Spills, Spills, Spills

DEC’s Spills staff respond to more than 10,000 spills each year, part of the agency’s real-time emergency management of petroleum and hazardous and non-hazardous material releases that can have direct impacts to local streams, water supplies, and public health. In this episode, hosts Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar and Chief of Staff Erica Ringewald are joined by staff from DEC’s Division of Environmental Remediation—Mike Zamiarski, Regional Spills Engineer in DEC’s Region 8, and Kevin Hale, Chief of Spill Response Coordination—to discuss how DEC’s Spill Response program protects and restores New York’s natural environment and how DEC’s spills experts are engaging the next generation of scientists, engineers, and technicians.

In this episode, Mike and Kevin explain the three key components of the program (prevention, response, and remediation), how staff use their professional judgement to address spills and clean up materials to protect New Yorkers, how DEC’s spill response staff coordinate with state agency partners, regional staff, local municipalities, and emergency responders on incidents in communities across the state, and New York’s nation-leading work to clean up leaking underground fuel storage tanks. We also learn about the different types of spills DEC responds to, including petroleum, chemicals, sewage, manure, and even beer, milk, and chocolate.

Episode Notes:

• Chemical and Petroleum Spills
• Reporting a Spill to DEC
• Home Heating Safety: Oil Fuel Tanks (Video)
• Underground Heating Oil Tanks: A Homeowner's Guide
• Register for DEC’s 2025 Summer Camps
• Upcoming Examinations for Special Licenses
• DEC’s Annual Tree and Shrub Seedling Sale
• New Freshwater Wetland Regulations

About:

“DEC Does What?!” is a bi-weekly podcast that features conversations with DEC experts about the agency’s wide-ranging efforts to protect New Yorkers and the environment. Hosted by DEC Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar and Chief of Staff Erica Ringewald. For more information, visit http://dec.ny.gov/podcast   

 

Have an idea about a future episode? Want to share your feedback? Send us an email at contact@dec.ny.gov using the subject line “DEC Podcast”.