Getting an official warning from a governmental body is a stressful experience for any property owner. In New York City, many residents experience interactions with the Department of Environmental Protection that may cause confusion and financial consequences. Here is everything you need to know about DEP three-day notices so you can avoid fines and hardships.
What Is a DEP 3-Day Notice?
The Department of Environmental Protection is committed to ensuring the well-being of New York residents and surrounding ecosystems. As such, they conduct many investigations on the city’s sewage systems to identify any water main ruptures or leaks, instances of backflow, the presence of lead or galvanized steel pipes, and other potential issues. The DEP uses different types of notices to alert responsible parties of these sewage problems so that repairs are quick and effective.
The DEP serves three-day notices to property owners experiencing a leak in the connection between their private water pipes and the city service line. This notice alerts a property owner that they have three full business days to hire suitable repair services to rectify any issues with their water main cross-connections. Failure to comply with a three-day notice can result in a pesky combination of additional warnings, water shut-offs, and fines.
How To Respond Properly
So, say you find a three-day notice from the DEP taped to your front door. What do you do next? As we stated before, you have three full business days to complete the necessary repairs. In some instances, you may be eligible for an extension, but only if licensed water service contractors request it.
Regardless, you must reach out to professional outdoor plumbing businesses as soon as possible. Experienced companies are entirely capable of completing the necessary services and repairs before the end of those three business days.
Consequences of Ignoring: 10-Day Notice & More
After three business days, a DEP inspector will return to your problematic cross-connection to ensure you completed the necessary repairs. If repairs are unsuccessful or nonexistent, the DEP will then issue a fine of 500 dollars to the property owner. Additionally, they will typically halt water service to that property and issue a 10-day notice. This warning is very serious.
At this stage, water services will remain shut off, and the DEP can potentially return after 10 days to destroy the tap. Luckily, they will not serve additional fines to the property owner. At any point, a licensed plumber and/or business can alert the DEP of successful repairs, reversing the consequences of the 10-day notice.
Now that you know more about DEP three-day notices, you can respond properly and effectively. When in doubt, contact our friendly team of contractors here at Harris Main. Our decades of experience in servicing the great residents of NYC will ensure your interaction with the Department of Environmental Protection is quick and painless.
