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Recommendations: Annual Onondaga Lake Scientific Forum
After presentations on the many scientific and engineering issues the collective conclusion of the concerned researchers was expressed in these words:
"Based on the experience of many years and much past and continuing research on Onondaga Lake, a rigorous review of the scientific underpinnings and an assessment of the current plans for Onondaga Lake by an independent expert agency is needed, if we are to ever reach our goal of a rehabilitated Onondaga Lake. To this end the scientific and engineering community participating here today plus a number of our research colleagues strongly recommends that the National Research Council through the Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB) be asked to take on the Onondaga Lake Rehabilitation efforts".
The Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB) was created in 1982 with the following mission:
"The Board's objective is to improve the scientific and technological basis for resolving important questions and issues associated with the efficient management and use of water resources."
The extraordinary circumstances that support the Onondaga Lake recommendation are the complexity, severity, contentions and disagreements and the long history of these unresolved problems. The Syracuse Herald Journal on September 14, 1999 had this to say:
"Scientists monitoring the project have urged that an outside agency such as the National Research Council evaluate the proposals for scientific soundness. This also seems only prudent".
The most current work in New York State of the National Research Council's Water Science and Technology Board was their 1997-1999 Assessment of New York City's Approach to Watershed Management to Protect the City's Water Supply from Contamination. This review was requested by the New York City Comptroller. The review and the subsequent report was an outstanding piece of work that insures the credibility of the effort and acceptance by all of the stakeholders. Furthermore, it makes numerous suggestions how the effort can be improved. Past work of the WSTB has addressed acidification of lakes, mercury in the environment, ammonia/nitrates, benzene, hydrogen sulfide and multi-chemical contamination. Many of these subjects are part of the Onondaga Lake picture.
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