THE COUNCIL
OF
THE CITY OF NEW YORK

Bill de Blasio
Mayor, City of New York
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
February 27, 2018
Dear Mayor de Blasio,
We write to you to seek to establish a more productive and fruitful discussion around the
development and implementation of the Department of Environmental Protection’s Long
Term Control Plan (LTCP) for managing New York City’s Combined Sewer Overflow
(CSO) outfalls. As Council Members, we represent both groups and constituents who
harbor grave concerns regarding how the LTCP process has been conducted to date.
While we appreciate DEP’s cooperation in the Committee on Environmental Protection’s
oversight hearing of December 13, 2017, we must ensure that the conversation does not
end there, especially as 10 new Council Members have taken office in the interim.
At the outset, let us first establish that our goals here are in near alignment. We all desire
to see our city’s waterways achieve the fishable/swimmable standard set by the federal
Clean Water Act. We want to ensure that as little untreated sewage makes it to the point
of entering our waterways as possible. And we all want to do this without unduly
burdening ratepayers, many of whom are middle class homeowners struggling to get by.
Our disagreements, where they exist, come down to several key points: First, how can the
Council, and our constituents, be better integrated into the LTCP implementation
process? Secondly, how can we ensure that the proposed solutions do not become
problems in themselves? To clarify this latter point, we should reiterate that we share
many of the concerns of advocates who argue that we must look to set attainable goals
based on CSO overflow reduction and not simply that our infrastructure spending meets a
certain set target. Additionally, while chlorination of CSO overflows is a method that has
been used elsewhere, the EPA has acknowledged many problematic side effects of
chlorination, including its toxicity, its corrosive properties, and the potential for creating
carcinogenic by-products like trihalomethanes.

 To be clear, we believe that the commissioner has done an admirable job here. He has
always been forthcoming about the issues surrounding the LTCPs, and has not hesitated
to meet us at our offices when we have asked. We must ensure, however, that this
represents the floor, and not the ceiling, of DEP’s engagement on the topic. Our districts
must have a greater seat at the table in this discussion.
Our local waterways are a true asset for our communities citywide, and in an era when
our most fundamental environmental laws are under attack, New York City must strive
for the goals enshrined in the Clean Water Act. We hope that we can work together as
partners in that endeavor.
Sincerely,

Costa Constantinides
Chair, Committee on Environmental Protection

Margaret S. Chin

Chaim M. Deutsch

Daniel Dromm

Rafael L. Espinal Jr.

Barry Grodenchik

Robert Holden

Peter Koo

Rory I. Lancman

Brad Lander

Stephen T. Levin

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 Alan N. Maisel

Donovan J. Richards

Carlina Rivera

Deborah Rose

Helen Rosenthal

Ritchie J. Torres

Mark Treyger

Paul Vallone

Jimmy Van Bramer
Cc: Vincent Sapienza, P.E., Commissioner, New York City Department of
Environmental Protection

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