Honeywell completes dredging of Onondaga Lake a year ahead of schedule

GEDDES, N.Y. — Honeywell International, Inc. (NYSE: HON) says it has completed the dredging of Onondaga Lake “a year ahead of schedule.”

The company is conducting the lake-cleanup effort under the supervision of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The Morris Township, N.J.–based firm made the announcement in a news release distributed on Monday.

Dredging activities began in July 2012. Honeywell removed about 2.2 million cubic yards of material from the bottom of the lake using hydraulic dredges that it says reduced truck traffic, emissions, and noise.

Honeywell will continue capping and habitat efforts through 2015, and it expects to finish the work in 2016.

Water quality is the “best in 100 years” and more than 110 species of fish, birds, and mammals have returned to restored wetlands, John McAuliffe, Honeywell Syracuse program director, said in the news release.

Hundreds of Central New Yorkers are working on the project, and nearly 500 more have become “environmental stewards helping to restore the watershed,” he added.

“The completion of the dredging portion of the Onondaga Lake cleanup project is “another significant step” toward full lake remediation, Ken Lynch, DEC regional director, said in the same news release.

 “The water quality improvements to the lake have been remarkable, and the completion of this phase of the project advances the lake’s transformation back to a valued natural resource. The efforts of Honeywell, EPA, NYSDOH and DEC staff are greatly appreciated in meeting this milestone,” said Lynch.

NYSDOH is short for New York State Department of Health.

Honeywell credits several factors for the early completion of the dredging work.

They include seven years of design, piloting, and engineering; investments in team building, health, safety and emergency-response planning, community engagement, and contractor dialogue; and the “talent, creativity, and dedication” of local universities, engineers, suppliers, and craft labor, according to the news release.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com