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AGENCY TESTIMONY
Business Integrity Commission testimony on commercial waste zones and grease hauling legislation
1:59:51
ยท
4 min
Liz Crotty, Commissioner and Chair of the Business Integrity Commission (BIC), provides testimony on BIC's role in regulating the commercial waste industry and addresses proposed legislation regarding grease haulers. She outlines BIC's responsibilities, its partnership with DSNY, and expresses concerns about Intro 784, particularly regarding duplicative reporting requirements and jurisdictional issues.
- BIC regulates companies in the commercial waste industry and wholesale public food markets, focusing on fair and safe operations.
- The agency works closely with DSNY on the Commercial Waste Zone (CWZ) program, sharing information and collaborating on safety initiatives.
- Crotty raises several issues with Intro 784, including duplicative reporting requirements and concerns about BIC's authority over food service establishments.
Liz Crotty
1:59:51
Good morning.
1:59:53
Now good afternoon, chair Abreu and members of the city council committee on sanitation and solid waste management.
1:59:58
My name is Liz Crotty, commissioner and chair of the Business Integrity Commission better known as BIC.
2:00:04
BIC regulates companies operating in the commercial waste or rather trade waste industry and the city's wholesale public food markets.
2:00:14
Our focus is ensuring that these industries operate fairly, safely and without corruption while protecting customers.
2:00:22
Our regulatory mission is achieved through in-depth review of every application received from companies seeking a BIC license or registration depending on the type of waste they haul.
2:00:33
The commercial waste zone awardees haul refuse and recyclables from businesses in the city and represent a subset of the 1,900 total trade waste licensees and registrants.
2:00:47
CWZ does not impact BIC licensees and registrants that haul other types of material from businesses like construction demolition debris, used cooking grease, medical waste, on call junk removal, or businesses that are approved for self hauler registrations to perform their own waste removal such as landscapers.
2:01:07
Like all business all BIC licensees and registrants, the CWZ Carter's will continue to apply for the renewal of their BIC license every two years including while CWZ is ongoing, go through the BIC review process which focuses on good character, honesty and integrity of applicants.
2:01:28
BIC and DSNY have a long standing partnership and the two agencies are in continuous contact from the leadership level down.
2:01:37
Our agencies share information and data, work together through the CWZ safety task force and collaborate on other matters as needed.
2:01:45
Anecdotally under the ADAMS administration, crashes involving CWZ licensees are down 60% in 2024 compared to 2023 and overall four BIC violations have increased 110%.
2:02:01
Intro July concerns grease haulers, one type of specific specialty waste explicitly exempt from CWZ.
2:02:10
There are several issues with intro seven eighty four and BIC respectfully requests further engagement with the council to address these matters.
2:02:19
First with regard to the proposed new section 16 dash five twenty nine, the proposed reporting requirements are duplicative of the customer registers BIC already collects per its customer register rule for licensees who are the Carters.
2:02:35
Registers are list from the licenseescarters of all their customers which include businesses name, address, date and in the case of Intro July, quantity of grease collected from the previous quarter.
2:02:52
This can be found in section five dash o three subsection G of title 17 of the rules of the city Of New York.
2:03:00
BIC sends directives to remind licensees of the customer register rule and to submit before the due date via our online portal.
2:03:08
When a licensee fails to adhere to this rule, BIC issues a violation with the intent of collecting the customer register.
2:03:16
BIC maintains the customer registers and uses the data for various regulatory enforcement purposes.
2:03:22
This data is not publicly available as it is considered the Carter's company's proprietary business information and also includes personal identifying information.
2:03:33
The information sought under paragraph four of subdivision B regarding the facility where the grease is disposed is already collected as part of the DSNY semi annual tonnage survey of the Carter's which BIC helps to facilitate.
2:03:48
Finally BIC has concerns about the utility of reporting requirement by subdivision C of the proposed section of sixteen-five 29 as it falls outside the scope and authority delineated from the city charter.
2:04:02
BIC simply does not have regulatory jurisdiction over commercial establishments including those at issue here, food service establishments that generate grease.
2:04:13
It is beyond the scope and authority of BIC's mandate delineated in the city charter.
2:04:18
BIC is happy to work with the council to address any concerns or constituent complaints whether they be about grease haulers or any other matter under our authority.
2:04:28
Please always feel free to contact me or my team directly or share with your constituents complaint submission portal which is linked on the home page of our website.
2:04:37
Thank you for the opportunity to share our concerns about Intro seven eighty four.
2:04:42
BIC welcomes the opportunity to discuss the goals of the bill further with the sponsors today.