What Has Been Done So Far

Completed Projects

Under the Onondaga Lake Management Plan and the Amended Consent Judgment, more than 40 projects related to restoration of Onondaga Lake have been completed.

The 1970s marks the beginning of the restoration of Onondaga Lake, as studies were conducted to assess the impact of industrial wastes, combined sewer overflows and treated sewage wastes that were discharged to the lake. The lake's water quality has improved over recent years since the passage of more stringent environmental laws like the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Federal Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the federal Superfund program. The Onondaga Lake Management Plan (drafted in 1993) and the Amended Consent Judgment (ACJ, signed in 1998) provided a plan of action for restoring the ecological health and recreational uses of Onondaga Lake.

To date, more than forty projects related to restoration of Onondaga Lake have been completed. A listing of these projects is provided under Completed Projects.

Actions under the Clean Water Act and CERCLA

Under the Clean Water Act, major improvements were and are continuing to be made to upgrade wastewater treatment at Metro and under CERCLA, the lake sediments and related sites were added to the federal Superfund list in 1994. Separate legal actions under these laws involving the State government against Onondaga County and Allied-Signal Inc. have resulted in ongoing programs aimed at restoring the lake and meeting water quality standards.

Improved Sewage Treatment

The County improved sewage treatment at Metro in 1979 and upgraded again in 1981. Further upgrades currently underway through the Amended Consent Judgment (ACJ) approved by the federal court in 1998 are still necessary to meet water quality standards.

Industrial Waste Cleanup Efforts

New York State filed an action against Allied in 1989 and addressed both the ongoing sources of contamination under Superfund and the historic impacts on the lake through a claim for Natural Resource Damages. Currently, Allied-Signal Inc. is investigating the lake's sediments and additional sites of their former industrial operations. Interim measures to control contamination have been implemented at some of the sites while the investigations are continuing. Some additional industries and businesses, which were identified as potentially responsible for the clean up of certain smaller hazardous waste sites around the lake, have implemented interim remedial measures at their sites.

Superfund Designations

In addition to the former Allied facilities and property, the Superfund law is being used to address a number of other contaminated areas in the watershed (see figure below). In December 1994, a collection of sites including the lake bottom were added to the federal Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). In 1995, EPA authorized DEC to conduct a preliminary site investigation of the Onondaga Lake NPL site. The Onondaga Lake NPL site includes a number of smaller sites owned by Allied-Signal (Honeywell) and other potentially responsible parties (PRP). Today, the DEC is evaluating 10-15 additional sites that are not owned by Honeywell, to determine if they should be included in the overall Onondaga Lake Superfund site.

Onondaga Lake Superfund Sites

Allied Signal Closure

Another factor which assisted in improving the lake's water quality was the closure of Allied-Signal Inc.'s (Honeywell) Syracuse operations in 1986. With its closure, direct discharges of mercury, chlorides and other contaminants from that operation also ceased.