City Comptroller John C. Liu today called for the issuance of Green Apple Bonds to rid all New York City Public Schools of light fixtures housing the known carcinogen Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) by 2015, six years ahead of the Administration’s current schedule and at savings of $339 million.
Liu’s plan would lower the City’s greenhouse-gas emissions to guard against climate change, while at the same time create 3,000 jobs. Green Apple Bonds are a green investment tool that will help the Big Apple’s buildings become safer and more energy efficient, thus reducing New York City’s carbon footprint.
“That the DOE ignores parent concerns for the health of their children does not, unfortunately, come as a surprise. It is, however, mind boggling that the DOE would ignore the formal warnings issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about PCBs. Our students should learn about PCBs in class, but through their textbooks, not through firsthand exposure,” said Comptroller Liu. “Green Apple Bonds will finance the rapid cleanup of PCBs and the retrofitting of old schools buildings. Moreover, this plan will save $339 million for our taxpayers. It will even significantly lower our City’s carbon footprint, something we must do immediately if we are serious about the issue of climate change.”
PCBs are dangerous chemicals found in old light fixtures in many City schools, a remnant of earlier construction codes. Given that the average public school is over 60 years old, more than 772 school buildings have been targeted for remediation.
The Department of Education (DOE) plans to remove PCB-carrying light fixtures in these 772 school buildings by the year 2021. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has deemed the Administration’s plan unacceptable and recommended more urgent and comprehensive action.
Comptroller Liu’s plan is in step with the EPA’s opinion and the $407 million raised by the sale of these bonds will achieve remediation of the 772 school buildings by 2015. IN addition the timetable of this plan would address a pending lawsuit against the City.
The DOE now consumes the most energy of all City agencies, with bills reaching $291 million a year. In addition to the removal of the toxins, schools also would receive green upgrades and retrofits such as replacement lighting, new boilers, insulation, and smart-meter technology in order to reduce the City’s carbon footprint and lower the DOE’s drastically high energy bills. The jobs created through this retrofit are estimated at 3,000.
City
Agency Energy Costs
|
Rank
|
Agency
|
Heat,
Light & Power
|
|||
|
1
|
EDUCATION
|
$233,064,036
|
|||
|
2
|
CITYWIDE
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
|
$110,843,543
|
|||
|
3
|
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
|
$84,664,035
|
|||
|
4
|
TRANSPORTATION
|
$63,228,498
|
|||
|
5
|
SANITATION
|
$19,632,483
|
|||
|
Other
|
$229,903,308
|
||||
|
Total
|
$741,335,902
|
|
Fuel
Oil
|
Tota
| |
|
$58,299,101
|
$291,363,137
| |
|
$506,443
|
$111,349,986
| |
|
$21,000,568
|
$105,664,603
| |
|
$278,100
|
$63,506,598
| |
|
$2,945,062
|
$22,577,545
| |
|
$16,948,235
|
$246,851,543
| |
|
$99,977,510
|
$841,313,412
|
|
%
of Total
|
|
35%
|
|
13%
|
|
13%
|
|
8%
|
|
3%
|
|
29%
|
|
100%
|
Internal
analysis of FMS data
Dollar
amounts and percentages are rounded
Overall, Comptroller Liu’s plan would save taxpayers $339 million through 2021. Under Liu’s plan, the estimated debt service would amount to $380 million through 2021; that cost, however, would be more than offset by an estimated $719 million in savings resulting from reduced energy consumption, lower interest rates, and federal subsidies for energy conservation.
In addition to making schools safer and saving tax dollars, Green Apple Bonds would reduce the City’s greenhouse gas emissions by 1.4 million metric tons through 2021, 47 percent more than the City’s current plan.
Reducing greenhouse-gases emissions, which contribute to climate change, has become more pressing in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.
“No issue is more important that the safety of our students and staff,” said United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew. “Getting rid of the PCBs in the lights of hundreds of schools should be a major priority for the system, and I want to thank Comptroller Liu for this creative approach that will dramatically speed up this process, even as it helps make schools more energy-efficient.”
"PCBs in old lighting fixtures continue to be a major problem in old school buildings,” said Judith Enck, Regional Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency. “The idea of utilizing new green apple bonds is an innovative and smart way to finance much needed energy efficiency improvements in public schools."
“Investing in a safer and better learning environment for students and educators, and doing it in the most cost-effective way possible, is a priority we in the unionized building and construction trades have long supported. It is precisely this approach that led to project labor agreements with the School Construction Authority that have improved public school buildings and saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in the last decade,” said Gary LaBarbera, President of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, representing 100,000 members in local affiliates of 15 national and international unions. “There is too much work to be done to ignore innovative and fiscally responsible approaches like Green Apple Bonds to make classrooms safer and more conducive to educational excellence for students in our public schools.”
“Despite the huge challenges presented by Superstorm Sandy, we are ready and able to get the job done within two years. Just give us the green light for greener schools,” said NYC Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez. “We fully support Comptroller Liu’s plan to raise $407 million for eligible capital projects through the creation of tax-exempt Green Apple Bonds. This initiative will allow the city to speed up its removal of PCBs in school light fixtures, a vitally important step to protect the health and safety of children and school employees, and create an estimated 3,000 stable, good-paying jobs.”
"For too long, the city has made investment in our school facilities a low priority," said Hector Figueroa, President of 32BJ SEIU, which represents the 5,000 cleaners and handypersons in the city's schools. "Now we see results of that neglect, including hazardous and aging PCB light fixtures that in some cases have leaked toxins onto children or floors or furniture in schools. The city must speed up its timetable, and remove these light fixtures from our schools as soon as possible. It must invest in our schools to ensure they provide an environment that is safe, healthy and conducive to learning."
"The members of Local 891 support any initiative which would speed the removal of dangerous toxins from the public schools,” said Robert J. Troeller, Business Manager/President, I.U.O.E., Local 891. “Unfortunately, Custodian Engineers and their staffs must at times work with potentially hazardous materials and equipment but there is no reason to wait ten years to remove a known threat. All light fixtures containing PCBs should be removed as soon as quickly as possible.”
"In 2008, PCBs were discovered at PS 199, a public school in my district. Since then, nearly 800 public school buildings have been identified as potentially containing toxic, PCB-laden lighting ballasts, and I have been outspoken in my advocacy and my opposition to the City's ten-year timeline to remediate all public school buildings,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan). “Given the City's recalcitrance to prioritize PCB remediation, I introduced legislation that would require remediation of all schools within two to three years. All options should be on the table when it comes to removing PCBs from public schools, and Comptroller Liu's creative funding approach should help move the City closer toward full PCB remediation.”
“It is most important to protect students and staff from known hazards. Removing all PCB light fixtures in a systematic and timely fashion throughout the school system will go a long way in providing a safer environment for everyone,” said Dr. Jacqueline Moline, Chair of the Department of Population Health for the Hofstra- North Shore LIJ School of Medicine.
“Our goal has always been to safeguard children and school staff from the toxic and highly dangerous PCB light fixtures currently in New York City schools,” said Christina Giorgio, Staff Attorney, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest who is representing parents in litigation to shorten the 10-year remediation timeline. “We applaud Comptroller Liu for introducing a remediation plan that, if implemented, will not only protect children and staff from PCB exposure but also will save taxpayers millions of dollars in energy costs while reducing our City’s carbon footprint.”
“We are thrilled that, unlike the Mayor who is more concerned about the dangers of soda than toxic chemicals in our schools, the Comptroller is coming through with a plan that would eliminate toxic PCB-filled lights from our schools in 2 years,” said New York Communities for Change member Regina Castro, parent of a child who went to PS 56 and now attends PS 77 in Brooklyn. “Considering that we started the school year with PCBs dripping onto our in children and teachers in Staten Island, Queens and Brooklyn, it is encouraging to parents like me that something might be done sooner rather than later. Instead of wasting time on sugary drinks, it is a pleasure to know that a really terrible health issue is closer to being addressed.”
"Bringing our infrastructure up-to-date is essential to the health of the economy. In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, that couldn't be clearer,” said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, a sustainability advocacy nonprofit that works with investors, companies and policymakers to advance sustainability initiatives. “Comptroller Liu's plan will put people to work saving energy and money, while also protecting the safety and health of children in New York City's public schools. Investors must play a role in improving New York City's environmental performance, and Green Apple bonds are another way to encourage that process
Background:
The EPA has found that PCBs cause cancer and a number of non-cancer health effects in animals, including damage to the immune system, reproductive system, and nervous system. Studies in humans have suggested that PCBs also can cause learning deficits. In addition the EPA has stated that the City’s current plan is inadequate and too long of a process.
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/
In February 2011, then-Schools Chancellor Cathie Black, then-Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, and then-Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith announced a plan to raise environmental quality in 772 school buildings over the next decade at a cost of $843.9 million.
http://schools.nyc.gov/
On July 20, 2011, the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest filed a federal lawsuit against the DOE and the School Construction Authority (SCA) under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of New York Communities for Change (NYCC), an organization whose membership includes thousands of parents across the city. The suit alleges that thousands of light fixtures across New York City are leaking highly toxic PCBs in violation of federal law and are thereby endangering the health of NYC schoolchildren.
http://www.nylpi.org/images/
Last month, Comptroller Liu joined Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn to announce the acceleration of capital projects throughout the City. As part of the plan, roughly 100 schools would receive expedited PCB removal. The issuance of Green Apple Bonds would ensure that all City Schools have their PCB lighting fixtures removed by 2015.
http://www.comptroller.nyc.
As was the case with Capital Acceleration, Comptroller Liu stands ready to work with the Administration to expedite the issuance of Green Apple Bonds.
