U.S. and New York Claim Damages to Buffalo River

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, together as trustees of the natural resources of the Buffalo River, say they have studied the river's resources, concluded that "significant harm has occurred" and determined that further assessment is needed to decide what restoration is necessary.

The notice was issued to ExxonMobil Corporation, Honeywell Corporation, and PVS Chemicals, companies that owned and operated industrial facilities along the Buffalo River.

The companies are alleged to have each discharged toxic chemicals or oil into the waterway, harming fish, wildlife, biota, water quality, sediments and cultural resources.

The Buffalo River empties into the eastern end of Lake Erie, by the city of Buffalo, New York. The river is listed as a Great Lakes Areas of Concern in The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada.

Buffalo River enters Lake Erie (Photo credit unknown)

"Today's action is an important step in holding polluters accountable for the damage to the Buffalo River's ecosystem," said DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis. "With this action, we are serving notice that the public is due compensation for the losses resulting from the historical contamination of this river."

"Too often in the past, urban waterways were used for the dumping of toxic chemicals. It is now time to reclaim these natural resources so they can serve the interests of their surrounding communities," Grannis said.

"Common terns, belted kingfishers, shorebirds, herons, rails and other marsh birds living along the river in wetlands and mudflats will benefit from restoration of the Buffalo River," said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Northeast Regional Director Marvin Moriarty. "We want to work cooperatively to develop a restoration plan and to put that plan into action."

Natural resource damages claims seek to hold parties responsible for the injuries to the state's natural resources, measured by the value of projects needed to restore the resources to their condition before the injury occurred. These claims differ from actions to recover costs of cleaning up contaminated sites which are limited to the investigation, removal or treatment of the contaminants.

"2009 marks Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper's 20th year of working to clean up industrial contamination and restore the Buffalo River," said Riverkeeper Executive Director Julie Barrett O'Neill. "Riverkeeper hopes that the prosecution of this natural resources damages claim helps to both expedite the current remediation efforts and to encourage all of the companies to participate in the river's restoration."

The action to address damages to the natural resources is just one of DEC's initiatives to help restore the Buffalo River ecosystem.

The state agency also has addressed the 44 known hazardous waste sites within the Buffalo River watershed by completing cleanups at 40 and pursuing remediation at the remaining four, where activities are nearing completion.

The DEC has funded and conducted a broad sampling effort of the river sediments. The agency is participating with Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes National Program Office, and others, to undertake a remediation feasibility study scheduled to be completed in 2009.

The DEC also is providing $1 million to fund two Brownfield Opportunity Area planning grants along the river that address environmental, ecological, economical and environmental justice issues by creating a strategic plan for land use and redevelopment.

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