Superfund 365 Onondaga Lake

About four and a half miles long and a mile wide, the picturesque Onondaga Lake is situated just north of Syracuse, New York (Onondaga Lake Facts). An aerial shot unveils a bucolic scene with its surrounding green fields dotted with clusters of trees and the roofs of farmhouses (Munson). However, a closer look at this lake reveals a tire at the bottom of the lake and other remnants of its damaging past. Since the 1800s, the uses of Onondaga Lake had become increasingly detrimental, and persisted into the twentieth century. Onondaga County had once been a very prosperous county, which can be accredited mostly to the success of Onondaga Lake. The area thrived during the 1800s and the Industrial Revolution during the height of the commercial salt industry which gave Syracuse its title as the “Salt City”. Many resorts had been built along the coastline of the lake, which brought an influx of revenue from tourism. Along with the salt industry and tourism, Onondaga Lake also boasted a strong cold-water fishery, which produced vast commercial amounts of Onondaga Lake Whitefish and Atlantic salmon. By the turn of the century, the success of the lake began to decline. During the 1900s the commercial success of Onondaga County came to a halt as tourism and fishing declined due to rising pollution and the banning of swimming in 1940, and fishing in 1970 (Landers 64). The lake had also merited the title of one of the “most polluted lakes in America” due to heavy metal contaminants and high levels of Mercury (Hesler, 10). However, it wasn’t until 1994 that the lake landed a spot on the Superfund National Priority List of sites (Onondaga Lake History).
The main sources responsible for the pollution of Onondaga Lake include the large corporations and industries present along the lake’s shores, and the improper disposal of the county’s municipal wastes and sewage. During the Industrial Revolution the Solvay Process Company utilized the lake’s natural resources to produce soda ash and other organic chemicals. The other major large corporations that significantly contributed to the vast amount of pollution in the lake include Allied-Signal Inc. and Honeywell International. The major problems with pollution include high levels of phosphorous, salt, ammonia and other nitrates, mercury and other toxic substances, including chlorobenzene. Chlorobenzene can lead to unconsciousness, muscle spasms, and damage to bone marrow in humans. In animals, it can harm internal organs and blood (OPPT)
Onondaga Lake is a prime example of a hazardous waste site that is being harmed by the gradual decrease in the amount of funding that is sent to the Superfund Program. In 1995, to the detriment of clean up efforts at Onondaga Lake, Congress stopped recognizing the “polluter pays” enforcement and focused more on the collection of taxes from the general population to pay for the cleanup of hazardous waste sites. To this date, Onondaga Lake continues to fail to receive the attention from the federal government and the Environmental Protection Agency that it deserves. While Onondaga Lake has been recognized and protected by the Clean Water Act passed by Congress since 1972, additional resources are needed to complete the restoration of this natural resource (Onondaga Lake Partnership). With the organization of the Onondaga Lake Management Conference in 1990 and the completion of the Plan of Action adopted by the Conference in 1993, Lake Onondaga has an outline plan to restore the lake to its original condition (Onondaga Lake Partnership). Further mandates have been initiated to upgrade the sewage treatment facilities and systems discharging into the lake. The intention is to achieve compliance with the conditions of the Clean Water Act for Onondaga Lake and its tributaries by the year 2012 (Onondaga Lake Partnership).
The lack of attention and effort by Congress to further clean up efforts in contaminated sites such as Onondaga Lake is a direct result contributing to the environmental, social, and most importantly, the economic despair and injustice that inundates Onondaga County. The fact is that the people of Onondaga County have not chosen to abandon their once prosperous city in exchange for an unwanted title as one of the nation’s most polluted lakes. The gradual decline in the efficiency of the lake is responsible for vast economic problems in the area today. This decline was dictated by the large industrial corporations that abused the lake, and in turn created an environmental, social and economic mess.

Tim Kianka, Courtney Allessio, Amy Marisavljevic


Works Cited
Knickerbocker, Brad. "Superfund Program: A Smaller Cleanup Rag."
Christian Science Monitor 14 Nov. 2003. 2 Oct. 2007 .

Landers, Jay. "New Life for Onondaga Lake." Civil Engineering May 2006: 64-86.

Onondaga Lake Partnership. 4 Oct. 2007. Onondaga Lake Partnership. 7 Oct 2007 .

Basic Information." Superfund US EPA. 21 Sep 2007. EPA. 5 Oct 2007 .

"EPA Region 2." http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/0203382c.pdf. 25 July 2007. EPA. 5 Oct 2007 .

Hesler, Don, Karen Williamson. "Return to Glory: The resurgence of Onondaga Lake." New York State Conversationalist 61.1 (2006): 7-14. Wilson Omnifile Full Text, Mega Edition. H.W. Wilson. Syracuse University Libraries, Syracuse, NY. 4 Oct 2007. http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com /

Miller, Susan. "Onondaga Lake Facts." Onondaga Lake Improvement Project. Aug 2007. Onondaga County Department of Water Environmental Protection. 3 Oct 2007 .

Miller, Susan. "Onondaga Lake History." Onondaga Lake Improvement Project. Aug 2007. Onondaga County Department of Water Environmental Protection. 2 Oct 2007 .

Munson, BH. "Lake Otisco." Water on the Web. 09 Mar 2004. University of Minnesota Duluth. 6 Oct 2007 .

"Onondaga Lake Partnership: Composition & Member Organizations." Onondaga Lake Partnership. Oct 2007. Onondaga Lake Partnership. 8 Oct 2007 .

"OL Management Plan Summary." Onondaga Lake Partnership. Oct 2007. Onondaga Lake Partnership. 8 Oct 2007 .

"OPPT Chemical Fact Sheets: Chlorobenzene." U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Jan 1995. US EPA. 6 Oct 2007 .