Onondaga Lake--NYS DEC Update

Here is the restoration plan for Onondaga Lake. You can read my letter at, My Letter to the US Fish and Wildlife Service

New York State and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Release Final Plan Outlining Projects to Restore Wildlife Habitat and Recreation on Onondaga Lake Final Report Result of Years of Scientific Study and Public Input Future Projects Fund to Provide Millions of Dollars for Additional Projects with Community Input The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&WS) today released the final plan outlining projects to restore wildlife habitat and recreation on Onondaga Lake. The Onondaga Lake Natural Resource Damage Assessment Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment Final Report is a significant milestone in the revitalization of Onondaga Lake. "Onondaga Lake continues on the road to recovery, and the habitat conservation and recreation projects outlined in the final plan will ensure the important progress to revitalize the Lake advances quickly," said Kenneth Lynch, Executive Deputy Commissioner for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. "The public comments we received were essential in identifying a comprehensive suite of projects that will continue to improve the ecology of the lake's environment and connect more people to the incredible opportunities to enjoy the Lake." The final plan increases habitat quality and quantity, promotes habitat connectivity, creates new and improves existing public use opportunities, and benefits natural resources within the ecosystem. The final plan and additional information on the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration process can be found online at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website. The agencies selected 20 restoration projects in the final restoration plan. These projects, in total, will: Extend the Erie Canalway Trail from Camillus to the Loop the Lake Trail (3.2 miles) and from the Honeywell Visitor Center to Harbor Brook (1.2 miles); Improve preservation efforts, bolster habitat restoration, and increase public access to more than 1,400 acres along Ninemile and Onondaga creeks in the Onondaga Lake watershed, including public fishing rights and parking areas; Install structures within over 275 acres of Onondaga Lake to provide habitat for fish, amphibians, and invertebrates; Provide 15 years of funding to identify and remove invasive species within approximately 1,700 acres of wetlands, lake/river littoral zone, and riparian habitat; Restore wetland and fish habitat within and adjacent to Onondaga County parklands; Restore 100 acres of warm season grassland; Construct a new deepwater fishing pier on Onondaga Lake; Enhance jetties at the Onondaga Lake outlet to improve access; Construct a new boat launch along the Seneca River; Transfer the Honeywell Visitor Center to a public agency; and Include a new Future Projects Fund. The selected restoration alternative is the result of significant public contribution including several years of input from partner organizations, community representatives, and existing documents and plans, culminating in four public information sessions, one public hearing, and more than 230 public comments on the draft plan submitted during the extended comment period. A Responsiveness Summary is included with the final plan, which summarizes public comments on the Restoration Plan, grouped by categories, and provides the Trustees' responses to those comments. Specifically, the Trustees changed the Restoration Plan in response to public comments to include information on the proposed projects, as well as those projects that were not proposed for implementation. All project suggestions submitted in response to the Trustees' request for project suggestions are included, and additional text was added to clarify assessment methodologies, explain the public participation process, and discuss the role of the Onondaga Nation. Alternative B was clarified as the preferred alternative of a suite of projects that best meet the regulatory criteria. The Plan acknowledges that certain geographic areas (e.g. Onondaga Creek) are not represented in Alternative B, but the Trustees will consider projects in those areas, as appropriate, as planning for additional projects under the Future Projects Fund proceeds. The Trustees will continue stakeholder outreach and public participation to solicit additional restoration projects and develop proposed projects that satisfy all relevant criteria. David Stilwell, the USF&WS Field Supervisor at the New York Field Office, commented "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service looks forward to restoring and conserving the natural resources of Onondaga Lake and its watershed, in partnership with the local community." Next Steps Implementation of projects in the Restoration Plan is contingent upon settlement of the Trustees' Natural Resource Damages claims. This settlement will involve the preparation of a Consent Decree subject to additional public comment. The settlement will be combined with the $2.3 million in proceeds from a settlement reached as part of the General Motors bankruptcy in 2012, so that numerous additional restoration projects can be implemented using the Future Projects Fund. About NRDAR As part of the Onondaga Lake Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) process, DEC and USF&WS assessed contaminant-related injuries to natural resources such as waterfowl and turtles, and quantified the lost use of natural resources to the public, such as fishing. The agencies then solicited restoration project ideas from stakeholders to identify the types and scale of restoration needed to compensate for those injuries. The ultimate goal of the process is to replace, restore, rehabilitate, or acquire the equivalent of injured natural resources and resource services lost due to the release of hazardous substances-at no cost to the taxpayer. Under federal law, federal and state agencies and Native American tribes are authorized to act as trustees on behalf of the public for natural resources they own, manage or control. In this role, trustees assess and recover damages or implement restoration projects to compensate for injuries to natural resources due to hazardous substance releases (e.g. mercury). The natural resource damage assessment regulations encourage the participation of potentially responsible parties (PRPs) in the assessment process, and Honeywell agreed to cooperatively assess natural resource damages and identify restoration projects at Onondaga Lake with the trustees. Read more information on this process at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website. http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/press.html

My Letter to the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Yesterday I posted a request from NOON to send letters to the US Fish and Wildlife asking for more time for submitting proposals for future use of Onondaga Lake.NOON--Onondaga Lake Restoration Comment Period TOO short!

Here is the letter I sent off last night.

Dear Ms. Secord - 

I am very concerned about the cleanliness of Onondaga Lake and strongly feel that the Honeywell cleanup is inadequate.

I ask that the Trustees for Onondaga Lake please extend the public comment period for the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment. It is also important that people have the ability to give verbal comment, not just written comments.  Meetings should be held that are convenient for people to attend—nights and weekends—and they need to be announced well in advance. 

Further, please provide public information on the projects accepted or rejected.  Information should include why the project was dismissed, or accepted. Glenn Close’s article in the Post Standard, “How to restore Onondaga Lake? Fishing spots, wetlands, trails proposed” mentioned several proposals. Any proposals need to be at arms length from the Trustees.

I have several proposals  that would help the lake and our economy. My main concern is that we need to recognize in some way the influence that the Haudenosaunee culture and their Great Law of Peace had on our community and country. Congress recognized this in 1988 with Resolution 331. The Skanonh center is a beginning.

• A Tree of Peace should be planted in a designated area that is accessible on Onondaga Lake. It should have informational kiosks around it that tell the story of the Peacemaker, the Great Law of Peace and the influence upon our Founders. This would give credit to the Haudenosaunee, give civic pride to our local residents and provide a tourist destination that could one day significantly economically benefit our community. Many people around the world know about the Tree of Peace and would like to have a place to go experience it.
• We need to shout out and advertise that the Great Law of Peace (and Tree of Peace) served as a model for American Democracy and was given to the Haudenosaunee on the shores of Onondaga Lake. In many ways democracy was born here. I think that a large billboard of sorts in Willow Bay that can be seen from the Thruway would be a good start.
• There needs to be designated sacred areas in the spirit of the Haudenosaunee; places were you cannot— bike, rollerblade, fish, cookout, etc. Places that are meant to be reflective and respectful of the Lake, places where we treat the lake as the  Haudenosaunee do. Many of us gather in certain places around the lake; for prayer, ceremony and meditation.

  Please do not dismiss this idea. I look at Glenn Close’s proposals and wonder what early local residents thoughts of carnivals, Solvay Process, etc.. In hindsight many of those great ideas were not so    great; what will the current proposals look like in 50 or a 100 years?

  Respecting Onondaga Lake as being sacred is eternal and will not harm her. Imagine what the lake and our community would look like if we had adopted this in the 19th century?

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

madis senner

NOON--Onondaga Lake Restoration Comment Period TOO short!

The period of time to reply to Onondaga Lake's Restoration Plan was too short. It was put out there quickly with no advance.

NOON (Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation) asks your help. Here is an email I received.

Dear NOON Supporters:

As you know, Onondaga Lake holds a special place as the site where the Haudenosaunee Confederacy was formed.  As you'll be reminded below, it was defiled for many decades by greedy corporations and indifferent government.

A restoration plan has been proposed with very little time for public input.  Please take a few minutes to send an email demanding a longer time frame and more inclusive process.

A suggested template is below, but it's always better to use as much of your own language as possible. Please share with others!

Thanks,

Lindsay Speer 
for NOON



Dear friends - 

We need your help to push for a longer public comment period for the proposed Onondaga Lake restoration projects, and an actual public hearing to be held!

Onondaga Lake is sacred to the Haudenosaunee. It is where the Haudenosaunee Confederacy was formed over 1000 years ago.  Over the past 150 years, pollution by industries turned Onondaga Lake into a Superfund site, and the "completed" remediation is leaving waste in and around the lake for future generations to have to deal with.  The Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration projects are meant to compensate for loss of use; the current projects are inadequate.

The proposed restoration projects were released on April 24th. The only evening opportunity to ask questions about the plan was just three days later on April 27th. Three more public presentations about the plan were scheduled, lamely piggybacking on other groups' meetings during daytime hours and offering only the opportunity to submit written comments. Comments are currently due on June 2. 

The plan and further information can be found on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website. Further suggested comments will be shared, but we and others need time to better evaluate the proposals. 

Please write a letter or copy the letter below into an email, modify as you want, and send to anne_secord@fws.gov.  Please bcc: lindsayspeer@gmail.com so we know how many are sent! 

----------------------
Dear Ms. Secord - 

I am writing to ask that the Trustees for Onondaga Lake extend the public comment period for the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for another 90 days. I also ask that the Trustees provide an opportunity for people to give verbal comment, not just written comments, and host meetings in the evenings in order to be accessible to working people, with adequate public notice, in order to reach more diverse populations. The public is very interested in the restoration of Onondaga Lake and should be granted the right to make verbal comments on the record, not simply ask questions after a public presentation. 

Further, please provide more information on the projects accepted or rejected.  The proposed projects overwhelmingly favor projects proposed by the trustees themselves, rather than publicly submitted projects. The form for submitting proposed projects had limited space and many groups expected the Trustees to contact them for more details. Dismissing those projects as not having enough information is ridiculous and those groups should be given time to submit detailed plans, and for the public to review those plans. 

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]
------------------------



Thank you for your help!

Warm regards, 
Betty Lyons 
President/Executive Director
American Indian Law Alliance  
315-382-9888
 www.ailanyc.org

AILA on Twitter
AILA on Facebook

The American Indian Law Alliance (AILA) is an Indigenous NGO in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, (ECOSOC). 

NY Governor Cuomo Declares Onondaga Lake Cleanup Complete

Last week NY Governor Cuomo declared that the cleanup of Onondaga Lake was complete. 

This is sad. In no way does this mean that Onondaga Lake is now clearn.

A clean Onondaga Lake is important. Covering pollution with caps is a deficient as that consciousness of pollution, toxicity and disregard for Mother Earth is picked up by the thousands of Ley Lines emanating from the Fields of Consciousness found there. That consciousness is then carried to the farthest corners of the world--imbuing and polluting the hearts and others with that intention. Awful.

Here is what NOON (Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation) had to say:

  Onondaga Nation's Sacred Lake

The Onondaga Nation, supported by NOON and others, has long maintained that the cleanup of Onondaga Lake is far from adequate. But these voices have had little impact on the forward movement to put this Superfund site behind us.

Governor Cuomo has announced that the lake revitalization has been completed ahead of schedule.

With little public notice an Open House was held at the Honeywell Visitors Center last month to present information on plans for restoration around the lake. Notice was published in a DEC Bulletin just three days before this event. Joe Heath, Onondaga Nation's lawyer, has stated the plan “is close to 100 pages and it's somewhat technical. They've been negotiating this for 10 years, and then to give the public one-one-hundredth of the time it took to generate the thing doesn't respect public input." It “makes little mention of the Onondaga Nation or its cultural losses.” “How do you put a dollar sign on the loss of a sacred lake?" Heath asked. "The leadership of the nation was not willing to put a dollar amount on a sacred loss."

A Syracuse's Post Standard Editorial on April 25 addressed the issue of the short notice.
“It took a century to turn Onondaga Lake into the nation's most polluted water body. It took decades to hold the industrial polluters to account and to engineer plans for cleaning up the toxic mess. It took 10 years for the federal and state governments to come up with a plan to "compensate" the residents of Syracuse, Onondaga County and the Onondaga Nation for their inability to enjoy the lake or use it for fishing, recreation or spiritual activities.

So, after all this time, why is the public getting the bum's rush?


The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and New York state Department of Environmental Conservation dropped their 73-page damage assessment/restoration proposal  around 3 p.m. Monday. Theone and only public meeting on the matter - an "open house" -- is scheduled for 4 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 27, 2017, at the Honeywell Visitors Center on the west side of the lake.”

Although the Governor has directed the DEC to schedule three additional public information sessions between now and the June 2 deadline for comment, it is not certain when they will happen of how much notice the public will receive.
_________________________________________
Proposal for projects restoring wildlife habitat and recreation on Onondaga Lake

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are considering a series of projects to restore and protect wildlife habitat and water quality and increase recreational opportunities at Onondaga Lake, as outlined in a draft restoration plan and environmental assessment released today for public comment through June 2, 2017. The draft plan may be found at http://nyfo.fws.gov/ec/files/onondaga/Onondaga_RPEA_Press_Release.pdf.

For decades, mercury and other hazardous substances were released into Onondaga Lake and its tributaries and uplands. Due to this industrial pollution, Onondaga Lake was designated a Superfund site in 1994, launching a comprehensive remediation of the Lake and additional sites in the area, and through various court proceedings, the responsible parties must now also pay for the damages to natural resources this contamination has caused.

As part of the Onondaga Lake natural resource damage assessment and restoration process, the Service and NYSDEC assessed contaminant-related injuries to natural resources such as waterfowl and turtles, and quantified the lost use of natural resources to the public, such as fishing. The agencies then solicited restoration project ideas from stakeholders to identify the types and scale of restoration needed to compensate for those injuries. The ultimate goal of this process is to replace, restore, rehabilitate, or acquire the equivalent of injured natural resources and resource services lost due to the release of hazardous substances—at no cost to the taxpayer.

The agencies analyze 20 restoration projects in the draft restoration plan and environmental assessment. These projects, in total, include the following benefits:

-Extension of the Erie Canalway Trail from Camillus to the Loop the Lake Trail (3.2 miles) and from the Honeywell Visitor Center to Harbor Brook (1.2 miles);
-Preservation, habitat restoration and public access to over 1,400 acres along Ninemile and Onondaga Creeks in the Onondaga Lake watershed, including public fishing rights and parking areas;
-Installation of structures within over 275 acres of Onondaga Lake to provide habitat for fish, amphibians and invertebrates;
-Fifteen years of funding for the identification and removal of invasive species within about 1,700 acres of wetlands, lake/river littoral zone and riparian habitat;
-Restoration of wetland and fish habitat at Onondaga County parklands;
100 acres of warm season grassland restoration;
-Deepwater fishing pier on Onondaga Lake;
-Enhancement of jetties at the Onondaga Lake outlet to improve access for all;
-Boat launch to be developed along the Seneca River;
-Transfer of the Honeywell Visitor Center to a public agency;
-Future Restoration Projects Fund.

The agencies are soliciting comments on this draft plan through June 2, 2017. Comments may be submitted by mail to Anne Secord, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 3817 Luker Road, Cortland, New York 13045 and by email to anne_secord@fws.gov. Written comments were accepted at a Public Open House, to be held at the Honeywell Visitor Center (280 Restoration Way, Syracuse, New York) on April 27, 2017 from 4:00 PM to 7:30 PM.

Representatives from the Service and DEC will be on hand at the Public Open House to explain the natural resource damage assessment and restoration process, and the draft plan and environmental assessment. After the comment period closes, feedback will be closely reviewed and any necessary changes made to a final document identifying the chosen restoration.

Under federal law, federal and state agencies and Native American tribes are authorized to act as trustees on behalf of the public for natural resources they own, manage or control. In this role, trustees assess and recover damages or implement restoration projects to compensate for injuries to natural resources due to hazardous substance releases (e.g. mercury).The natural resource damage assessment regulations encourage the participation of potentially responsible parties (PRPs) in the assessment process, and Honeywell agreed to cooperatively assess natural resource damages and identify restoration projects at Onondaga Lake with the trustees. Read more information on this process at https://www.fws.gov/northeast/ecologicalservices/nrdar.html.

____________________________
Fish biologist, Dr. Neil Ringler is making the case for the restoration of Onondaga Lake's native species through scientific experiments.
Onondaga Lake Fish signs do no imply that the clean up is sufficient.

PLEASE NOTE: The agencies are soliciting comments on this draft plan through June 2, 2017. They can be submitted by mail to Anne Secord, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 3817 Luker Road, Cortland, New York 13045 and by email to anne_secord@fws.gov. Written comments will presumably be accepted at any additional Public Open House as they were at the one held on April 27th.

Thanksgiving Day Pictures Onondaga Lake

The Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation, NOON, led a lovely gathering

 Thanksgiving Morning in Willow Bay.

The Peacemaker's Sanctuary

I secured the bench with clothesline fearing that the large snowmelt would raise the lake's water levels and wash away the bench. 

Thanksgiving Day Circle of Peace, Willow Bay (Onondaga Lake) 10 AM

Thanksgiving Day Circle of Peace and HopeIn solidarity with the Onondaga Nation and People
Thursday, November 24, 10 am
Willow Bay, north shore of Onondaga Lake, mapJoin Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation to express our thanks to the Onondaga Nation and people for their leadership on ecological preservation and social healing. The ongoing confrontation at Standing Rock, where water protectors from over 200 native nations, including Onondaga, makes it more important than ever that we show our support.
The event is participatory, family-friendly and open to the public. Please dress for the weather. It will be held regardless of the weather.
Help spread the word via our Facebook event.

Contact Andy, or call NOON at 315-472-5478.

10AM Willow Bay, Onondaga Lake Park.

Dress Warmly you will be standing still.

Courtesy of NOON, Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation