Report: NY's DEC Cutting Hazardous Waste Staff Despite Evidence That Half of Inspections Reveal Violations

ALBANY, NY (11/19/2009)(readMedia)-- Research conducted by Environmental Advocates of New York has uncovered that the State's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) no longer has sufficient resources to adequately inspect large and small hazardous waste generators, despite the fact that half of 2008-09 inspections revealed non-compliance. The agency currently has 620 staff working on hazardous waste issues, the lowest level in five years. At the end of the 2009-10 State Fiscal Year, the DEC will have only 19 staff to inspect hazardous waste facilities. Click here to download the report.

"To protect New Yorkers and the health of our shared environment, the Department of Environmental Conservation needs adequate staff to inspect hundreds of dangerous hazardous waste facilities across the state," said Alison Jenkins, Fiscal Policy Director, Environmental Advocates of New York. "New York's leaders need to get their priorities in order. Without staff to do the work, hazardous waste can't be tracked and contamination can't be prevented. By enforcing laws already on the books, New York can avoid dangerously expensive and toxic scenarios in the future."

Under authority granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the DEC issues permits, conducts site inspections, engages in enforcement activities, and reviews required reports and data from generators and transporters. The EPA records the enforcement and compliance history of all hazardous waste sites and in the past five years has found 37 with "alleged current significant" violations that may pose public health hazards. These include sites in Westbury, Farmingdale, Woodside, Bay Shore, Brooklyn and Yonkers.

Although the total number of facilities changes annually, New York State is home to thousands of large and small hazardous waste generators that include manufacturers, hospitals, universities and laboratories. In addition, there are tens of thousands of "conditionally exempt" small quantity waste generators, which also produce hazardous waste but are not regularly inspected. Exempt hazardous waste generators include office buildings and industrial sites, transporters of hazardous waste, among others.

In a series of reports on the state of the DEC, Agency in Crisis, Environmental Advocates of New York has uncovered steep declines in resources dedicated to environmental programs. In a subsequent brief on hazardous waste compliance and enforcement, the group found that along with a decrease in state and federal funds to enforce existing laws, the DEC has fewer staff devoted to hazardous waste issues than in prior years. Click here to download Agency in Crisis.

The result of these staff shortages is that although half of all inspections result in violations, only a fraction of hazardous waste handlers are inspected, including: treatment, storage and disposal facilities; large quantity generators (those that generate more than 1,000 kg of waste per month); and small quantity generators (those that generate between 100 and 1,000 kg of waste per month). Of the total number of inspections for 2008-09, the most recent year for which data is available, 525 resulted in violations, meaning that half of inspections revealed non-compliance. If, per DEC records, five percent of all inspections result in a major violation each year, it means that more than 40 facilities across New York State are home to serious deficiencies and are putting the public at risk.

New York has a long history of hazardous waste becoming a public health problem. Outside Syracuse, pesticide manufacturer FMC Middleport was found to have contaminated the local soil, sediment, surface and groundwater with arsenic and inorganic metals at the facility, as well as at a public school and nearby residential areas. Eventually the DEC remediated these areas by removing and replacing the soil. On the shores of Lake Erie in Lackawanna, Bethlehem Steel Corporation contaminated approximately 500 acres across 40 locations with cyanide and other chemicals. This pollution resulted in acid tar pits, blue soil and groundwater contamination. Steps have been taken to contain the pollution since its discovery.

When adjusted for inflation, the DEC's overall operations budget grew by just over 1 percent during a five-year period and federal funding for environmental programs declined by 25 percent. And despite decreasing support, the federal government establishes about 40 new rules for states to adopt and implement every year.

Environmental Advocates of New York's analysis reveals that the agency is relying more on general tax dollars to support activities while regulated polluters pay a smaller share. The DEC's overall funding is likely to worsen during the recession, as budget cuts, retirement incentives and a hiring freeze are implemented. And although federal stimulus dollars bolstered the DEC's Division of Forest & Land Resources, these resources were a one-shot deal.

Environmental Advocates has identified potential sources of green revenue to support the DEC, including increasing polluter fees and closing tax loopholes. To call attention to New York State's neglect of its primary environmental agency, Environmental Advocates of New York is releasing a series of brief reports highlighting the negative impacts of funding shortages at several of the DEC's most critical programs.

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Environmental Advocates of New York's mission is to protect our air, land, water and wildlife and the health of all New Yorkers. Based in Albany, we monitor state government, evaluate proposed laws, and champion policies and practices that will ensure the responsible stewardship of our shared environment. We work to support and strengthen the efforts of New York's environmental community and to make our state a national leader. The tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization is also the New York affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation.