renewing natural processes in an urban area — an american perspective
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Renewing Natural Processes in An Urban Area — An American Perspective. Samuel H. Sage 1 , Hongbin Gao 1 and Ping He 2 Atlantic States Legal Foundation 1 (ASLF) and International Fund for China’s Environment 2 (IFCE) January 2012. About 2 Organizations. ASLF - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Renewing Natural Processes in An Urban
Area— An American
PerspectiveSamuel H. Sage1, Hongbin Gao1 and Ping He2
Atlantic States Legal Foundation1 (ASLF) and International Fund for China’s Environment2 (IFCE)
January 2012
ASLF◦ Established in 1982 to provide affordable legal,
technical and organizational assistance as a way to effectively remediate threats to the natural and built environment.
IFCE◦ Founded in 1996 by a group of scientists and
professionals concerned with China’s environmental problems, IFCE aims to ensure a healthy global environment and continued economic development by helping China solve its environmental problems.
About 2 Organizations
Destruction of Natural Systems by Urbanization
http://www.flickr.com/photos/crouch/2075385806/http://neutradesign.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/urban-sprawl-in-united-states-eden-prairie-aerial-florida.jpg
UrbanizationUrban Sprawl
Destruction of Biodiversity in Urban Areas: Aquatic and Terrestrial
Replacement of Natives with Exotics and Invasives
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Mainelupin.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lupinus_polyphyllus.JPG
Lupinus perennis Lupinus polyphyllus
Habitat Interruption: Fragmentation and Migration Routes Disruption
http://steelinterstate.org/topics/preserving-our-landscape
The construction of the wall between Mexico and the US border may cause disappearance of 11 animal species with the interruption of their migration routes
Channelization Filling wetlands Diversion through
turbine and dams Withdrawal for
agriculture, industry and human consumption
Indirect changes by cutting down trees
General Discussion of Urban Water Resource Issues
Harbor Brook, Unchannelized
Harbor Brook, Channelized
Contaminated discharge from industrial and municipal uses
Runoff and erosion Air-deposition CSO
General Discussion of Urban Water Resource Issues (Con,t)
Unauthorized Industrial Discharge (unidentified location)
http://steelinterstate.org/topics/preserving-our-landscape
Syracuse and Onondaga Lake Introduction
Onondaga Lake, Syracuse, New York, USA
1884 Solvay Process Co. opens its doors: begins making soda ash on southwestern shore
1896 Sewers built in city, backyard privies banned. Sewage flows directly into creeks
1897 Whitefish disappears from Onondaga Lake
Key Dates in Onondaga Lake History
1901 Ice harvesting banned for health reasons
1907 NYS Attorney General threatens legal action against SPC for dumping waste to lake; SPC agrees to keep wastes on land
1917 SPC begins production of chlorine. Also begins producing organic chemicals (benzene, toluene, xylenes, chlorobenzenes)
1920 SPC merges with other industries to form Allied Chemical & Dye Co.
Key Dates in Onondaga Lake History
1955-60 County establishes Metropolitan sewer district and constructs new primary sewage treatment plant
1970 Mercury is discovered in lake fishery. Fishing is banned and Allied is sued by NYS Attorney General
1972 Congress passed Clean Water Act
Key Dates in Onondaga Lake History
1975 Crucible Steel starts new wastewater treatment plant
1979 Allied sells chlorine production facility to LCP Corp.
1979 Metro plant begins secondary treatment
1981 Metro plant begins phosphorus removal
1986 Allied shuts down
Key Dates in Onondaga Lake History
1988 Atlantic States sues county for wastewater violations; NYS joins suit.
1988 LCP is fined; closes plant.
1989 County agrees to settlement.
1989 NYS sues Allied & LCP for natural resource damages; leads to Consent Order in 1992
1994 Onondaga Lake named Superfund site
Key Dates in Onondaga Lake History
First passed in 1972 and subsequently amended
Section 505 allows for citizens to enforce the law
US Water and Waste Laws and Citizen’s Roles— Clean Water Act
1988, ASLF brings a lawsuit against Onondaga County for violations of their permit to discharge to Onondaga Lake
1989, lawsuit settled
1997, the settlement was renegotiated and amended
2009, further renegotiation requires green infrastructure
Onondaga Lake Enforcement
Green Infrastructure
Recent Switch to “Green” or Natural Systems
Go to http://savetherain.us/ for more information
◦ Porous Pavement◦ Rain Gardens◦ Vegetated curb extensions◦ Tree trenches
◦ Stormwater planters◦ Cisterns ◦ Vegetated roofs
Green Water Street Design, Syracuse, New York, USA
Gray Infrastructure: ◦ Commitment to 88.7% annual volume capture in Gray
Infrastructure by 2013
Green Infrastructure: ◦ Commitment to an additional 6.3% annual volume capture
in Green Infrastructure commencing immediately in 2009, resulting in 95% total annual volume capture by 2018
Recent Switch to “Green” or Natural Systems— A Balanced Green-Gray Approach
Go to http://savetherain.us/ for more information
Benefit to Water Quality◦ Selected Gray Projects maximize storage for advanced
treatment at Metro◦ By managing stormwater before it gets into the
Combined Sewer System,◦ Green Infrastructure eliminates pollutants at the
source and reduces discharge volumes to the creek and lake
◦ Also reduces flooding and erosion
A Balanced Green-Gray Approach
Create Habitat and preserve biodiversity
Improve air quality Improve neighborhood aesthetics Create jobs and job training programs Increase property values Enhance community health and vitality
Side Benefits of Green
Non-Point science and monitoring method
Integrated planning efforts: incorporating water quality, habitat creation and urban revitalization goals in planning process
Further Needs