| News
Good News from Capitol Hill: Thanks to the hard
work of Clean Water
Network members and partners , the U.S. Senate Environment
and Public Works Committee (EPW) passed an amended version of the
Clean Water Restoration Act, which will restore important environmental
protections to all of our nation's waters!
Today (June 18, 2009), in a packed hearing room, the U.S. Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) passed an amended version
of S. 787, the Clean Water Restoration Act, by a vote of 12-7. The
EPW Committee also passed two other
key Clean Water Network priority bills S. 878, Clean Coastal Environment
and Public Health Act of 2009 (formerly known as the beach protection
act) and S. 937, the Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act.
The Committee had yet to take up another key CWN bill, S. 933, Contaminated
Sediment Remediation Reauthorization Act (Great Lakes Legacy Act),
when we left to send out this alert. We will send another update
on S. 933 in a subsequent email.
All three bills will now move to the Senate floor for a vote. The
version of the Clean Water Restoration Act that passed today was
a compromise offered by EPW Chairman Boxer (CA) together with Senators'
Bauchus (MT) and Klobuchar (MN). The substitute bill contained many
of the important provisions in the original bill introduced by Senator
Feingold (WI), including striking the word navigable and substituting
that with "Waters of the United States." It also included
exemptions for prior converted cropland and waste treatment systems
including treatment ponds or lagoons. A number
of amendments to weaken the bill were introduced this morning and
were all soundly defeated.
Both S. 878, the Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act
and S. 937, the Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act, passed
with nominal opposition.
While today is a big step forward for the entire clean water community,
there is still much work to be done to make these bills reality.
Stay tuned for more updates and details on the bills and how you
can help. Thanks again for everything you do to protect our nation's
waters.
Bill to control Phosphorus
Levels: Lawmakers in NY to consider bill to control
phosphorus levels in dishwasher detergents and fertilizers.
Water Quality Monitoring
Two plans aim to increase coordination of montoring. The
Guide to Surface Water Quality Monitoring in CLW (867
kb PDF) covers the entire watershed. The
Monitoring Plan for Southern Basin of CL (345
kb PDF) focuses on the shallow south end.
New
clearinghouse will house data, reports and publications.
On-line database summarizes Water
Monitoring within the watershed.
Study of water
quality of the North End of the Lake from 1991-2006
released.
Clean Water
Expanded information on sediment
and phosphorus, two key threats to clean water.
Smart
Steps for Clean Water - a free PDF full of easy actions
you can take to keep water clean – at home, in your car, or
while fishing and boating.
Rain
Gardens are a beautiful and simple way to keep water
clean.
Recent Awards
Finger Lakes Land Trust is the recipient of the 2008 David Morehouse
award. The press release
describes why they were so honored.
Two wineries and two farms were awarded Lake
Friendly Farms awards in 2008. Winners these awards
are announced each August.
WEEDS* at the North End of the Lake
In Summer 2008 aquatic plants clogged the waterways at the north
end of the Lake. Citizens' groups complain that swimming is unpleasant
- even dangerous, and that use of boats and personal watercraft
is adversely affected. Links to several relevant news articles are
provided: a call to
arms appeared in the Post Standard July 22. Finger
Lakes Institute announces on August 8 a study
of weeds in the Finger Lakes requested by Senator Nozzolio.
*Although native species are not defined by scientists as weeds,
non-scientists use the term to denote nuisance factors.
In addition, be sure to read former Watershed Steward Sharon Anderson's
article discussing weed harvesting in the Summer Newsletter
on page 5, and note that the south end of the lake also has a problem
(page 4). Also see an article from the 2007 summer newsletter Solving
Weed Problems Takes a Watershed.
For temporary relief outside your property in 2009, consider
Bottom
barriers (also called benthic barriers) which are good
for weed control in a small area. Instructions show how to make
your own.
Watch for the invasive Water
Chestnut. The Invasive Weed
ID Guide will help you learn to identify it and other
invasive weeds.
DREDGING PUBLIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE
City Of Ithaca
Notes on Meeting of 14 April 2008
The Cayuga Lake Watershed Network has been asked by the City of
Ithaca to serve on an advisory committee (The Dredging Public Advisory
Committee - DPAC) considering the dredging of the Inlet at the south
end of Cayuga Lake to restore the full navigational depth and perhaps
to improve flood protection for large floods. See http://www.ecologicllc.com/ithacadredging.html
The City of Ithaca has just let a contract to identify solutions
for dredging the inlet, choose the best one, design the scheme and
obtain the required permits; the two companies carrying out this
phase are Ecologic and ERM. They have developed a time table that
shows this phase lasting until the summer of 2010. The dredging
will follow when funds permit and should take perhaps 6 months,
depending on the chosen solution.
The project has to show the need for dredging, decide on where
to dispose of the sediment from the dredging – the most difficult
aspect – and consider restoration of the site and longer term
ways to reduce the sediment load and hence future dredging activities.
The last dredging was about 25 years ago and the sediment was disposed
of in the current dog park.
At present it is estimated there may be up to 600,000 cubic yds.
of sediment to dispose of – an improved estimate will be made
later this summer. The quality of the sediments has to be determined
and classified as either A (no contaminants), B (some contaminants,
which may affect where the spoil can be placed) or C (highly contaminated).
At present it is thought that they will largely be A with some spots
of B which will make them suitable for land disposal, but again
tests will be performed this summer to clarify this.
The DEC is most unlikely to approve of dumping the sediment in
the deeper lake, the cheapest solution, for ecological reasons.
To dispose of the sediment on land, it has to be pumped or lifted
onto land and dewatered; it will take 20-40 acres of land to do
this. Sites within 1 mile of the inlet and at the level of downtown
that are publicly owned are being considered as possible disposal
sites at this stage.
Using the sediment to create a new wetland in the shallows of the
lake is one possible solution but it is difficult to create such
wetlands according to the DEC representative.
Better definition of the options should be known later this summer
when the next meeting of the DPAC is planned.
The Network is to serve on an outreach sub-committee which is likely
to meet monthly.
The City is developing a web site that will contain more information
on the project. When known we will provide a link to that site.
Notes made by:
John Mawdsley, Chair
Board of Directors, Cayuga Lake Watershed Network
..........................................................................................................
Fish Virus Threatens Fisheries
Viral hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHS, is a cold water fish virus
known to be present in the Cayuga-Seneca Canal and nearby in Skaneateles
Lake. VHS has the potential for profound socio-economic consequences,
since it has been linked with massive fish kills in lakes where
it is present. Though not a threat to people who handle or consume
infected fish, it is a threat to the more than 25 fish species it
can kill.
Infected fish, dead or alive, or the waters they swim in can spread
the virus. Because the NYS Canal System provides a water link that
can act as a transport mechanism for further spreading VHS, boaters
and fishermen play a vital role in containing the disease. Some
very good introductory information on VHS, and guidelines for boaters
and anglers can be found at the NYS Department of Environmental
Conservation websites
http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/25328.html
..........................................................................................................
Seneca Meadows Renewable Resurces Park
IESI-Seneca Meadows Landill opened in Fall
2007 an electricity-generating power
plant fueled by methane gas generated by decomposing
trash. The plant will provide low-cost electricity and methane gas
to future tenants at its Renewable Resources Park.
The IESI-Seneca Meadows Renewable Resource Park. The 200 acre,
landfill gas powered industrial park will produce sufficient waste
heat and energy for a number of new businesses. The industrial park’s
first tenant, H2Gro, is a greenhouse company out of Lewiston, New
York that grows hydroponic vegetables for retail sale in grocery
stores throughout the southeastern states. H2Gro will provide an
estimated 100 new jobs for the community with their 20 acre greenhouse
facility, scheduled for construction this spring.
The IESI-Seneca Meadows Renewable Resource Park, which is located
across from the Landfill site on the east side of State Route 414,
houses 18 engine generators that burn landfill gas to produce 17
megawatts of electricity.
President and CEO of IESI-Seneca Meadows, Mickey Flood states that
the company is commited to the success of the industrial park, as
well as two other initiatives currently underway: an environmental
community education center that the Landfill is constructing just
north of it’s facility on Route 414, and a wetlands recreational
and educational complex that will be created on the old Dove property
across from the Landfill. When constructed, these three facilities
will add to the eco-tourism potential for the area.
The watershed now has two new stream gages (alternate spelling
of gauges used by USGS for this specific equipment) that
measure and report stream height and discharge in cubic feet per
second flow. The Seneca-Cayuga
Canal gage is near Seneca Falls on the upstream side
of the Rt. 89 bridge. The Salmon
Creek gage is in Ludlowville by the
upstream fishing access parking area. The US Geological Survey (USGS)
website that houses the near real-time data states “data typically
are recorded at 15-60 minute intervals, stored onsite, and then
transmitted to USGS offices every 1 to 4 hours, depending on the
data relay technique used. Recording and transmission times may
be more frequent during critical events. Data from real-time sites
are relayed to USGS offices via satellite, telephone, and/or radio
and are available for viewing within minutes of arrival. All real-time
data are provisional
and subject to revision. Gaging information is available also for
Cayuga
Inlet , Fall
Creek , and two locations on Six
Mile Creek near Brooktondale and Bethel
Grove .
Dead fish washed up on Cayuga's shore in unprecedented numbers
in early to mid-summer. Fearing the culprit was the viral hemorrhagic
septicemia virus (VHSV) found in upstate
New York, fish were sent for testing. The virus causes fatal anemia
and hemorrhaging in many fish species. It poses no threat to humans
or other animals.
NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation blames the rapid rise in
water temperature for the die-off of fish already stressed by the
spawning season.
While the virus was found NOT to be the cause of death, the virus
could spread to Cayuga Lake in the future. Anglers and boaters can
help slow the spread by thoroughly cleaning fishing equipment, boats,
and trailers before using them in a new body of water. Fish, including
bait fish, should not be transferred from one body of water to another.
|
