CAMPAIGNS
Onondaga
Lake
Onondaga Lake
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Environmental Protaction Agency
One
of the most polluted lakes in the world, Onondaga Lake,
located on the northwest side of Syracuse, NY, was once
a celebrated resort area and continues to be considered
sacred waters by the Onondaga Nation. A symbol of peace
and democracy, Onondaga Lake hosted the historic gathering
of Native American nations to plant the tree of peace
- to symbolize the end of war, killing and violence
and form the Confederacy, or Haudenosaunee.
A
century of abuse, however, left a legacy of industrial
chemical and municipal sewage contamination in Onondaga
Lake. Inadequate sewage treatment led to a ban on swimming
in 1940. Fishing was banned in 1970 because of industrial
mercury contamination. The fishing ban prompted the
New York State Attorney General to sue Allied Chemical
Corp. (later known as AlliedSignal, which is present-day
Honeywell) to stop mercury dumping, which was calculated
to be 22 pounds of mercury per day. In 1995, Onondaga
Lake was added to the Federal Superfund National Priority
List.
In
1992, AlliedSignal, now known as Honeywell, entered
into a consent decree with the State of New York to
initiate the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility
Study for Onondaga Lake. Fourteen years later, Honeywell
completed the Feasibility Study and presented its findings
to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
(NYSDEC). This study documented the extent of pollution
throughout the Lake and identified key “hot spots,”
where toxic contamination was found as deep at 27 feet
below the sediment.
Hope Returns to Onondaga Lake
Photo courtesy of The University Of the State of New York / New York State Education Department / Office of Cultural Education
Hope
returns to Onondaga Lake, as a massive mercury remediation
project is about to begin. New York State issued its
Record of Decision (ROD) in July 2005 after reviewing
the public comments received during the 90-day public
comment period. The State anticipates cleanup costs
to be about $451 million in the three-year design phase
and the four-year construction phase. While the State
supervises the remediation efforts, Honeywell is responsible
for paying for the cleanup costs.
Key
elements of the ROD include:
-
Dredging of as much as an estimated 2,653,000 cubic
yards of contaminated sediment/waste from the lake.
- Placement
of an isolation cap over an estimated 425 acres of
the shallower portion (where water depths are less
than 30 feet) of the lake bottom.
- Placement
of a thin-layer cap over an estimated 154 acres of
the deeper portion (where water depths are greater
than 30 feet) of the lake bottom.
- Completion
of a comprehensive lakewide habitat restoration plan.
- Habitat
reestablishment in areas where dredging/capping will
occur.
- Implementation
of a long-term operation, maintenance, and monitoring
(OM&M) program to monitor and maintain the effectiveness
of the remedy.
Click here for information on NYSDEC’s Final
decision on the Onondaga Lake cleanup plan
Click
here for information on NYSDEC’s final decision
on the Onondaga Lake cleanup plan
Click
here to view comments submitted by CCE to DEC on the
Onondaga Lake Agreement, November 13, 2006
Click
here to view comments submitted by CCE to DEC on the
Onondaga Lake Bottom Subsite of the Onondaga Lake Superfund
Site Proposed Plan, March 1, 2005
Click
here to view comments submitted by CCE to DEC on the
Onondaga Lake Bottom Proposed Plan, January 12, 2005
|
