Letter to Doug Lamont, Acting Secretary of the Army Corp of Engineers - Owasco Flats Wetland Restoration Project

Letter

Dear Acting Secretary Doug Lamont:

I write to iterate my support for the Owasco Flats Wetland Restoration project. As you know, Owasco Lake -- a source of local drinking water for several municipalities in Cayuga County, including for the City of Auburn, NY -- has been plagued by harmful algae toxins in recent years. This project will reduce the toxins in the lake by filtering the unwanted nutrients and sediment that cause the harmful algae blooms through dug basins and vegetation before the water enters the lake, while also working to restore floodplains to lessen damage from heavy rains. It is my hope that you will swiftly issue the federal wetland permit so that state and local officials may proceed to implement the project.

Owasco Lake's blue-green algae blooms originate from unwanted sediment entering the lake at the Owasco Inlet and the blooms have increasingly plagued the lake during late summer months. Toxins released from the dying blue-green blooms have been found contaminating the treated drinking water drawn from the lake. Last year, the toxin was found in the drinking water at levels as high as 1,800 micrograms per liter. While that amount is less than U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's health advisory levels, it has rightfully caused great concern for Cayuga County residents who rely on the lake for its drinking water. State and local officials have identified ways to combat this problem and they include commencing the Owasco Flats Restoration Project.

Located at the south end of the lake, Owasco Flats consists of approximately 2,800 acres of wetland around the Owasco Inlet. In addition, the Owasco Inlet was hydrologically separated from the Owasco Flats floodplain wetlands when the Inlet channel was widened and straightened as part of a 1948 Army Corps of Engineers Flood Control Project. As a result, the Flats' wetlands no longer filter floodwaters before they enter Owasco Lake to the extent that they would under more natural conditions, thereby increasing sediment and nutrient loads and impairing the water quality of the lake. The overall objective of restoration efforts is to reduce phosphorus and sediment loads to Owasco Lake. It will also restore floodplain wetlands to better protect surrounding areas form flooding during heavy rains.

Thank you for your consideration of this important project and issuing the federal wetland permit so the project may proceed to implementation. The Owasco Flats Wetland Restoration project, along with other remediation measures taken by Cayuga County and the City of Auburn, will ensure the residents in this area have access to safe drinking water throughout the year. Should you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer

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