqueducts. DEP is also responsible for managing the city'scombined sewer system, which carries bothstorm waterrunoff andsanitary waste, and fourteenwastewater treatment plants located throughout the city. DEP carries out federalClean Water Act rules and regulations, handleshazardous materials emergencies and toxicsite remediation, overseesasbestos monitoring and removal, enforces the city's air andnoise codes, bills and collects on city water and sewer accounts, and manages citywidewater conservation programs. Its regulations are compiled in title 15 of theNew York City Rules.
NYCDEP manages three upstate supply systems to provide the city's drinking water: theCroton system, theCatskill system, and theDelaware system. The overall distribution system has a storage capacity of 550 billion US gallons (2.1×109 m3) and provides over 1 billion US gallons (3,800,000 m3) per day of water to more than eight million city residents and another one million users in four upstate counties bordering on the water supply system. The distribution system is made up of an extensive grid of water mains stretching approximately 6,600 miles (10,600 km).
The city's wastewater is collected through an extensive grid of sewer pipes of various sizes and stretching over 7,400 miles (11,900 km). The Bureau of Wastewater Treatment (BWT) operates 14 water pollution control plants treating an average of 1.3 billion US gallons (4,900,000 m3) of wastewater a day; 96 wastewater pump stations: 8 dewatering facilities; and 490 sewerregulators. The bureau has a staff of 1,900 employees, with a $340 million annual operating budget, and an annual capital budget of $200 million.[3][4]
| Plant | Service area | Size ser day | Discharges to | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In millions of gallons | In thousands of cubic meters | |||
| 26th Ward | EasternBrooklyn | 85 | 320 | Jamaica Bay |
| Bowery Bay | NortheastQueens | 150 | 570 | UpperEast River |
| Coney Island | South Brooklyn, Central Brooklyn | 110 | 420 | Jamaica Bay |
| Hunts Point | EasternBronx | 200 | 760 | Upper East River |
| Jamaica | Southern Queens | 100 | 380 | Jamaica Bay |
| Newtown Creek | Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens | 310 | 1,200 | East River |
| North River | Manhattan | 170 | 640 | Hudson River |
| Oakwood Beach | Staten Island | 40 | 151 | LowerNew York Bay |
| Rockaway | Queens | 45 | 170 | Jamaica Bay |
| Owls Head | Brooklyn | 120 | 450 | Upper New York Bay |
| Wards Island | Bronx, Manhattan | 275 | 1,040 | Upper East River |
| Tallman Island | Queens | 80 | 300 | Upper East River |
| Port Richmond | Staten Island | 60 | 230 | Kill Van Kull |
| Red Hook | Brooklyn,Governor's Island | 60 | 230 | Lower East River |
The current commissionerRohit Aggarwala was appointed by MayorEric Adams in January 2022. Other former Commissioners include:
TheNew York City Department of Environmental Protection Police, also known asDEP Police, and formerly known as theBureau of Water Supply Police and theAqueduct Police, is the law enforcement arm of the DEP whose duties are to protect and preserve theNew York City water supply system maintained by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, the nation's largest single source water supply. The department has protected and preserved the water supply system for over 100 years. The department maintains jurisdiction in 14 counties of New York State including the 5 counties in New York City.
Training takes place in Kingston, NY for 6 months and 1-month at the precinct assigned to the trainee. Recruits are expected to move to Kingston, NY for the duration of the academy. Class sizes vary between 20 and 40 recruits and there is a new academy class every few years. The last academy graduated 4 new officers.
The Bureau of Water Supply (BWS) Police was created through legislation enacted in the 1906 Water Supply Act. It was not until 1907 that the first provisional appointees were hired and assigned. On July 9, 1908, the first permanent police officers were appointed and assigned to the precincts inPeekskill,Garrison,Browns Station, andHigh Falls. The Bureau of Water Supply Police was the first police agency in upstate New York with a multiple county police jurisdiction.[5]
In 1908,Rhinelander Waldo was appointed as Chief of the Board of the Aqueduct Police. At this time, there were approximately 60 men assigned to the force. After a few months of service, Rhinelander was appointedFire Commissioner of theCity of New York. He was succeeded by Captain Douglas I. McKay.
Captain McKay selected a number of qualified individuals from the civil service list with the intention of making them Aqueduct Police Sergeants. He created stringent requirements, including that all members must be qualified horseman, and have experience as an officer ornon-commissioned officer in theUnited States Army or theNational Guard (with a preference forSpanish–American War Veterans). Approximately two hundred men passed these rigid qualifications and were appointed as sergeants.
At this time, the newly formed Aqueduct Police, a force of 350 officers (300 of these being mounted units) were tasked with ensuring order in the unruly construction site work camps. The first Board of Water Supply Police Precinct was built in Spout Brook, approximately two miles fromPeekskill, New York. Other Precincts were built shortly after, each being staffed by five sergeants and thirty officers and horses. During World War One, American involvement in the war brought the historic DEP Police to duties protecting the NYC water supply. As of the present day, the DEP Police today still has the same mission guarding the water supply, and is a participant of the annual First Provisional Regiment memorial services, held at the Village of Sleepy Hollow, NY. This Aqueduct Defense Memorial Service honors and remembers 40 soldiers who died while serving New York State during World War I. DEP Police provides an honor guard, cooperates with the NY state defense force, and local government officials to remember those perished while on aqueduct duties.
In 1983, the Bureau of Water Supply became the Department of Environmental Protection and theNew York State Legislature revised the Criminal Procedure Law, part of the New York State Laws, to include DEP police officers.[6] In 1999, the DEP jurisdiction was extended to include the five boroughs of New York City.[7]
In 2004, the highest court in the state, the New York State Court of Appeals, affirmed the DEP Police Department's jurisdiction throughout the watershed. Members of the DEP Police areNew York State swornpolice officers (not NYSpeace officers, which many other NYC law enforcement agencies are).
The federal government began investigating the DEP in 1998. On August 29, 2001, the DEP pleaded guilty in federal court to criminal violations of the Clean Water Act and theToxic Substances Control Act, and sentenced to probation. As a condition of probation, the DEP was required to implement an environmental, health and safety compliance program to prevent future environmental law violations and to improve employee safety working conditions.
In 2003, the Office of Environmental, Health and Safety Compliance (EHS) was formed to administer the DEP's comprehensive safety and compliance efforts, which included the EHS Employee Concerns Program.
In 2006, the term of probation was extended and the BWT was included under the federal monitor's oversight following a discharge of untreated sewage into the East River after emergency generators failed to operate during the August 2003 blackout.
On December 25, 2009, probation and federal oversight of the DEP ended.[8]
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Facilitates DEP employee reporting of observed environmental violations and unsafe employee conditions. Helps employees identify and prevent the harassment and intimidation of co-workers engaged in such activities.- 24/7 confidential employee concerns hotline- contract management plan to quicken execution of safety-related contracts- risk management program
Rates conditions by priority, enabling the agency to identify and address more than 44,000 specific workplace conditions
Ensures DEP follows all federal, state and local environmental, health and safety regulations by developing written policies, conducting training, and by purchasing and distributing safety equipment.
Since 2001, DEP has invested about $160 million in environmental health and safety programs.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2022) |
In 2011, the New York City Water Board appointedVeolia Water to partner with DEP in an effort to identify opportunities to make improvements in every aspect of New York City's drinking water, sewage collection, and wastewater treatment operations. Veolia teamed withMcKinsey & Company andArcadis to acquire additional analytical and technical expertise, respectively. The initiative, branded "Operational Excellence (OpX): The Best Always Do Better," is an opportunity for DEP to take employee ideas and best practices from water utilities across the globe to achieve the agency's goal of being the "safest, most productive, cost-effective, and transparent water utility in the nation."[9]
Rather than responding to future financial pressures with budget cuts that might weaken critical services, the OpX initiative makes improvements that will increase the strength of DEP. The OpX program aims to streamline workflows, boost efficiency, and continuously identify opportunities for improvements that will allow DEP to maintain its level of customer service, safety, and productivity while minimizing rate increases for its roughly 836,000 rate-payers. To achieve this, the Commissioner set a goal for OpX to achieve operating benefits of $100–200 million by 2016.
