St. Lawrence River Remedial Action Plan

PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING IN MASSENA ABOUT WATER QUALITY CLEAN UP SCHEDULED FOR JULY 8

A Public Information Meeting on water pollution concerns within the Massena area will be held Thursday, July 8, 2010, from 7 to 9 PM at the New York Power Authority Visitors Center, 21 Hawkins Point Road, Massena, NY 13662. Presentations will be made by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and there will be opportunity for questions and comments.

The meeting is for everyone who is interested in the St. Lawrence, Grasse, Raquette and St. Regis rivers and the environment in the Massena area. Anyone who has been involved in the Massena Remedial Advisory Committee (RAC) over the past 20 years, will be particularly interested in an update on area clean ups. There will be an update on the pollution concerns around Massena and Akwesasne, efforts to clean up all the Great Lakes, including the St. Lawrence and other rivers in the Massena area and why the Massena RAC feels that plankton populations (the tiny plant and animal organisms in the water that provide a food source for the aquatic food chain) are healthy within the local rivers.

This public meeting comes on the heels of a day-long workshop in Massena for agencies involved in making sure the most polluted areas in the Great Lakes basin are being cleaned up. The DEC, EPA, other federal and regional agencies will be discussing measures to clean up the five areas in New York on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River designated as having serious pollution problems.

Anyone wanting more information or are interested in receiving an electronic copy of the draft plankton report and supporting documents, please contact Steve Litwhiler with the DEC in Watertown, NY by calling the office at 315-785-2252 or email at swlitwhi@gw.dec.state.nv.us.