Teaming with Universities and Research Institutions to Improve Stakeholder Consensus Building and Positive Outcomes: Onondaga Lake Example

摘要

Background/Objectives. The remediation of Onondaga Lake, located in Syracuse, NewYork, USA, began in 2012 and represents a significant milestone to the City of Syracuseand its residents. The approximately 4.6-square-mile lake has been impacted by multiplecontaminants, including mercury, volatile and semivolatile organic compounds. Theselected remedy is a combination of dredging and capping and is anticipated to take 5years to complete.Approach. Stakeholders, which include site responsible parties, regulators, communitiesand special interest groups, often have different priorities and varying levels of expertisein specific issues. The technical expertise, credibility and respect that are provided by theresources and personnel within local and national universities and research institutionscan have a huge impact on stakeholder communications, and contribute significantly tothe positive technical and financial outcome of sediment remediation projects. This isexemplified by the expertise and value added by over a dozen local and national universityand research organizations and technical experts involved in Onondaga Lake.Specific examples include:1.Technical support and agency and public communication during the FeasibilityStudy to help demonstrate the protectiveness provided by a sediment cap.2.Providing overall guidance in development of a wetland restoration plans in wetlandsadjacent to the lake, including wetland design to promote pike spawning.3.Conducting numerous capping-related laboratory studies to support the cap design,including studies of ebullition, NAPL expression, partitioning coefficients and contaminantbiological decay.4.Providing technical support water quality issues specific to Onondaga Lake based ondecades of independent study to support baseline monitoring, MNR, and implementationof a nitrate addition program to restrict mercury methylation.5.Conducting fish species and population studies and providing guidance in developingfinal cap elevation, cap habitat layer substrate, and habitat structure design tooptimize fish habitat based on decades of independent study of the lake.Results. Integration of the technical resources associated with local universities andresearch institutions provided numerous extra benefits in addition to technical expertise.Given their local presence and long-term involvement in lake related studies independent