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Data below taken from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation website

Onondaga Lake Bottom Site Fact Sheet - July 2005

Record of Decision Issued for the Onondaga Lake Bottom Site

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in cooperation with the New York State Department of Health, have issued the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Onondaga Lake Bottom site, a subsite to the Onondaga Lake National Priorities List Site. The ROD, which documents the selected remedy for the site, was signed on July 1, 2005. The ROD includes a Responsiveness Summary which responds to the comments received during the public review process.

This fact sheet highlights the Record of Decision and provides site background information, as well as contact information should you desire additional information.

Elements of the Remedy

Key elements of the Record of Decision include:

1. Dredging of as much as an estimated 2,653,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment/waste from the lake.
2. Placement of an isolation cap over an estimated 425 acres of the shallower portion (where water depths are less than 30 feet)of the lake bottom.
3. Placement of a thin-layer cap over an estimated 154 acres of the deeper portion (where water depths are greater than 30 feet) of the lake bottom.
4. Construction/operation of a hydraulic control system along the SMU 7 shoreline to maintain cap effectiveness.
5. Treatment and/or off-site disposal of the most highly - contaminated materials (e.g., pure phase chemicals segregated during the dredging/handling process). The balance of the dredged materials will be placed in one or more Sediment Consolidation Areas (SCAs), which will be constructed on one or more of Honeywell's Solvay wastebeds that historically received process wastes from Honeywell's former operations.
6. Treatment of water generated by the dredging and sediment handling processes to meet NYSDEC discharge limits.
7. An oxygenation pilot study in the deeper portion of the lake to reduce mercury methylation and dissolved mercury concentrations. This study will be followed by full-scale oxygenation if supported by the pilot study.
8. The monitoring of the natural covering of the contaminated sediments with clean sediments (Monitored Natural Recovery) discharged from tributaries to the lake.
9. Completion of a comprehensive lakewide habitat restoration plan.
10. Habitat reestablishment in areas where dredging/capping will occur.
11. Habitat enhancement along an estimated 1.5 miles of shoreline and over approximately 23 acres to stabilize deposits and promote submerged macrophyte growth.
12. Implementation of institutional controls including the notification of appropriate government agencies with authority for permitting potential future activities which could impact the implementation and effectiveness of the remedy.
13. Implementation of a long-term operation, maintenance, and monitoring (OM&M) program to monitor and maintain the effectiveness of the remedy.
14. The control of contamination migrating to the lake from the various upland sites is an integral part of the overall cleanup of Onondaga Lake. The timing of remedial activities in Onondaga Lake will need to be coordinated with the remedial work which will be performed as part of the remedies at the upland sites.
15. Collection of additional data needed for design of the remedy.

The cost to implement this remedy is estimated at $451 million with a three-year design and a four-year construction period.