SULLIVAN COUNTY - The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced the completion of $165 million in tax payments for 2024 to municipalities and school districts across nine Hudson Valley and Catskill counties.

With these payments, DEP remains a top taxpayer throughout many municipalities and school districts in and near the watershed.

The DEP pays taxes on the full-assessed value of land, structures, easements, and most water supply infrastructure across the more than 200,000 acres it owns for the water supply system. 

These properties include reservoirs, dams, and structures, as well as recreational lands open to the public for activities like hiking, fishing, and boating. Piping and aqueducts are tax-exempt. DEP’s landholdings span approximately 230,000 acres across the 2,000-square-mile watershed.

These payments support the water supply system serving half of New York State’s population, solidifying DEP as a top taxpayer in many watershed communities.

For Sullivan County, on 131 parcels, DEP paid over $3.8 million in county property taxes and $10.2 million in school taxes. Breaking it down by town, the DEP reported that in Neversink, the DEP paid $3,840,180 in town property taxes on 117 parcels. In Fallsburg, the DEP paid $10,238 in property taxes on 11 parcels. In Rockland, on 3 parcels, the DEP paid $1,377 in property taxes.

“[The] DEP remains committed to working hand in hand with all the communities that help us deliver the highest quality water to half the State’s population,” DEP Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala said. “By paying full property taxes and funding economic and environmental initiatives, we directly infuse hundreds of millions of dollars into local economies each year while supporting our community partners.”

In 2024, the DEP ranked as the top taxpayer in Ulster, Delaware, Putnam, and Schoharie counties and was the second-highest taxpayer in Westchester County. 

The agency’s contributions extend beyond taxes, with over 1,000 employees working in the upstate watershed region. DEP Deputy Commissioner Paul V. Rush emphasized the personal connection of these efforts: “Most DEP employees in the Catskills and Hudson Valley live locally, contributing millions more to the regional economy while working hand in hand with their neighbors.”

Taxes paid by the DEP include properties originally acquired to construct 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries and additional lands acquired to operate and protect the water supply system.