Saturday, November 17, 2007

EC Onondaga Lake

Onondaga Lake, which is historically considered as one of the most polluted lakes in American history was not always such a tainted region. “In the late 1800s the lake was known for exceptional fishing, boating, swimming and the grand resorts on its shores” (Williamson 1). Local residents as well as I are curious as to what qualities of the lake were present then, which made its surrounding area such a sanctuary of life and recreation? In order to restore the lake to its previous glory, questions like this must be answered. One solution is through mass amounts of funding.

Throughout the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries many hazardous chemicals were dumped into the lake by major industrial companies. Among those companies were the Solvay Process Company and the Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation. “In 1884, the Solvay Process Company began production of soda ash on the Lakefront and nearby properties. Approximately 6 million pounds of salty wastes, made up of chloride, sodium, and calcium were discharged daily to Onondaga Lake,” (Onondaga Lake Partnership). “Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation discharged an estimated 165,000 pounds of mercury into Onondaga Lake between 1946 and 1970,” (Onondaga Lake Partnership). This is a massive amount of pollutants stemming from the Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation. Yet the 165,000 pounds of mercury is being cleaned up thanks to the taxation of the general public not by the company responsible.
Onondaga Lake is a shining example of the difficulties that come with the “polluter pays” philosophy. The “polluter pays” philosophy is based upon the train of thought that, “Any party that ever touched the waste, no matter how remote the involvement, can be held liable for the full cost of remediation,” (Knickerbocker 2). This does seem fair, but when the clean-up site is one like Onondaga Lake, a site that has had many polluters throughout the years, pin pointing a specific polluter to pay the cleansing fee is quite difficult and controversial considering it is the public that generally suffers.

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).

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).

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. 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).

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.


Knickerbocker, Brad. “Superfund Program: A Smaller Cleanup Rag.” The Christian Science Monitor. 14 Nov 2003. 2 Oct 2007. < http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1114/p02s01-usgn.html?related>.

Landers, J. “New Life for Onondaga Lake.” Civil Engineering (American Society of Civil Engineers) 76.5 (May 2006): 64-71, 86. Wilson OmniFile Full Text, Mega Edition. H.W. Wilson, Syracuse University Library, Syracuse NY. 6 October 2007. .

O'Connell, K. A. “House and Senate Rouse Dormant Superfund Trust.” Waste Age 34.4 (April 2003) 26, 28. Wilson OmniFile Full Text, Mega Edition. H.W. Wilson, Syracuse University Library, Syracuse NY. 6 October 2007. .

"Onondaga Lake Pollution History." Onondaga Lake Partnership. 30 Sept. 2007 .

Williamson, Karen. “Return to Glory: the resurgence of Onondaga Lake.”10 Aug. 2006. Wilson Web. 7 Oct. 2007. .

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