Each of the responses below lists a direct point of contact for further information. Additionally, further comments and/or questions may be referred to the Onondaga Lake Partnership by e-mail at info@onlakepartners.org or from our website , www.onlakepartners.org, click on "Public Outreach" and then on "Inquiries,"or by calling toll-free 1-800-833-6390. Inquiries are received through these venues by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District, and responses are coordinated with the appropriate Partnership members and agencies.

I would like to see a better timeline or schedule of future plans and remedial efforts.

I would like to see a schedule of projects, studies with expenditures.

The Onondaga Lake Partnership (OLP) is in the process of developing a project priority list for FY 2002, which will include a description and timeline for each funded project, and how it fits into the Onondaga Lake Management Plan. Information on project timelines and expenditures will be made available when these decisions are made, expected by the spring of 2002.

Regarding wastewater treatment projects performed under Onondaga County's lake improvement program, the County publishes a monthly progress report with timelines and expenditures for each project, and maintains the more recent reports on its website. For more information, please contact Ms. Sue Miller of Onondaga County's Department of Drainage and Sanitation at 315-435-2260, or visit the "What's New" page of the County's website at:
Onondaga County Lake Improvement Project Office

Regarding remedial activities occurring at the hazardous waste sites, the following information is provided by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC):

• Semet Tar Ponds Site:Anticipated issuance of Record of Decision in 2002
• Maestri II Site:Anticipate completion of Remedial Investigation by June 2002
• Willis Avenue Site: Anticipate completion of Remedial Investigation in 2002.
• Interim Remedial Measures:Product recovery system ongoing; I-690 storm drain cleaning completed
• Ley Creek Dredging Site:Construction completed in 2001
• GM-IFG Plant Site:Anticipate completion of Remedial Investigation in 2002
• Salina Landfill Site: Nearing completion of Feasibility Study. Anticipate issuance of Record of Decision in 2002
• LCP-Bridge Street Site: Record of Decision issued in 2002.NYSDEC is currently negotiating a Consent Order to perform remedial design and remedial action

The current main interceptor sewer line cannot carry all of the wet weather combined sewer and stormwater flow to Metro and therefore results in release of the combined flow into Onondaga Creek during storm events or heavy snowmelt (Combined Sewer Overflows - CSOs).

Construction of a new parallel interceptor sewer line would not only be extremely disruptive to all areas in the City along the Creek, but Metro does not have the capacity to accept and treat all of the combined flow that is currently generated in the City system. Any upgrading to expand the capacity of Metro to receive and treat all of the wet weather flows that occur infrequently would not be cost effective. The County's program to address the impacts of CSOs uses a variety of technologies.

These include conveying as much flow as possible to Metro in the existing pipe system (approximately 90% of the annual average wet weather flow), installation of separate sewer lines in certain areas and construction of floatables removal and regional treatment facilities. Regional treatment of overflows at smaller satellite facilities like proposed at Blaine and Oxford streets are a far less disruptive and far more cost-effective way to reduce the impacts of CSOs on the creek and the lake than full conveyance to Metro.

Berkeley Pit

The Berkeley Pit is located in an ore-rich section of southwestern Montana. It became a federal Superfund site after more than a century of primitive and destructive techniques of hard rock mining and smelting activities which resulted in extensive environmental damage (contamination of ground water, surface water and soil with arsenic, copper, zinc cadmium and lead) from the Continental Divide to Miltown Dam (120 miles downstream).

Following the shutdown of the mining operations in the 1980s, the Berkeley Pit filled with some 17 billion gallons of water. This caused considerable concern to EPA and the State of Montana because the rising contaminated mine water in the pit had the potential to drain into local aquifers. To prevent contaminated mine runoff, several long term response actions are being implemented, including controlling surface water inflow into the pit, regulating pit system water levels, extensive monitoring and other institutional controls.

In addition to these measures, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has slotted the Berkeley Pit as a "demonstration site" for environmental reclamation. To further address the mine drainage issue, DOE scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a technology capable of removing toxic metal contaminants from acidic mine runoff. Polymer Filtration, the patented Los Alamos technology, couples unique water-soluble polymers with a process known as ultrafiltration. This technology provides a potential remedy for the Berkeley Pit Superfund site.

Upon review of the information pertaining to the Berkeley pit site, there do not appear to be treatment technologies used at the site that applicable to the situation in Onondaga Lake, specifically the toxic contribution of the sediments to water quality. Because of the differences in location and the nature of the materials being treated at that site, it does not appear that reclamation activities described above could be readily implemented. Constructing the necessary controls to manage sediment contributions from the lake inflow, or disturbing and treating in-lake sediments in this manner, would seem to be cost-prohibitive, and its ecological impact on the lake and its environs would need to be assessed.

Mudboil Sediments

The question of the mudboil sediments, as we understand, was that their discharge should not have been controlled, as the mudboils are a source of sediments that were covering the lake bottom, and would seal off or "cap" the bottom sediments and reduce resuspension/recirculation of these materials into the water column.After years of study, our assessment is that in order to help improve water quality standards and attain designated uses for Onondaga Creek and Lake, the benefits of controlling the mudboils to reduce sedimentation far outweigh the benefits to allowing their uncontrolled discharge. A scenario in Irondequoit Bay in Rochester was mentioned as a case in which such a "capping" approach was used to reduce nutrient recycling in the deepest parts of the bay. However, due to differences such as the properties of materials to be capped, and system dynamics including depth, detention time, etc. we do not believe this approach the best alternative for improving the Onondaga Lake watershed.

Should you have any questions regarding the Metro/trunk line response, please contact Ms. Susan Miller of Onondaga County's Department of Drainage and Sanitation at (315) 435-2260. Should you have any questions regarding the Berkeley pit response, please contact Ms. Erika Clark of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at (212) 637-3805. Further questions concerning the Tully Valley Mudboils may be directed to Mr. William Kappel of the U.S. Geological Survey at (607) 266-0217, ext. 3013.

Non-federal match explanation by David Coburn was confusing - needs better explanation.

To date, the Onondaga Lake Partnership (OLP) has been fortunate to receive substantial funding for lake improvement projects from Congressional appropriations; either through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE, or Corps). Last year (Federal Fiscal Year 2000 - 2001) the USACE received $4.2 million from Congress to apply toward Onondaga Lake improvement projects. All such federal contributions toward water quality improvement projects require a "match," or financial contribution from a non-federal or local sponsor. The "match" requirement for Corps funds is 30% of the total project cost.That is, the money that the Corps is able to contribute to lake projects is only available for a project if there is a "match" of local funds amounting to 30% of the total project cost. For example, if the total cost of a given project is $100, 30 % of the project cost - or $30 - would have to come from local contributions, and the remaining project costs, or $70, could be paid for with federal funding.

Since Congress had appropriated $4.2 million for the Corps to apply toward Lake improvement projects in FY 2000-2001, if "match" money were available from local sponsors, a total of $6 million in lake improvement projects could be completed.

$4.2 million(USACE money) = 70% of the project costs
$1.8 million(local match)30%of the project costs
$6.0 million(total avail. money)= 100% of the project costs

Last year the Onondaga County Legislature, at the County Executive's request, appropriated $1.8 million to provide the 30% match requirement so that the entire $4.2 million in federal money could be applied to lake improvement projects. Any future federal appropriations for lake improvement projects will also require "match" money from local sponsors.

Further questions on this issue may be referred to Mr. David Coburn, Chair of the Resource Committee and Director of the Onondaga County Office of the Environment at (315) 435-2647.