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1 WEEKLY . Bill de Blasio, Mayor Emily Lloyd, Commissioner PIPELINE . November 25, 2014 Volume V Issue 255. Commissioner's Corner fuel, which will help to reduce greenhouse gases. The versatility of the new sludge vessels allowed DEP to dismantle an 800,000 gallon storage tank along the shore of the East River in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. That land will be used to develop new affordable housing and expand Newtown Barge Park. Construction of the three ships, the Hunt's Point, the Port Richmond and the Rockaway, was financed, in part, through a Earlier today, I joined DEP staff, go capacity and more versatility $53 million federal stimulus grant treatment system since the late members of the Newtown Creek than the older models, including provided through the American 1930s and the Federal Work Monitoring Committee, and sev- a shallower draft that allows them Recovery and Reinvestment Act Projects Administration funded eral special guests who play a to navigate under the Pulaski (ARRA) of 2009.

2 The first three motorized sludge role in the health of our harbor to Bridge and into Whale Creek, Sludge is the residual organic vessels. Today, DEP operates celebrate the commissioning of where they can dock directly material that is removed from a fleet of sludge vessels that three new, state-of-the-art cargo adjacent to the Newtown Creek wastewater. First, raw sludge transport nearly billion vessels that will play a critical role Wastewater Treatment Plant. The is placed in an oxygen-free gallons of material each year. in the wastewater treatment pro- new ships also burn ultra-low sul- environment and is heated to at The three new ships join the cess and help to protect New York fur diesel and meet stringent EPA least 95 degrees Fahrenheit for North River, which went into City's waterways for decades to Tier II emissions standards. In ad- 15 to 20 days. This stimulates service in 1974, and the Red come. The three new ships are dition, because the ships have a the growth of anaerobic bacteria, Hook, which went into service equipped with the latest marine greater cargo capacity, they can which consume the organic in 2008.

3 The Newtown Creek, technology, have a greater car- make fewer trips and burn less material in the sludge. The which went into service in 1967, digestion process stabilizes the was recently retired and will be thickened sludge by converting sold at auction. much of the material into water, Spotlight on Safety carbon dioxide and biogas. In 2009, DEP was awarded one of the largest ARRA grants in The digested sludge is then the country and Bollinger Marine transported by sludge vessels Working in Extreme Cold Weather to a dewatering facility where Fabricators in Amelia, Louisiana was awarded a contract to build Extremely cold weather can help and move the victim into a it is put through centrifuges, the new sludge vessels. Over expose workers to hypothermia warm room. which remove much of the the last few months, as each and frostbite. Early symptoms remaining water. ship was completed and passed To protect yourself while working of hypothermia can include in extremely cold weather, follow Sludge vessels have been a shivering, fatigue and confusion.

4 These guidelines: part of the City's wastewater (Continued on reverse side). Signs that someone may be experiencing frostbite include wear layers of loose clothing numbness and tingling. It is a ensure the ears, face, hands good idea to work in pairs when and feet are properly covered conditions are extremely cold, so that workers can monitor each wear waterproof and insulated other's condition, in addition boots to their own. If you suspect For more information, visit DEP's someone is suffering from Exposure to Extreme Heat and either of these conditions, alert Cold Guidance. a supervisor, call for emergency At DEP, everyone is responsible for safety. If you or anyone on your team is concerned about your working conditions, it's okay to ask your supervisor or your bureau's EHS liaison how they can help. If you've still got questions, you can call the EHS Employee Concerns Hotline. It's DEP's responsibility to acknowledge and fix unsafe situations, procedures, and practices. With your help, we'll not only get the job done, we'll make it safer for ourselves, our coworkers, our families, and our city.

5 CALL (800) 897-9677 OR SEND A MESSAGE THROUGH PIPELINE . HELP IS ON THE WAY. Welcome Aboard! Kudos Corner Yesterday, 12 new employees attended orientation and received an overview of the department from First Deputy Commissioner Steve Lawitts and Deputy Commissioner for Organizational Development Diana Jones Ritter. We hope everyone will join us in welcoming them to DEP! Robyn L. Mery, Gina N. Shcherbenko and Kevin Wilbur (not pictured) with BWS; Anne M. Gallo, Michael Kim and Jason L. Moein Karim is DEP's Process conservation efforts at DEP can Parker with BEDC; William P. Bennett and Lauren Hamid-Shapiro Engineer at the Newtown Creek help to reduce overall energy use with BWSO; Andres F. Garcia with Sustainability; Thomas Hand Wastewater Treatment Plant, the and greenhouse gas emissions. with CFO/FMC; Jonathan McGrath with Executive and Komal Saini largest such facility in New York Karim attained the greatest with BWT. City. Over the last decade, he has energy reductions through overseen process management modifications to the operation operations at the plant while it of the plant's air blowers.

6 This underwent a comprehensive, $5 included adjustments to the 120. Press Box billion upgrade. Karim has also played a significant role in the effort motorized process air valves, which reduced header pressure to reduce energy consumption and the energy consumption of at the plant and he was recently the blowers. He also changed recognized by the Department certain operating procedures to of Citywide Administrative reduce electrical loads during Services (DCAS) as an Energy peak demand periods. Karim's Champion. DCAS works to work has resulted in a 1 megawatt improve the energy efficiency of reduction in electrical demand municipal facilities and, as DEP at Newtown Creek, enough constitutes 12 percent of the total electricity to power more than energy use among City facilities, 1,000 homes. (Commissioner's Corner continued). City government often looks small. Petty, even. The parking its sea trials, they sailed from and are designed to travel at ticket. The real estate tax bill. Sanitary inspection grades.

7 Window- Louisiana, around the tip of 10 knots, or approximately guard surveys. The fruitless call to 311 at 2 to complain about Florida and up the east coast to miles per hour. On a typical jackhammers outside. From here, however, government doesn't New York City. The vessels then week, each vessel makes 14. look petty at all here being the bottom of a 350-foot-deep, 35-foot- went through a post-delivery round trips and visits eight diameter shaft through a 460-million-year-old shale formation in inspection and adjustments at wastewater treatment plants. Orange County, 70 miles north of City Hall. NY Times the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I would like to extend our The sludge vessels operate thanks to a few of our fellow seven days a week, and each employees who played a critical has a six person crew, including role in the design, construction Holiday Food Drive a captain, chief engineer, assistant engineer, mate and management and testing of the new vessels, including BWT's The 2014 Holiday Food Drive has been a great success.

8 Thank two mariners. The new ships are Jim Aird, Gordon Arnold, you for all your generous donations, which will help make a happier 290 feet long, 70 feet wide and Scott Belfield and Kevin holiday season for our less fortunate neighbors. Thank you also to all have the capacity to transport Byrnes, and BEDC's Robert the bureau food drive liaisons for their hard work. To see photos of the 140,000 cubic feet of sludge, or D'Attile, Eric Lehan and Igor collections at the various locations click here. roughly 1 million gallons. The Sagalovich. To see photos of new ships weigh 2,872 tons the new ships click here. DEP will begin its annual Coat Drive at Lefrak this week. Please consider donating your gently used coats. A collection bin is now in the lobby of the low-rise building. We will begin collecting for the holiday toy drive next week. Please check the newsletter for specific information for your location. We Welcome your feedback! To submit an announcement or suggestion, please email us at: Happy Thanksgiving everyone!