Posted on July 29, 2020
ENVIRONMENT: State seeks public input on Eighteen Mile Creek management.
Representatives of the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Niagara County Soil and Water Conservation District will meet with members of the public, albeit virtually, from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday to discuss lifting the longstanding ban on dredging Eighteen Mile Creek.
A Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) previously placed on Eighteen Mile Creek restricts dredging activities in the creek. The restriction was originally put in place after contaminants including PCBs were documented in creek sediments in the navigation channels below Burt Dam. Possible sources were industrial wastewater discharges and inactive hazardous waste sites noted by the DEC in 1997.
“After a review of recent navigational dredging activities and a thorough assessment of Olcott Harbor sediment quality, DEC and partner agencies have determined that the conditions for (lifting the restriction) have been met. DEC and partner agencies will be seeking public feedback regarding the proposed change in designation,” reads a release from the DEC announcing the meeting.
Eighteen Mile Creek presently has five BUIs, including restrictions on eating fish or wildlife, degradation of fish and wildlife populations, bird or animal deformities or reproductive problems and the degradation of benthos (the flora and fauna found at the bottom of a body of water). The restriction on dredging is the first BUI proposed for removal.
“Ultimately, the goal is the removal of all BUIs… and the eventual de-listing of Eighteen Mile Creek as a (Great Lakes) Area of Concern,” said Donald Zelazny, DEC’s Great Lakes Basin programs coordinator.
The Eighteen Mile Creek Corridor, which stretches from Lockport to Olcott, is a registered U.S. Superfund cleanup site. Remediation was planned in four phases by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The first phase, acquisition of contaminated residential properties and demolition of the long-vacated Flintkote building, both in the area of Water and Mill streets in the city of Lockport, has been completed.
Remaining phases are in progress and include: remediating contaminated industrial properties in the creek corridor, remediating contaminated creek sediment from Lockport to Lake Ontario; and remediating contaminated residential sediment east of the industrial and commercial properties.
More information on the meeting and how to participate is posted at http://www.eighteenmilecreek.com.
Source: lockportjournal
