The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the department of the

government of New York City The government of New York City, headquartered at New York City Hall in Lower Manhattan, is organized under the New York City Charter and provides for a mayor-council system. The mayor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for the ...

that manages the city's water supply and works to reduce air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution. Under a 1.3 billion dollar budget, it provides more than of water each day to more than 9 million residents (including 8 million in the

City of New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

) through a complex network of nineteen

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

s, three controlled lakes and of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts. DEP is also responsible for managing the city's combined sewer system, which carries both

storm water Stormwater, also spelled storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed land ...

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...

and sanitary waste, and fourteen wastewater treatment plants located throughout the city. DEP carries out federal Clean Water Act rules and regulations, handles hazardous materials emergencies and toxic site remediation, oversees asbestos monitoring and removal, enforces the city's air and

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference aris ...

codes, bills and collects on city water and sewer accounts, and manages citywide

water conservation Water conservation includes all the policies, strategies and activities to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, to protect the hydrosphere, and to meet the current and future human demand (thus avoiding water scarcity). Popula ...

programs. Its regulations are compiled in title 15 of the ''

New York City Rules The ''Rules of the City of New York'' (RCNY) contains the compiled rules and regulations ( delegated legislation) of New York City government agencies. It contains approximately 6,000 rules and regulations in 71 titles, each covering a different ci ...

''.

Facilities

Drinking water

NYCDEP manages three upstate supply systems to provide the city's drinking water: the Croton system, the Catskill system, and the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

system. The overall distribution system has a storage capacity of and provides over 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 .

Wastewater treatment

The city's wastewater is collected through an extensive grid of sewer pipes of various sizes and stretching over . The Bureau of Wastewater Treatment (BWT) operates 14 water pollution control plants treating an average of of wastewater a day; 96 wastewater pump stations: 8 dewatering facilities; and 490 sewer

regulators Regulator may refer to: Technology * Regulator (automatic control), a device that maintains a designated characteristic, as in: ** Battery regulator ** Pressure regulator ** Diving regulator ** Voltage regulator * Regulator (sewer), a control de ...

. The bureau has a staff of 1,900 employees, with a $340 million annual operating budget, and an annual capital budget of $200 million.

Commissioners

The current commissioner Rohit Aggarwala was appointed by Mayor

Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and retired police captain serving as the 110th mayor of New York City since January 1, 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York ...

in January 2022. Other former Commissioners include: *Frank McArdle (1978–81),

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was ma ...

*Joe McGough (1982-86), Ed Koch *Harvey Schultz (1986–89), Ed Koch *Albert Appleton (1990-93),

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first African American to hold the office. Before enteri ...

*Marilyn Gelber (1994–96), Rudy Giuliani *Joel Miele (1996-2002), Rudy Giuliani *

Christopher O. Ward Christopher Owen Ward (born 1954) is an American civil servant who served as executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from May 22, 2008, until November 1, 2011, and as New York City Department of Environmental Protecti ...

(2002–05), Michael Bloomberg *Caswell F. Holloway (2009-2011), Michael Bloomberg *Carter H. Strickland, Jr. (2011-2014), Michael Bloomberg *Emily Lloyd (2014–2016), Bill De Blasio *

Vincent Sapienza Vincent Sapienza is an American civil servant who is serving as the Chief Operating Officer of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. From 2017 to 2022, he was the agency's Commissioner. Biography Sapienza graduated from Col ...

(2016–2022), Bill De Blasio * Rohit Aggarwala (2022–present), Eric Adams

Violation of federal environmental laws

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 the

Toxic Substances Control Act The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is a United States law, passed by the 94th United States Congress in 1976 and administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that regulates chemicals not regulated by other U. ...

, 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.

EHS Programs

Employee Concerns Program

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

Tiered Audit Program

Rates conditions by priority, enabling the agency to identify and address more than 44,000 specific workplace conditions

Compliance Action Plan

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.

OpX Program

In 2011, the New York City Water Board appointed

Veolia Water Veolia Water (formerly Vivendi Water, originally Compagnie Générale des Eaux) is the water division of the French company Veolia Environnement and the world's largest supplier of water services. In 2009, the group posted revenues of €12.5 ...

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 with McKinsey & Company and Arcadis 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."http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/reports/opx-phase-i-report.pdf/ OpX Phase I Report 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.

References

External links

New York City Department of Environmental Protection

Department of Environmental Protection
in the

Rules of the City of New York The ''Rules of the City of New York'' (RCNY) contains the compiled rules and regulations (delegated legislation) of New York City government agencies. It contains approximately 6,000 rules and regulations in 71 titles, each covering a different cit ...

{{authority control

Environmental Protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...

Environmental protection agencies Public utilities of the United States Water management authorities in the United States Water companies of the United States Environmental agencies of country subdivisions Environmental agencies in New York City Environment of New York City Water infrastructure of New York City

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...