NY AG, DEC announce funding to improve water quality on Onondaga Lake

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Tuesday announced an agreement between his office, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the Atlantic States Legal Foundation, and Onondaga County that directs environmental-penalty funds toward projects to reduce sewage overflows to Onondaga Lake and its tributaries.

The funds originate from a 1996 court order against Onondaga County related to water-quality violations at its Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Facility, Schneiderman’s office said in a news release.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District in Syracuse approved the projects, Schneiderman’s office said.

The agreement identifies two projects targeted for funding, including the green- infrastructure demonstration project in Syracuse’s Near Westside neighborhood, and an erosion and sediment-control project in the village of Solvay.

Both projects are intended to enhance the county’s ongoing work to reduce sewage overflows and improve water quality in Onondaga Lake and its tributaries, Schneiderman’s office said.

Just a few decades ago, some considered Onondaga Lake “the most polluted” body of water, but its recovery since then has been nothing short of “remarkable,” Schneiderman contended in the news release.

“Today, through the cooperation of state agencies and local government, water quality is improving, the ecosystem is recovering, and people are once again embracing the lake as an economic, recreational, and cultural treasure,” Schneiderman noted.

The Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board will implement the projects under a contract with the DEC, according to the attorney general’s office.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com