December 9, 2022

DEP Police Protect New York City’s Drinking Water Supply Systems Throughout the Catskills and Lower Hudson Valley

New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala today announced the graduation of 15 new Environmental Police Officers (EPOs) from the Staff Sgt. Robert H. Dietz DEP Police Academy in Kingston, New York. The new EPOs will be immediately deployed joining the DEP Police force to protect the 2,000-square-mile city’s water supply system and will have the responsibility for safeguarding the watershed land and infrastructure in nine counties throughout the Catskills and lower Hudson Valley.

The Environmental Police Academy was launched in 2002 as the first-of-its-kind in the nation to provide training, experience and concentrated course work in advanced environmental stewardship and protection. The new graduates who live in ten different counties have successfully completed a total of 31 weeks of instruction in which they underwent intense training in counterterrorism, environmental protection, police science, the use of firearms and defensive tactics. In addition, recruits completed courses in environmental conservation laws, land navigation, fish and wildlife, and watershed protection.

Today’s graduation ceremony took place at the Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston and was presided over by DEP Chief Operating Officer Vincent Sapienza.

“We are proud to congratulate these 15 new Environmental Police Officers who will be critical to our efforts protecting the quality and integrity of the water supply system for close to 10 million New Yorkers,” said Commissioner Aggarwala. “These new officers will play unique roles as protectors and environmental stewards across 2,000-square-miles of watershed and we welcome them to the DEP family.”

The graduating class named EPO Kurt Pfaffenberger as the class leader, and EPO Benjamin Hamel, EPO Drew Kapica and EPO Wilson Ramirez as squad leaders. During the graduation ceremony, awards were presented for outstanding performance during training. EPO Kurt Pfaffenberger received the Physical Fitness Award; and EPO Drew Kapica received the Academic Proficiency Award, the Firearms Proficiency Award and the Best Overall Officer Award.

The complete list of graduates and their home counties:

Allen Bateman, Dutchess; Giancarlos Castrillon, Westchester; Christopher Corporan, Putnam; Andrew Exner, Sullivan; Benjamin Hamel, Orange; Lee Johnson, Westchester; Drew Kapica, Westchester; Andrew Lee, Bronx; Christopher McDermott, Queens; Dennis McLaughlin, New York; Keven Mella, Bronx; Ronnie Ng, Richmond; Kurt Pfaffenberger, Rockland; Wilson Ramirez, New York; Kevin Schwartz, Orange.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing approximately one billion gallons of high-quality water each day to more than 9.5 million New Yorkers. This includes more than 70 upstate communities and institutions in Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties which consume an average of 110 million total gallons of drinking water daily from New York City’s water supply system. This water comes from the Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds that extend more than 125 miles from the City and are comprised of 19 reservoirs, three controlled lakes, and numerous tunnels and aqueducts. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 scientists, engineers, surveyors, watershed maintainers and other professionals in the upstate watershed. In addition to its $70 million payroll and $157 million in annual taxes paid in upstate counties, DEP has invested more than $1.7 billion in watershed protection programs—including partnership organizations such as the Catskill Watershed Corporation and the Watershed Agricultural Council that support sustainable farming practices, environmentally sensitive economic development, and local economic opportunity. DEP has a robust capital program, with a planned $20.1 billion in investments over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.