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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Eric Goldstein, New York City Environment Director at Natural Resources Defense Council
3:19:21
ยท
4 min
Eric Goldstein, representing the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), supports DEP's overall budget request for FY 2026 and capital funding for FY 2026-2029. He emphasizes the importance of DEP's work in managing the city's water and environmental needs, while highlighting three key areas for improvement.
- Urges the council to negotiate with the Adams administration to end or reduce the water system rental payment, which he describes as a regressive and unfair tax on ratepayers
- Recommends allocating funds for planning the construction of a modern wastewater treatment plant on Rikers Island, emphasizing the need for immediate action
- Stresses the importance of fully funding resiliency and climate change programs, including accelerating the implementation of the citywide stormwater master plan and addressing extreme heat
Eric Goldstein
3:19:21
Good afternoon, chair Wressler in acting capacity, but thank you for your leadership and for the great questioning this morning.
3:19:31
I'm Eric Goldstein, the New York City Environment Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
3:19:36
The outset, let me say that NRDC supports DEP's overall request for its preliminary f y twenty six proposed operating budget and preliminary f y twenty six through twenty nine capital funding request.
3:19:50
The drinking water, wastewater treatment, and resilient needs of this, the nation's largest city, are enormous.
3:19:56
The work is mostly done unseen by typical New Yorkers, but it's both expensive and essential to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the people and the properties from the dangers of the climate crisis.
3:20:11
So we appreciate DEP's overall work.
3:20:14
I'll make three quick points.
3:20:16
First, the most important thing the council can do to meet the department's capital and operating needs and not unfairly burden the city's water ratepayers is to negotiate with the Adams administration to end the irrational antiquated water system rental payment.
3:20:32
As you know, this is a financial gimmick.
3:20:34
Water rates are regressive, and this amounts to an unfair, unseen tax on homeowners and lower income New Yorkers.
3:20:42
Nothing in the existing laws that set this up in the nineteen eighties requires that the mayor demand an annual rental payment from the ratepayers.
3:20:51
This year, the mayor is demanding $300,000,000.
3:20:55
The council could and should request that this regressive and unfair rental payment be eliminated or at least that the rental payment be reduced to about a hundred million dollars, which is the twenty year average rental payment since 2025 when the bonds had been retired.
3:21:13
So for twenty years, the rental, subsidy has been on average a hundred million dollars.
3:21:19
It should not be 300,000,000.
3:21:22
Second, we recommend that the council ensure that DEP allocate sufficient funds to advance planning for the construction of a modern wastewater treatment plant on Rikers Island.
3:21:33
As you heard this morning, the sewage plants nearby are reaching the end of their useful life.
3:21:38
They don't have sufficient space to capture and treat stormwater runoff, and they will need to be rebuilt, repaired, or replaced in the years to come.
3:21:46
The 2020 the study that, you directed DEP to undertake in 2021 in the renewable Rikers legislation about constructing a state of the art wastewater treatment plant found not only that it was feasible, but according to DEP that it's a potentially significant cost saving investment.
3:22:06
We heard what the commissioner said today, but the next logical step is for DEP to undertake a more detailed master planning analysis of exactly what its wastewater needs are.
3:22:18
As you said, there's no need to wait.
3:22:20
We don't wanna wait nine months until the end of the year.
3:22:23
And so we urge you to ensure that DEP set aside sufficient funds in its 2026 budget to get that work underway.
3:22:30
Whether it's a new plant, a plant only for holding a primary storm water, or some other operation, That planning ought to get underway now.
3:22:43
And finally, the DEP is taking on the important responsibilities of, resiliency and addressing climate change.
3:22:52
This makes perfect sense to do.
3:22:54
We wanna emphasize the importance of fully funding these programs and for the continued construction and cleaning of the flood alleviating rain gardens of bioswales, as well as accelerated implementation of the citywide stormwater master plan.
3:23:09
The commissioner says that's gonna take thirty years.
3:23:12
And if we got some of that money back from the rental payments, that program could be accelerated to protect those 83 neighborhoods.
3:23:19
And finally, addressing extreme heat, which every year kills more New Yorkers than any other climate related threat.
3:23:26
We look forward to working with you, and we thank you for your attention.