LICA Task Force Submits Comments to DEC on Proposed Waste Material Regulation Changes

The Long Island Contractors’ Association, Inc. (LICA) officially submitted comments to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) regarding the Department’s plan to update its regulations for the management of solid waste, including the handling of construction and demolition debris (C&D) materials, known as “DEC Part 360 Regs.” The highway and heavy construction industry commented that the Department specifically pinpoint which materials should/should not be defined as waste. The industry suggests the new regulations provide for a reinvigorated and simplified system to foster beneficial use determinations for materials from site development for infrastructure projects, but allow for effective monitoring and tracking of the safety and validity of source materials to hold the material generator responsible.

The DEC’s C&D waste definition currently includes materials such as concrete, asphalt, rock, brick and soil which are not materials of the same concern like those from the actual demolition of a building. By removing these familiar highway materials from the C&D waste definition our industry could increase the reuse and recycling of these materials and the DEC could focus their efforts on the management of actual waste materials of real concern.

LICA’s recommendations were developed collaboratively by a working task force, with the guidance of environmental expert Michael E. White as our consultant. The task force met several times throughout the summer to formulate our position paper. Please click here to read the comments. We thank the dedication and hard work of the representatives from the following firms:

LICA also worked closely with our partner organization, the New York Materials Association, Inc. and its President/Chief Executive Officer Dave Hamling to develop supporting positions on the revisions to the proposed regulations.