U. S. Environmental Protection Agency to Hold Public Meeting for Cleanup of Groundwater at the Cayuga County Groundwater Contamination Superfund Site, Cayuga County, New York

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces the opening of a 30-day public comment period on the Proposed Plan to address the cleanup of contaminated groundwater in a portion of the Cayuga County Groundwater Contamination Superfund site in Cayuga County, New York.  As part of the public comment period, EPA will hold a public meeting on August 8, 2019, at 6:30 p.m., at the Union Springs High School located at 239 Cayuga Street, Union Springs, New York.  The meeting will address the proposed cleanup plan and will allow community members to comment on the proposed plan to EPA officials.

Based on the results of the supplemental Investigation Study Report, EPA recommends monitored natural attenuation as the preferred alternative in the Proposed Plan. The preferred alternative includes a long-term monitoring plan and implementation of institutional controls limiting groundwater use.

The proposed plan is available at www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/cayuga and at the Seymour Public Library, 176 Genesee Street, Auburn, NY and the EPA Records Center, 290 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY.

Comments regarding EPA’s preferred remedy must be submitted by August 27, 2019, to Isabel R. Fredricks, Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA, 290 Broadway, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10007-1866, rodrigues.isabel@epa.gov

Invasive Species Awareness Week Activities

The Cayuga County WQMA hosted two iMapInvasives classes and an invasive species identification presentation as part of NY Invasive Species Awareness Week.  Five people were trained during the first iMapInvasives class and four were trained during the second.  These classes also included a presentation on invasive species identification.  One person thought they may have found jumping worm in Cayuga County, which would be the first report of this species in the county.

The invasive species identification presentation for the first iMapInvasives class was scheduled so it was also given to the Cayuga County WQMA.

Thank you to the Finger Lakes PRISM for providing educational materials. Portions of this project were funded by a grant from the NYSDEC EPF to the Finger Lakes – Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance. Thank you also to the IMapInvasives Trainers Network for their assistance.

Educational material from the Finger Lakes PRISM
Invasive species identification

 

Update on former Powerex Site

For the next four weeks, you may see activity at the former Powerex site as the pilot remediation project to treat contaminated groundwater is entering another phase. Workers at the facility, which is located just outside of the City of Auburn on West Genesee St, will be continuing the remedial work that was begun in 2018 by injecting treatment chemicals into the groundwater which should help to break down the contaminants that are present. Please see the Auburn Powerex Fact Sheet from the United State Environmental Protection Agency regarding this project.

Owasco Lake Fish Advisory

The New York State Department of Health issues an annual advisory about consuming certain fish caught in specific New York State water bodies, because some fish contain chemicals at levels that could adversely affect health.    For the first time, this advisory includes some fish species from Owasco Lake.

Data from walleye and smallmouth bass collected in Owasco Lake by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation showed mercury levels that were higher than those previously found in smaller fish.   The fish collected in Owasco Lake tended to include larger, older fish than in other Finger Lakes

Mercury is a naturally occurring element, which can be released into the environment by sources like coal combustion. Elevated levels of mercury in fish have been documented in many New York State waters for many years, including lakes in the Adirondack and Catskill Regions of New York. Fish typically accumulate mercury from the food they eat. Smaller and younger fish within a species and fish lower in the food chain tend to build up fewer contaminants in their bodies, hence have a lower potential amount of mercury.

Based on the information from the Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, walleyes collected and sampled from Owasco Lake in an earlier study were older than walleyes found in other lakes.  Fish that live longer and eat other fish, like bass and walleye, tend to have more mercury than do smaller or younger fish.  The Finger Lakes Institute plans on repeating their study in the next 18 months, depending upon funding, to see how the fish mercury levels are changing over time.

It is essential to know that the public drinking water from the City of Auburn and the Town of Owasco, both who draw water from Owasco Lake, is still safe.  This drinking water is tested annually for mercury and to date, no mercury has been detected.

For specific recommendations on fish consumption go to www.health.ny.gov/fish/fl.

For information on the chemicals for which the City of Auburn and Town of Owasco test in their drinking water go to

http://www.cayugacounty.us/DocumentCenter/View/1383/Auburn-PDF

http://www.cayugacounty.us/DocumentCenter/View/1410/Owasco-PDF

For more information on the Finger Lakes Mercury Project go to

https://fingerlakesmercuryproject.wordpress.com/

Sewage Discharges

The Sewage Pollution Right to Know Law, which was passed in 2012 in New York State, gives the public the right to know when untreated or partially treated sewage is discharged from a public sewer system into New York waters, allowing the public to avoid unnecessary exposure to dangerous sewage pollution.

Untreated and partially treated sewage discharges from public sewer systems may happen during a heavy rainstorm or significant snowmelt when storm water runoff enters the sewer system to a point where it overwhelms the capacity of the system and spills into the environment. Other reasons for a discharge include sewer system blockages, structural, mechanical or electrical failures, collapsed or broken sewer pipes, and vandalism. The older a sewer system is, the more likely it is to experience sewage discharges.

New York State requires that a municipality make public notification within four hours of a sewage discharge. Notification happens via local news outlets and the website of the NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). In addition, the DEC will produce a statewide Sewage Discharge Report each year that will report annual discharges and remedial responses taken.

People interested in receiving these notifications can sign up with NY-Alert. It is free and you can enroll here: https://alert.ny.gov/enroll. You can choose how to receive the notifications, such as phone, email, text, or fax. You can also choose to receive other alerts related to weather, road closures, public health issues, missing children and other emergencies.

If your home is served by a public sewer system, you can help reduce the likelihood of a sewage overflow, and therefore protect water quality, in the following ways:

1. Conserve water.

Reducing the amount of water used in your home also reduces the volume of water in the public sewer system, thereby decreasing the potential for sewage overflows during storm events. The following steps will help – shut off faucets when not in use, repair leaking faucets or pipes, take shorter showers, install low flow faucets, showerheads and flush toilets, replace older dishwashers and washing machines with newer, water conserving models, and use rainwater to water your gardens by installing rain barrels.

2. Don’t Dump Fats, Oil and Grease Down Drains.

Grease, oils or fatty substances dumped down residential or restaurant kitchen sinks can build-up in sewer pipes. These build-ups can cause overflows or back-ups of sewage into homes. Instead of dumping them down the sink, allow fats, oils and grease to cool and dispose of them in the trash


Congealed fats, oils and grease in a sewer pipe. Image: Town of Tyngsborough, MA

3. What Not to Flush

Diapers, moist wipes, and personal hygiene products that are commonly flushed down the toilet can damage or clog sewer systems and wastewater treatment equipment causing a sewage overflow. Do not flush any of these items, even when they are labeled as flushable. Throw them in the trash.

For more information on the City of Auburn’s “Wipes Clog Pipes” public education campaign, please click here.

Seth Jensen’s presentation “Combined Sewer Overflow Presentation” from the December 2018 WQMA meeting.