Interstate Environmental Commission

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Overview:

The Interstate Environmental Commission is a joint agency of the States of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The IEC was established in 1936 under a Compact between New York and New Jersey and approved by Congress. The State of Connecticut joined the Commission in 1941.

The mandates of the Commission are governed by the Tri-State Compact, Statutes, and the IEC's Water Quality Regulations. Its responsibilities and programs include activities in areas such as air pollution, resource recovery facilities and toxics; however, the IEC's continuing emphasis is on water quality, an area in which the Commission is a regulatory and enforcement agency.

IEC's area of jurisdiction runs west from Port Jefferson and New Haven on Long Island Sound, from Bear Mountain on the Hudson River down to Sandy Hook, New Jersey (including Upper and Lower New York Bays, Newark Bay, Arthur Kill and Kill Van Kull), the Atlantic Ocean out to Fire Island Inlet on the southern shore of Long Island, and the waters abutting all five boroughs of New York City.

The IEC is a goal-oriented agency with a long list of solid accomplishments. The IEC is in a unique position to take the lead within the region in implementing the Commission's goals because it is an interstate agency. As such, the IEC views the region as a whole and can cross state boundaries in an impartial and unbiased manner.

The IEC is unique in that it is an interstate environmental agency that does not hesitate to use its enforcement and regulatory powers - whenever necessary, on both an interstate and intrastate basis - to improve the quality of life for all citizens throughout this environmentally fragile region.

The Commission is a multi-faceted agency whose programs and concerns reach far beyond its environmental mandates. IEC plays a significant role in adding jobs and dollars to the economy and by providing enhanced educational opportunities for students at all levels of study. View the IEC Organization and Regulations Pamphlet (729k, Adobe Acrobat Format) Back to top

Mission and Goals of the IEC
The mission of the IEC is to protect and enhance environmental quality through cooperation, regulation, coordination, and mutual dialogue between government and citizens in the tri-state region.

The goals of the IEC are to abate and control water pollution in the Interstate Environmental District and engage in the coordination of interstate air pollution problems and issues in order to achieve a healthy environment and a productive ecosystem. The IEC implements these goals by: coordinating interstate and region-wide programs and enforcing the IEC's water quality regulations; providing technical assistance and support to its member States; taking the lead on region-wide issues; and enhancing public and legislative awareness, and disseminating information.

In order to achieve its mission and its goals, the IEC has programs that lead to opening and/or keeping open waters for swimming, shellfishing and fishing. It is proactive in enforcement of the IEC's Water Quality Regulations by sampling, laboratory analyses, research, legal activities and coordination of these with the IEC's member states and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The Commission is an active participant in regional planning efforts including the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program and the Long Island Sound Study. The IEC has a program of public education and public outreach with citizen groups and governmental agencies. The IEC is a leader on region-wide environmental issues. Back to top

IEC's Accomplishments Benefiting the NY-NJ-CT Tri-State Region
The IEC's long list of tangible accomplishments providing benefits throughout the region includes:

more stringent permit requirements to control and prevent pollutants from emptying into tri-state waterways
vastly improved operational procedures at the Fresh Kills Landfill to prevent garbage from washing up along area beaches and shorelines
response to citizens' pollution complaints
active participation in the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program and the Long Island Sound Study
adoption of year-round disinfection requirements for all discharges into this District's waterways which has led to lower bacterial contamination and, thus far, has resulted in thousands of acres of shellfishing waters now being opened year-round - and not just during warm weather
the 1997 adoption of a regulation requiring advance notification to the IEC of all planned sewage bypasses
spearheading, coordinating and partially funded a multi-state, multi-agency effort that resulted in regional notification and tracking procedures for unplanned sewage bypasses to ensure proper action for the protection of bathers and shellfisheries

Just as pollution knows no state boundaries, the Commission, as an interstate agency, crosses state lines. IEC's view is and has always been to look at the region as a whole - that is, it must be treated as a single environmental entity.

To Sum It Up . . .In every essential area of activity - sampling, monitoring, coordination, regulation and enforcement - the IEC has carried the ball and saved its member states literally millions of dollars over the past decade alone. Clearly, year in and year out, the IEC's track record of accomplishments benefiting New York, New Jersey and Connecticut speaks for itself. IEC continues to prove its worth as a guardian of the environment C maintaining the integrity of our waterways and improving air quality on behalf of all citizens throughout this tri-state region. Back to top