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Q&A
Discussion on indirect source rule implementation and resource allocation
1:12:31
·
5 min
Council Member Avilés and Commissioner Aggarwala discuss the implementation of the indirect source rule, including budget allocations, staffing needs, and potential future resource requirements.
- DEP has committed $800,049 for fiscal year 2025 and $1.3 million for fiscal year 2026 for environmental review
- Currently recruiting for two general analytical staff positions in the Bureau of Environmental Compliance
- Discussion of potential future staffing needs for outreach and education, similar to Local Law 97 implementation
- Emphasis on the need for customized plans for each affected warehouse
Alexa Avilés
1:12:31
In terms of the indirect source rule, commissioner, you mentioned a commitment of 800,049 for fiscal twenty five and one point three for fiscal twenty six.
1:12:46
Is that specifically for environmental review?
Rohit Aggarwala
1:12:54
Yes, it
Alexa Avilés
1:12:54
is.
1:12:55
Okay.
1:12:56
And in terms of obviously, this is a big commitment and we are very excited about the work that we've been able to partner and and want to see through.
1:13:06
We know this is gonna require sufficient staffing to be able to do it, to be able to accomplish what we are hoping to.
1:13:15
Do you feel at this point you have sufficient staffing?
Rohit Aggarwala
1:13:20
We are working to add some general analytical staff to the Bureau of Environmental Compliance to support deputy commissioner Lubin in her work on that.
1:13:33
So that recruiting is ongoing.
1:13:35
So, you know, right at the moment we don't.
1:13:38
However, those are two roles that we are are actively recruiting for.
Alexa Avilés
1:13:44
Great.
1:13:45
So two roles in general analytical.
1:13:47
And then are we leveraging other staff, current staff?
Rohit Aggarwala
1:13:52
To a certain extent.
1:13:53
And as you well know, my senior adviser Dawn Miller on the climate side has been spending a lot of her time on that over the last two years now.
Alexa Avilés
1:14:04
Great.
1:14:05
Well, wanna make sure, obviously, this is very, very important to us, so we're gonna track closely, and we want to ensure that you have the sufficient staffing and support to accomplish this given all the investment to date.
1:14:18
We don't want to undermine that.
1:14:20
So I'll tracking it really closely.
1:14:24
At this point, with those commitments, do you feel like those commitments are sufficient for the task at hand currently?
Rohit Aggarwala
1:14:32
I I believe so.
1:14:33
I mean, with with the team and and, you know, and I can't say enough about the great work that deputy commissioner Leuven and her team have been doing over the last year in terms of the broad range of of items, Rethinking about how we how we should be doing citizen idling, thinking about the other priorities, how we how we could grow the noise camera program, how we can employ other kinds of technology for enforcement.
1:15:00
We're beginning to think about how, you know, one of our most frequent things is construction noise complaints and we are thinking about how we could use technology to augment our inspectors when it comes to construction noise complaints.
1:15:16
But I think the, you know, we we, as I've said, we need to we need to equip BEC with more ability to do that kind of analysis and support the deputy commissioner and her senior team, and that is something that we are actively recruiting for.
Alexa Avilés
1:15:34
Great.
1:15:36
I think, again, we'll keep we'll keep tracking it very closely.
1:15:39
We have every expectation that we're gonna continue to build on our investments and not undermine them.
1:15:44
So we'll continue to talk about that.
1:15:48
Are there other resources that DEP might need to be considered in order to establish the indirect source rule outside of what we've discussed?
Rohit Aggarwala
1:15:59
Well look, I think at some point a year or so from now in the hopes that an ISR is enacted by the council after the EIS is concluded which unfortunately realistically is probably well into next year.
1:16:18
I would imagine BEC will need some additional staff to help conceptualize it, do the outreach, you know, but but at that time I think we will figure out kind of what our resources at BEC is, our Bureau of Public Affairs and Communications plays a big role.
1:16:36
As you know, we've recently fully staffed up our five borough commissioners and I'm very excited about that.
1:16:44
But but implementing an ISR, I expect, will require a great deal of outreach to the community of affected warehouses.
1:16:51
I mean to a certain extent it's not dissimilar from local law 97.
1:16:55
It would cover fewer entities but in the same way that there's a lot of outreach and education that's going to be required to work with each of the covered warehouses which as we discussed in the hearing last month, you know, we believe should be the broader set of, I forget, I think it's 1,600 warehouses and not just the distribution centers.
1:17:18
You know, that's nowhere near the kind of mass outreach that mayor's office of climate and the department of buildings and HPD are doing on local law 97, which covers thousands and thousands of buildings of course.
1:17:32
But it is kind of a similar quality because we're gonna have to work with each individual warehouse to make sure that they're aware of the rule, that they understand the different options that are available because also part of the magic of this rule, as as you know better than than anybody, is the ability for customization, right, for each warehouse to come up with a plan that works for its operation.
1:17:56
And that will require some effort.