Join The Fight! Register Your Support For Protecting Owasco Lake

Albany – Continuing his aggressive efforts to preserve and protect the water quality of Owasco Lake, State Senator Michael Nozzolio haslaunched an online petition drive to allow New Yorkers to register their opposition to the recent decision by the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to allow the Village of Groton to increase the amount of phosphorous discharged into Owasco Lake.

Those wishing to register their opposition to the DEC's position can do so by clicking here.

“The decision by the DEC to allow increased levels of phosphorous into Owasco Lake is simply unacceptable to the tens of thousands of people that depend on Owasco Lake for their drinking water,” said Senator Nozzolio. “Concerned citizens can register their opposition to the DEC’s actions and send a message that this misguided decision should be reversed immediately.”

Last summer, Senator Nozzolio worked with DEC’s local representatives to establish regulations that significantly reduced the amount of phosphorous that the Village of Groton discharged into Owasco Lake. As part of the agreement, the Village of Groton also agreed to construct a new sewage treatment plant that would further reduce the amount of contamination flowing into Owasco Lake.

DEC officials recently participated in a June 27th community meeting at Emerson Park hosted by Senator Nozzolio to publicly explain their position that would allow increased amounts of phosphorous to be discharged into Owasco Lake. Senator Nozzolio has notified the DEC of his strong opposition to the decision and is seeking public support to press the DEC into reconsidering their position on this issue.

“Allowing increased amounts of phosphorous into Owasco Lake would absolutely halt the progress that has been made this year to clean-up the lake. Action must be taken to ensure that the progress that has been made is not reversed,” concluded Nozzolio.

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