New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli in an audit of New York State Department of Labor's (NYSDOL) Asbestos Control Program revealed several issues which we discussed in our July 2, 2013 blogpost. NYSDOL's response to the DiNapoli audit revealed several tactics that NYSDOL was currently using to ensure compliance and
enforcement of the regulations. The Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) requested additional clarification of these tactics. NYSDOL's response can be found at our
Resources webpage on our website. To sum
up NYSDOL's response, they are cross-referencing all the information they
get from notifications, survey reports, air sampling results, waste manifests,
etc. to make sure they are being notified & the quantities are accurate.
 |
| Waste manifests are on of the tactics being used by NYSDOL |
Based on NYSDOL
response this cross-referencing tactic has led to several enforcement
actions. These include:
- Air Monitoring Data has led to catching 2 contractors not notifying their project, 136 notices of violations for 18 contractors.
- Demolition Permit Data has led to catching 4 contractors not notifying their project, 28 notices of violations for 10 contractors.
- Site Specific Variances Data has led to catching 1 contractor not notifying their project, 2 notices of violations for 1 contractor.
- Two other lines of data Surveys & Waste Manifests have not found any violations.
We are glad to see NYSDOL at least checking the data they receive to ensure everything is being done correctly. However, we still don't see how NYSDOL is going after those that do things totally illegally. Still no sign of how they are attempting to catch those companies doing illegal abatements during emergencies, floor tiles, siding, & roofing projects. Our suggestion would be to track the waste entering construction & demolition landfills to see if this will get you those that should be notifying. In addition, accessing tax records may also indicate roofing, siding, floor, & emergency contractor's projects that would allow a targeting of records to determine illegal abatement activities.
