EPA awards grants targeting the water quality of Onondaga Lake

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded two grants totaling $260,000, aimed at improving the water quality in Onondaga Lake and its watershed.

“These two grants … will really advance our work to address pollution in Onondaga Lake,” Judith Enck, administrator for EPA Region 2, said during an Aug. 8 conference call.

EPA Region 2 includes New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, Enck said.

The federal agency awarded the Lowell, Mass.–based New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) a $200,000 grant to hire an Onondaga Lake watershed coordinator for a two-year period.

The EPA also awarded the Onondaga Environmental Institute of Syracuse a $60,000 grant to train people to develop, build, install, and maintain controls on stormwater using sustainable infrastructure, the agency said.

Green infrastructure is an approach to water management that “protects, restores, or mimics” the natural-water cycle and “enhances” quality of life for communities, the EPA said in a news release.

Aimee Clinkhammer, NEIWPCC’s Onondaga Lake watershed coordinator, will work with community groups, businesses, local governments, and the Onondaga Nation to develop strategies for the restoration of the physical, chemical, and biological health of the Onondaga Lake watershed.

Clinkhammer started in the position during the week of Aug. 5, Enck said. Clinkhammer previously served as a project specialist in the Syracuse Center of Excellence (SyracuseCoE) Center for Sustainable Community Solutions, according to the SyracuseCoE website.

Clinkhammer will also initiate outreach efforts with groups to explain or promote restoration of, and access to, Onondaga Lake and other natural areas within the watershed.

In addition, Clinkhammer will work with local governments in assessing the impacts of proposed projects, land-use planning, and other local decisions on the integrity of Onondaga Lake, the EPA said.

Enck acknowledges the effort to clean up Onondaga Lake has had “progress,” but the body of water “really needs more attention.”

“But we know that more work needs to be done. And that’s why EPA decided to put some of our limited resources into having an EPA-funded coordinator focused just on this work,” Enck said.

The Onondaga Lake watershed covers 285 square miles and encompasses two counties, one city, 18 towns, six villages, and the Onondaga Nation territory, according to the website of the Onondaga Lake Partnership (OLP).

OLP provides “a framework for government agencies to cooperate as they restore and conserve water quality, natural resources, and recreational uses of the lake to the benefit of the public,” the organization said on its website.

The Onondaga Environmental Institute will use its EPA grant to sponsor two green-infrastructure training workshops for low-income, unemployed adults at the L&M Training Center at 232 W. Borden Ave. on Syracuse’s south side.

Participants will learn how to create and maintain green infrastructure, including rain gardens, bioretention basins, rain barrels, and green roofs.

In addition, the program will include training on life skills, job readiness, workplace safety, and exposure to a variety of “green” careers, according to the EPA.

This grant is part of the EPA’s National Urban Waters program, which supports communities in their efforts to access, improve, and benefit from their urban waters and the surrounding land, the agency said.

Meanwhile, a $1 billion cleanup project on Onondaga Lake continues. Morristown, N.J.–based Honeywell International has been a large part of the cleanup effort due to its 1999 acquisition of Allied Signal, which operated a location near Onondaga Lake. Work has included design and engineering, cleanup of upland industrial sites, the construction of a barrier wall to keep groundwater from entering the lake before it can be treated, dredging the bottom of the lake and removing tons of contaminated sediment, and capping the bottom.

The EPA, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, and the state Department of Health are overseeing the project.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded two grants totaling $260,000, aimed at improving the water quality in Onondaga Lake and its watershed.

“These two grants … will really advance our work to address pollution in Onondaga Lake,” Judith Enck, administrator for EPA Region 2, said during an Aug. 8 conference call.

EPA Region 2 includes New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, Enck said.

The federal agency awarded the Lowell, Mass.–based New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) a $200,000 grant to hire an Onondaga Lake watershed coordinator for a two-year period.

The EPA also awarded the Onondaga Environmental Institute of Syracuse a $60,000 grant to train people to develop, build, install, and maintain controls on stormwater using sustainable infrastructure, the agency said.

Green infrastructure is an approach to water management that “protects, restores, or mimics” the natural-water cycle and “enhances” quality of life for communities, the EPA said in a news release.

Aimee Clinkhammer, NEIWPCC’s Onondaga Lake watershed coordinator, will work with community groups, businesses, local governments, and the Onondaga Nation to develop strategies for the restoration of the physical, chemical, and biological health of the Onondaga Lake watershed.

Clinkhammer started in the position during the week of Aug. 5, Enck said. Clinkhammer previously served as a project specialist in the Syracuse Center of Excellence (SyracuseCoE) Center for Sustainable Community Solutions, according to the SyracuseCoE website.

Clinkhammer will also initiate outreach efforts with groups to explain or promote restoration of, and access to, Onondaga Lake and other natural areas within the watershed.

In addition, Clinkhammer will work with local governments in assessing the impacts of proposed projects, land-use planning, and other local decisions on the integrity of Onondaga Lake, the EPA said.

Enck acknowledges the effort to clean up Onondaga Lake has had “progress,” but the body of water “really needs more attention.”

“But we know that more work needs to be done. And that’s why EPA decided to put some of our limited resources into having an EPA-funded coordinator focused just on this work,” Enck said.

The Onondaga Lake watershed covers 285 square miles and encompasses two counties, one city, 18 towns, six villages, and the Onondaga Nation territory, according to the website of the Onondaga Lake Partnership (OLP).

OLP provides “a framework for government agencies to cooperate as they restore and conserve water quality, natural resources, and recreational uses of the lake to the benefit of the public,” the organization said on its website.

The Onondaga Environmental Institute will use its EPA grant to sponsor two green-infrastructure training workshops for low-income, unemployed adults at the L&M Training Center at 232 W. Borden Ave. on Syracuse’s south side.

Participants will learn how to create and maintain green infrastructure, including rain gardens, bioretention basins, rain barrels, and green roofs.

In addition, the program will include training on life skills, job readiness, workplace safety, and exposure to a variety of “green” careers, according to the EPA.

This grant is part of the EPA’s National Urban Waters program, which supports communities in their efforts to access, improve, and benefit from their urban waters and the surrounding land, the agency said.

Meanwhile, a $1 billion cleanup project on Onondaga Lake continues. Morristown, N.J.–based Honeywell International has been a large part of the cleanup effort due to its 1999 acquisition of Allied Signal, which operated a location near Onondaga Lake. Work has included design and engineering, cleanup of upland industrial sites, the construction of a barrier wall to keep groundwater from entering the lake before it can be treated, dredging the bottom of the lake and removing tons of contaminated sediment, and capping the bottom.

The EPA, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, and the state Department of Health are overseeing the project.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com