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.

 

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 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.

 

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 southside.

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

 

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com