Onondaga County

MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. May, Mr. Rowley, Mr. Burtis, Mrs. Tassone, Ms. Cody, Mrs. Abbott­Kenan, Ms. Kuhn, Mr. Ryan, Dr. Chase, Mr. Holmquist, Mr. McBride, Mr. Bush, Mr. Jordan, Mr. Kinne, Mr. Williams, Mrs. Ervin, Chairman Knapp

Chairman Knapp called the 12:55 p.m. public hearing to order at 1:09 p.m. The Clerk read the notice of public hearing and stated the notice was duly published.

Chairman Knapp asked for speakers wishing to be heard

Tom Law said:

Good to be here. Improvement. I wonder what the root of that word is. Seems so simple; all in balance. Another phrase, “you’ll be fine.” What do we know? Sea level is O feet above sea level. We know the elevation of Onondaga Lake is about 362 above sea level. Lake Ontario is below that at about 242, 243, 244 maybe. We have the flow. Goes to Gulf of St. Lawrence after flowing down. It’s counter cyclical. The mix part of the current and the St. Lawrence River. It’s like a bowl before it gets out into the Atlantic. Is useful and a resource of fisheries. 200 known species of fish in the 1980’s. Civil engineering is on your plate. Expanding and allowing optional array of 80,000 chemicals off the shelf to be dumped down into the sewer system. Let’s say half of that, 40,000 here. Pretty amazing. You’re responsible. Have we all done our homework? 40,000 likely chemicals. I don’t think so. Who raises the flag? It is a red flag. Onondaga Lake is a success story. Talking about the Atlantic; acid rain. It’s under siege. 30% more acidic than 100 years ago. Not good for all the species. 2 billion on the planet use sea food in their diet, so there are reasons not to trespass. That is the question. How bad are we trespassing on the Atlantic, and have we done our homework? Don’t think so. We hand it off to civil engineers and committee. Wastewater treatment plant, not lab workers. Are we being responsible? Not pointing a finger at you alone. Sewers are $275 a user through the county. Quality of work is allowing this to happen. I am not saying that NYS is doing the whole job; it’s the County that has to pick up its end.

Chairman Knapp asked if anyone else would like to be heard on this topic. Hearing none, Chairman Knapp closed the hearing at 1:15 p.m.