Group Intent on Buffalo River Cleanup

A coalition of private and public entities is pitching a $39 million plan to clean up the Buffalo River. The river empties into the eastern end of Lake Erie by the city of Buffalo, N.Y.

A $39 million plan to clean up the Buffalo River in New York would remove nearly a million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and restore plant habitats at six key points along the 6.2 miles of the winding waterway that has been polluted for decades.

A coalition of private and public entities unveiled a 195-page feasibility study for the Buffalo River and opened the report to public scrutiny.

The plan is set to kick in next spring, with the dredging and removal of contaminated sediment in the river's commercial navigation channel.

Then, over a period of at least three years, organizers of the plan hope to be able to do more comprehensive sediment removal and restore plant life.

''When you clean up the river, you're creating an environment where people want to come into,'' said Mary Beth Giancarlo Ross, an environmental scientist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and project manager for the Buffalo River effort. ''It's all leading toward economic revitalization, as well as getting the environmental benefits.''

The EPA is partnering with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the Army Corps of Engineers and Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper on the cleanup effort.

Honeywell Corp., one of three large companies named last year in a federal and state legal effort to pursue a claim for damages, also has been a partner in developing the cleanup plan.

Total fulfillment of the coalition's preferred plan will depend on whether funding aligns through a variety of sources.

The federal government has committed about $8 million through the Great Lakes Legacy Act and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to the first phase of the cleanup, the channel dredging, which is slated to begin in June.

It also plans to provide matching funds for sponsors that assist with cash or in-kind services, including potentially companies that own property along the river. Those sponsors have not yet come forward.

Honeywell, ExxonMobil and PVS Chemicals were named in the state and federal action, which if pursued would attempt to hold those companies responsible for damage to the state's natural resources.

In other parts of the country, companies that polluted rivers negotiated with governments and made contributions for cleanup efforts.

For decades, the Buffalo River, like many waterways in the Rust Belt region, was a dumping ground for all manner of wastes, including PCBs, heavy metals such as lead, and pesticides.

While the river water and shoreline have experienced marked improvement over the years, the river's sediments still contain heavy amounts of contamination and pose a health risk when stirred up.

''Slowly it's reclaiming itself, and it's creating a new identity for itself,'' said Jill Jedlicka, director of ecological programs for Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper.

The feasibility study is available at www.buffaloriverrestoration.org. Public input on the report is being accepted until Jan. 30.