Audit Report on the Compliance of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection with Local Law 30 Regarding Access to City Services for Residents with Limited English Proficiency

Executive Summary

In 2017, the New York City Council enacted Local Law 30, effective July 1, 2017, which requires New York City (City) agencies that provide direct public services or emergency services to have a language access plan that allows residents meaningful access to City services regardless of their proficiency in English. These translation services must be provided in the top 10 designated Citywide languages, consisting of the top 6 limited English proficiency languages spoken by the population of New York City as determined by the Department of City Planning and the Mayor’s Office of Language Services Coordinator, based on U.S. census data, and the top 4 limited English proficiency languages spoken by the population served or likely to be served by the agencies of the City of New York, excluding the languages designated based on U.S. census data.

This audit focuses on whether the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) complied with Local Law 30. DEP is responsible for protecting public health and the environment by, among other things, supplying clean drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and reducing air noise and hazardous material pollution. DEP manages the City’s water supply; builds and maintains the City’s water distribution network, fire hydrants, storm and sanitary sewage collection systems, and its green infrastructure systems; and manages the 14 wastewater treatment plants located in the City and the 7 treatment plants located in the upstate watershed. Further, DEP bills and collects payments for approximately 836,000 water and sewer accounts. At DEP’s borough offices, the public can pay water and sewer bills, get account information, request an inspection, request a water meter title read, apply for permits, and file complaints.

Audit Findings and Conclusion

We found that DEP generally complied with Local Law 30. Our review of DEP’s Language Access Plans dated 2010 and 2018 found that DEP has made continuous progress towards providing meaningful language access to the agency’s services for City residents with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). Its Language Access Plans described the steps that DEP has taken to provide its services to the LEP population.

Overall, we found that DEP provides direct public services such as requests for account information, payments of water and sewer bills, applications for permits, and the filing of complaints in the top 10 New York City LEP languages. Further, we found that through a contract with language vendor Voiance Inc., and the City’s Volunteer Language Bank (VLB), DEP has the ability to provide documentation, translation, and phone interpretation services in over 100 languages.[1] Appendices I and II contain details of the specific items we tested and the results of our tests. Appendix III illustrates DEP’s efforts to ensure Local Law 30 compliance.

Audit Recommendations

To address these issues, the audit recommends that DEP should continue to adhere to Local Law 30 to ensure that it adequately meets the language needs of the communities it serves.

Agency Response

In its response, DEP agreed with the audit’s finding and recommendation. DEP stated, “As recommended in the report, DEP will continue to comply with Local Law 30 to effectively meet the needs of New Yorkers with limited English proficiency when accessing DEP’s services.”

[1] The City’s Volunteer Language Bank is organized through the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs enrolls government workers that speak up to 70 language to assist other government agencies with translation services.