It's Not Over Yet!
by Tarki Heath and Thane Joyal
It may seem that nothing has worked to protect this community from the County's
determination to build a sewage plant. And yet, The Partnership for Onondaga
Creek (POC) continues to cry: "It's Not Over Yet!" Here's why.
Title VI
In March, 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Civil Rights
(EPA/OCR) dismissed the POC's Title VI complaint. Title VI of the Civil Rights
Act was intended to prevent the use of federal funding on projects which are
discriminatory based on race, color, or national origin (which the Midland project
is). In recent years, the program has been dismantled by the Bush Administration.
As attention on this misused process becomes more visible, so does Midland.
On July 11, nine POC members traveled to New York City to meet with EPA officials.
We were accompanied by two representatives of the Onondaga Nation, and a growing
coalition of supporters from West Harlem Environmental Action, Environmental
Advocates of New York, Citizens Environmental Coalition, the Sierra Club, and
Senator Hillary Clinton's office. We presented the EPA with missing information
from its "investigation," as they had never visited the community
or looked beyond the paper record. As a result of this meeting, we now have
a continuing dialog with EPA/OCR, and a broadening statewide and national coalition.
|
| An overflow sign at Onondaga Creek. |
On another front, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
(NYSDEC) has issued a draft discharge permit which will authorize water discharges
to Onondaga Creek from Midland. Unfortunately, the proposed permit does not
protect water quality in Onondaga Creek or comply with the Clean Water Act.
The POC, the Onondaga Nation, and others have sent in critical assessments of
the permit and have requested a public hearing. Nearly 100 people requested
a hearing, including NYS Senators DeFrancisco, Marcellino, and Valesky, NYS
Assembly Representatives DiNapoli, Christensen, and Magnarelli, and Syracuse
Mayor Driscoll. Recently, Onondaga County has lobbied the NYSDEC, arguing that
no hearing should be held. Once again, the County is attempting to shut down
the public process on this issue.
Your voice is needed! Please call the NYSDEC (426-7403) and insist on the need
for a public hearing on this permit (in your message, please refer to SPDES
Permit # NY-0027081). You may also call any of the representatives above to
support their position.
Armory Square:
Here we go again!
Onondaga County is planning to build another ill-conceived swirler plant on
the old Trolley Site in Armory Square, downtown Syracuse. During large rainstorms,
sewage overflows will still occur, and the facility would discharge partially
treated sewage into Onondaga Creek.
On June 29, the POC, Onondaga Nation, Onondaga County, and the City of Syracuse
presented views and technical information to the Armory Square Merchants. The
POC presented an alternative to the County's plan, using County-approved technologies.
The Partnership's plan calls for increased, strategic use of sewer separation
and storage. This plan distributes the sewage burden equally by involving every
sub-basin: Midland, Clinton, the Northside and Harbor Brook. When complete,
there would be NO overflow into Onondaga Creek. To learn more about this plan,
contact the POC for a copy of A Technical Sheet on Higher Standards.
To express your concerns about the County's plan call Mayor Driscoll (448-8005)
and County Executive Nick Pirro (435-3516). Use your contacts to inform business
owners in the Armory Square area about the POC's fair, alternative plan.
Join the Partnership (POC)!
The POC continues to work on a variety of outreach efforts, including developing
coalitions with the City-Wide Coalition of Urban Pastors and with Armory Square
merchants. We are not a large group, and can always use extra hands and voices.
If you would like to have brochures to pass along to others, or want to contribute
your time and talents to this struggle in any way, contact the Partnership at
478-4571 (Aggie Lane), 422-1673 (Louise Poindexter), or 696-5262 (Tarki Heath).
Meetings are every Tuesday at 6 pm at the
Brady Faith Center.
Brochures available on request:
• Healing Onondaga Creek
It's not over yet!
Tarki and Thane are very active with the Partnership for Onondaga Creek.
