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Challenges with citizen air complaint program and its impact on DEP resources

2:57:39

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110 sec

Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala explains the challenges faced by DEP due to the citizen air complaint program and its impact on the department's resources and other enforcement activities.

The volume of complaints has increased dramatically, with 18,000 submitted in January alone
One individual submitted 1,700 complaints in a single day, potentially earning $150,000
DEP has been trying to handle the back-office work for these complaints, which is becoming unsustainable
The program is squeezing out DEP's ability to address noise, construction noise, dust, and other targeted enforcement in environmental justice neighborhoods

Rohit Aggarwala

2:57:39

Our original.

2:57:40

Then for your case, we'll we'll call it the first.

2:57:43

But Great.

2:57:43

But look, I I think I go back to the fact that, you know, we I think the public tends to think of of air and noise as completely separate.

2:57:56

The way we manage it, these are air and noise inspectors.

2:58:01

Right?

2:58:02

And and this is why I say I think the reforms to the citizen idling law are really necessary because keeping up we had in in over the course of last year, we were operating at roughly 10,000 violations or 10,000 citations that were complaints that were filed per month for a total of roughly a 20 some odd thousand.

2:58:26

In January we had 18,000 submitted including one individual who submitted 1,700 complaints in one day.

2:58:36

Right?

2:58:37

1,700 complaints at $85 each, that's a hundred and $50,000 that that person stands to receive.

2:58:45

And that volume because until now at my direction, we have tried to do the back office work.

2:58:52

Right?

2:58:52

So there are two options in the law.

2:58:54

DEP can do the back office work, take the burden off the citizen enforcer.

2:58:58

Or we can wait the forty five days and just say you do it on your own, good luck with oath.

2:59:03

Right?

2:59:04

We have thus far tried to do it all ourselves.

2:59:07

It is not clear to me that that is sustainable because it is now squeezing out our ability to do noise, our ability to do construction noise, our ability to do dust, and our ability to do this other targeted enforcement in the EJ neighborhoods where the citizen complaints are not coming from.

2:59:27

So it's a frustration.

Lincoln Restler

2:59:29

I, you know, attended that hearing, shared my perspective on the record as well, and made some suggestions around different approaches we could do, including caps, on the revenue that somebody could generate through this initiative.

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Noise complaints and noise camera installation progress

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Discussion on enforcing noise regulations and specific noise issues