Author: Michele Wunderlich

Trade-A-Tree Program

Posted on by Michele Wunderlich

By Valerie Horning, Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District

Cayuga Recycles, a program of the Cayuga County Department of Planning and Economic Development, in conjunction with the Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County, is sponsoring the annual “Trade-A-Tree” program in Cayuga County. Bring in your “used” (real) Christmas tree after the holidays, and we will give you a certificate for a tree seedling to be picked up in the spring! Old trees will be chipped into mulch to be used on county projects, rather than taking up space in landfills. A balsam fir seedling will be given out to anyone who redeems their certificate on May 9, 2025 at the Annual Conservation District Spring Tree & Shrub Sale.

Trees must be free of decorations, tinsel, wraps and any other foreign objects. They can be donated at the Natural Resource Center, 7413 County House Road, Sennett, at the following times:
• 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Dec. 26 and 27
• 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 30
• 8 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Dec. 31
• 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Jan. 2 and 3
• 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, Jan. 6 through 10
• 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, Jan. 13 through 17

For more information, please visit our website at www.cayugaswcd.org or call the Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District at (315)252-4171, ext. 4, or stop by our office located on County House Road in Sennett. We are available Monday – Friday from 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM.

Fillmore Nature Preserve Grand Opening

Posted on by Michele Wunderlich

Fillmore Nature Preserve is a 161-acre property that is critical for protecting water quality in Owasco Lake. A study by The Nature Conservancy ranked the property within the top 10 parcels in the Owasco Lake watershed with the greatest impact on water quality. The land includes diverse forests and approximately 40 acres of freshwater wetlands. The Owasco Lake Watershed Management Council (OLWMC) closed on the property transfer from The Nature Conservancy in January 2023 and established the Fillmore Nature Preserve. The grand opening of the Fillmore Nature Preserve was held November 7, 2024 with promotional support provided by Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce, Cayuga County WQMA and the Citizen Newspaper. Read more about it in our December newsletter.

Great Lakes Action Agenda (GLAA) Sub-Basin Work Group Meetings Coming Soon

Posted on by Michele Wunderlich

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Great Lakes program staff are excited to announce that the next round of Great Lakes Action Agenda (GLAA) Sub-Basin Work Group meetings will be held this fall to provide opportunities to learn updates from NYSDEC Great Lakes Program and partners, including updates on the Baseline Conditions Characterization, network with work group members, and coordinate work planning.

The Southeast (SE) Lake Ontario Work Group meeting will be held on Thurday, November 14th, 2024; 1:00 – 4:00pm                                                                                                                                  

Skä•noñh Great Law of Peace Center

6680 Onondaga Lake Parkway Liverpool, NY

*an optional center tour will be held from 10am to 12pm

Click to Register (in-person and virtually)

Email greatlakes@dec.ny.gov with questions or comments.

Water News

Posted on by Michele Wunderlich

2020/2022 New York State Clean Water Act Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters

In the September 11, 2024 Environmental Notice Bulletin, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation announced that the Final 2020/2022 New York State Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters Requiring a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and the Response to Public Comments on the Draft 2020/2022 List has been released. This Final 2020/2022 List identifies waters that do not meet applicable water quality standards and do not support applicable best uses, thereby requiring a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). You can find the 2020/2022 List and the Response to Public Comments here on DEC’s website.

Pollution Prevention Plan for Cayuga Lake Watershed

The NYSDEC Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar announced that the Cayuga Lake Total Maximum Daily Load has been finalized.  A TMDL is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved nutrient pollution reduction “budget” to help restore the water quality of Cayuga Lake’s southern end for recreation and help protect drinking water. The TMDL for the lake provides a detailed analysis of phosphorus pollutant sources, recommends a 30 percent reduction of phosphorus from the watershed to meet the lake’s water quality standards, and will be used by stakeholders throughout the entire watershed to improve water quality. The TMDL for Cayuga Lake is posted under “Lake TMDLs” on the Clean Water Plans webpage along with the response to public comments (chapter 8.0) and supporting documentation (appendices).

 

Public Comment Hearings – Wetland Rule Changes

Posted on by Michele Wunderlich

By Aaron McKeon, Environmental Program Manager, CNYRPDB

New York’s 2022-2023 budget included landmark amendments to the state’s Freshwater Wetlands Act (Article 24 of the Environmental Conservation Law) which contained three fundamental changes:

  • Existing maps depicting freshwater wetlands will no longer be regulatory beginning on January 1, 2025. After that date, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”) will be relying primarily on available aerial imagery and available remote data to determine whether there are state-regulated freshwater wetlands on a parcel.
  • Smaller wetlands of “unusual importance” will be regulated beginning on January 1, 2025, if they meet one, or more, of 11 newly established statutory criteria.
  • The default threshold for regulated wetlands will decrease from 12.4 acres to 7.4 acres in 2028. Implementing these statutory changes requires replacing the existing Freshwater Mapping and Classification regulations

One of the motivations for this change is the fact that, according to the DEC, “Inadvertent omissions and inaccuracies in the department’s original mapping efforts meant that an estimated one million acres of unmapped wetlands, meeting State jurisdictional criteria for protections, were left unprotected from development pressure and other impacts.”

More information is available at: https://dec.ny.gov/nature/waterbodies/wetlands/freshwater-wetlands-program

Informational Webinar

An informational webinar will be held on August 27,2024 and will cover:

  • the need for the regulatory changes,
  • the contents of the draft regulations,
  • how the comments received earlier in the year were incorporated, and
  • the next steps in finalizing the regulations.

Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Time:  1:00-2:00 p.m. on WebEx

Conservation and Land Use Webinar Series
Register to attend. (This webinar may fill up; capacity is limited to 1,000).

Public Comment Hearings

The State is holding two virtual public comment hearings in September: Tuesday, September 10, 2024, at 1:00 pm and 6:00 p.m. Register by September 8th.

Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Registration Link: https://forms.office.com/g/cqEDZA2A5b
Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Registration Link: https://forms.office.com/g/cqEDZA2A5b

In addition to the virtual public comment hearings, an in-person public comment hearing for the proposed rule will be held on Thursday, September 12, 2024, at 1:00 pm at the DEC Central Office at 625 Broadway, Albany, NY which is reasonably accessible to persons with impaired mobility:

 Date: Thursday, September 12, 2024

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Registration Link: https://forms.office.com/g/j7CkFeJNRU