The meeting convened last week by state Sen. Michael Nozzolio, R-Fayette, on the health of Owasco Lake was an excellent first step in protecting this deteriorating water resource. The good news is that discussing the future of the lake has now taken on an urgency - the bad news is that more than talk is needed.
No one should be surprised with the time-worn platitudes that some local leaders are using to talk about the need to protect Owasco Lake and its surrounding watershed. They have finally jumped on the bandwagon that some, such as the Owasco Watershed Lake Association (OWLA), have been leading for years. One can't but wonder, if not for the leadership of Nozzolio, if some of these same local officials would still be quiet and lackadaisical on preserving this valuable resource.
While city and county officials are quick to talk about the subject now, where have they been for the last decade? Owasco Lake's current condition didn't develop overnight. It has taken years to deteriorate, with little action by some of those, past and present, who have had the ability to act.
More than a decade ago this community, through the leadership of several private citizens, including Chuck Mason (pre-city hall service) and Mark Miller (before joining the county's Environmental Management Council), worked with city hall to stop Smith Corona from dumping its byproducts into the Owasco Inlet though Groton's sewage treatment plant. Back then it was also Nozzolio who took a leadership role and worked with city hall and these two environmental advocates to get the state Department of Environmental Conservation to act.
After that successful effort, the momentum on the local level (absent an immediate and visible crisis) from local officials seemed to lessen. Sure they will be able to state that they “talked” about and “reported” on the lake's status over the years, but little was done to preserve the integrity of the watershed and Owasco Lake. The result has been the horrifying and, to some, stunning news about the lake's current condition.
Yet the public, letting their taste buds and noses do the work, knew there was a problem with Owasco Lake's water years ago. At the same time, on at least two occasions city officials were asked about the issue of mustiness and turbidity on television, they seemed to brush off the questions, suggesting that no such problem existed.
Oddly enough, when Alan Kozlowski, the president of OWLA, spoke at city hall two weeks ago about the state of the lake and raised the issue of the lake's foul taste, those who dismissed this subject previously, smartly kept their mouths shut, for the most part.
The issue of reversing the deterioration of Owasco Lake has finally been moved to a front burner issue. That's the good news. Read Wednesday's column for the bad news.
Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be e-mailed at cozguytho@aol.com
While city and county officials are quick to talk about the subject now, where have they been for the last decade? Owasco Lake's current condition didn't develop overnight. It has taken years to deteriorate, with little action by some of those, past and present, who have had the ability to act.
More than a decade ago this community, through the leadership of several private citizens, including Chuck Mason (pre-city hall service) and Mark Miller (before joining the county's Environmental Management Council), worked with city hall to stop Smith Corona from dumping its byproducts into the Owasco Inlet though Groton's sewage treatment plant. Back then it was also Nozzolio who took a leadership role and worked with city hall and these two environmental advocates to get the state Department of Environmental Conservation to act.
After that successful effort, the momentum on the local level (absent an immediate and visible crisis) from local officials seemed to lessen. Sure they will be able to state that they “talked” about and “reported” on the lake's status over the years, but little was done to preserve the integrity of the watershed and Owasco Lake. The result has been the horrifying and, to some, stunning news about the lake's current condition.
Yet the public, letting their taste buds and noses do the work, knew there was a problem with Owasco Lake's water years ago. At the same time, on at least two occasions city officials were asked about the issue of mustiness and turbidity on television, they seemed to brush off the questions, suggesting that no such problem existed.
Oddly enough, when Alan Kozlowski, the president of OWLA, spoke at city hall two weeks ago about the state of the lake and raised the issue of the lake's foul taste, those who dismissed this subject previously, smartly kept their mouths shut, for the most part.
The issue of reversing the deterioration of Owasco Lake has finally been moved to a front burner issue. That's the good news. Read Wednesday's column for the bad news.
Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be e-mailed at cozguytho@aol.com
The Citizens' Say
There are 1 comment(s)
Dave R Ithaca, NY wrote on Jul 14, 2006 11:22 AM: