Essay Revision

Onondaga Lake and Superfund
One of the nation’s most polluted lakes can be found in the confines our own city. The industrial age has left Onondaga Lake unusable. One of the most prominent efforts to fix he pollution problem has been a government program named Superfund. The program has put Onondaga Lake on its high-priority list but is currently facing financial problems. Its original philosophy of the “polluter pays” has been spoiled due to the fact that Congress has not renewed the excise tax since its expiration in 1995. Presently, Superfund relies on individual tax payers for income but the issue lies in whether or not this is fair. In the end, the polluters should pay; but, controversy lies in who is actually at fault for the pollution and if the legal nightmare is truly worth the time and money (Knickerbocker).
Onondaga Lake is located in Onondaga County, New York on the northern side of Syracuse. It has been an important part of the city for centuries. The Onondaga Indians discovered a salt spring on the shores in 1654. This lead to the development of commercial salt production on the lake’s shore in 1793. The salt industry, being one of Syracuse’s most prominent industries, lead the city to being dubbed Salt City. Onondaga Lake was also widely known for its large tourist area. “By the turn of the century the shoreline of the lake contained many major tourist attractions, including hotels, restaurants, and amusement parks.” Fish from the lake were also served in restaurants throughout the state (The History of Onondaga Lake).
The salt industry has contributed many positives to Syracuse but it has also has had devastating effects on Onondaga Lake. The Solvay Process Company production of soda ash has altered the lake’s chemical and physical properties. Soda ash has altered natural temperature causing an increase in phosphorus levels. The Solvay process has generated other waste materials such as sodium chloride and calcium chloride. This waste “upset[s] the biological activity in the lake” (Landers 64). Solvay and other industry waste have created waste deposits that in some areas are 45 feet thick. Between 1917 and 1970, other manufacturing processes created new waste including benzene, xylene, hydrochlic acid, hydrogen peroxide, along with many others. Primary containments such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic, and chlorinated benzenes are toxic to humans (Landers 65).
Industrial waste is not the only source of pollution to Onondaga Lake; sewage contaminates the quality of the lake as well. The Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant, commonly known as Metro, is located on the southern shore of the lake. Metro has been discharging waste at this site since the 1920’s. Untreated water waste increases bacteria levels and depletes dissolved oxygen concentrations necessary for a healthy biological environment (Knickerbocker). By 1940, the lake was declared unsafe to swim in and by the 1970’s there was a ban on fishing from the lake; all of this was due to industrial and sewage waste (The History of Onondaga Lake).
It was obvious that Onondaga Lake needed help and in 1994 the area was added to the Nation Priority List of a program known as Superfund. Superfund is a federal program that has been cleaning up polluted areas across the country. This government fund which started in 1980 has paid for environmental cleanup at a cost over $1 billion per year. Superfund has been facing bankruptcy which has made it difficult to cleanup at the same rate as they have in previous years. Superfund cleaned up 886 sites so far but has 1203 on their high-priority left to go. These remaining projects are large, complex, and expensive (Knickerbocker).
Superfund’s original philosophy is to have the polluter pay and in many cases the polluter does pay either by volunteering or through a court case (Knickerbocker). One prominent issue with this philosophy is identifying the company that is ultimately at fault for the contamination of an area. For many areas including Onondaga Lake, more than one company is at fault for the pollution. Honeywell International, Inc. is currently at held responsible for the lake’s pollution (Landers 66). Honeywell merged with AlliedSignal in 1999; AlliedSignal was originally the Solvay Process Company, which opened a factory on the lakes western shore in 1884 (Landers 64). Honeywell is at fault but it is known that untreated sewage flowing into the lake has been a major contributor to its pollution. The sewage comes from the Metro, which has been “owned and operated by Onondaga County since the 1970s” (Landers 69).
Some advocate this “polluter pays” philosophy but others see it as a legal nightmare. “Much of the cost of Superfund goes to lawyers, consultants, private investigators, and administrative overhead rather than the actual cleanup” (Knickerbocker). Many ponder if all the money spent on the process of forcing companies to pay is actually worth all the hassle as compared to finding a different source of revenue. Although in many cases the polluting company does volunteers to pay for the cost of cleanup (Knickerbocker).
As another source of money for projects, Superfund used to impose an excise tax on the oil and chemical industry. In 1995, it rightfully expired in 1995 as Congress did not renew the law. Although the law existed for the first fifteen years of Superfund, it seems unfair to oppose an excise tax on only certain industries. Oil and chemical waste are not the only source of environmental pollution (Knickerbocker). In January 2003, a group of senators attempted to have the Toxic Cleanup Polluter Pays Renewal Act passed. It would reinstate the tax on oil and chemical industries. “Since the Superfund tax expired, the trust fund has been reduced from a high of approximately $3.7 billion in fiscal year 1996, to $400 million in fiscal year 2002, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, D.C.” (O'Connell).
With the excise tax gone, Superfund turns to the individual tax payer for funds. It is very difficult to pin point who is exactly at fault for all the pollution. Some argue that consumers are at fault because they create a need for these projects. The money from taxpayers is put towards sites where no company or party is held responsible. In 2003, taxpayers contribute about 53% of Superfund’s revenue as compared to only 18% in 1996 (O'Connell).
It is politically not possible for Superfund to be eliminated so the problem lies in how to pay for future projects (Knickerbocker). New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation envisions that Onondaga Lake will take a total of seven years for design and construction with an estimated cost of $451 million (Landers 66). And Onondaga Lake is just one of the 1203 remaining sites on Superfund’s high-priority list. Money is an important part of getting our country cleaned up and it is the polluters that should pay. In the end though, some can see it as the polluter does pay no matter what the situation. Either the polluting companies pay or the consumers pay. If citizen consumers did not create a need for products that these companies like Honeywell are producing then there would be no pollution to begin with.



**** I am still working on the revision of my thesis where I use points from the Writing Analytically. I didnt want to rush and it be terrible so this is not my final revision. ****