Onondaga Creek Package

[Anchor: 1]

ONCE UPON A TIME, AND AFTER LOTS OF CONTROVERSY, IT LOOKED AS IF THE COUNTY HAD A CLEAN-UP PLAN FOR ONONDAGA LAKE. AS PART OF THAT PLAN, A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD SEWAGE PLANT WAS BUILT AND CONSTRUCTION OF A SECOND IN ARMORY SQUARE WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN.

[Anchor: 2]

BUT NOW PROGRESS IS AT A STANDSTILL. THE COUNTY’S NEW EXECUTIVE PUT THE ARMORY SQUARE PLANT ON HOLD LAST WEEK, GIVING OPPONENTS TIME TO PUSH THEIR REASONS WHY MORE PLANTS SHOULD *NOT* BE BUILT. AS PHIL TENSER REPORTS, 1 OF THOSE ARGUMENTS IS NEW, WHILE ANOTHER HAS BEEN ON THE TABLE FOR SOME TIME.

[TAKE: PKG

NAME: O-Creek Pkg Rewrite – Tenser

Outcue: PT, NCC News

Duration 1’30”]

<Track 1>

THE COUNTY HAS PUT THE NEW SEWAGE PLANT IN ARMORY SQUARE ON HOLD BECAUSE OF BIG INCREASES IN THE COSTS OF BUILDING THE SEWAGE PLANTS. HOWEVER, LOCAL ENVRIONMENTALISTS WORRY THAT BELOW GROUND A BIGGER PROBLEM MAY BE DEVELOPING.

[TAKE SOT

NAME: Aggie Lane

Number: 1

OUTCUE: is that leaking?

DURATION: 0’06”]

[CG: super\Aggie Lane\Partnership for Onondaga Creek]

<“The main pipe following the creek all the way down, and goes under the lake 3 times… is that leaking?”>

[TAKE SOT

NAME: Standup

NUMBER: 2

OUTCUE:

DURATION: 0’00”]

[CG: super\Phil Tenser\NCC News]

[Note: in Armory square, standing overtop of manhole cover]

<“Here in Armory Square, and in much of downtown Syracuse, the sewer pipes are old… these underneath Clinton Street date back to 1855. If leaks in these old pipes is really the cause of the pollution, then the question that has to be asked whether the county has been spending all that money to fix the wrong problem?”>

[TAKE SOT

NAME: Aggie Lane

Number: 3

OUTCUE: fixing the problem

DURATION: 0’10”]

[CG: super\Aggie Lane\Partnership for Onondaga Creek]

<“We are saying slow down, find out where the violations are coming from. Don’t spend millions and millions and, you know, we’re not fixing the problem.”>

[Note: rain grates, creek overflow pipes/signs]

<Track 2>

THE PARTNERSHIP HAS ALSO BROUGHT BACK A SOLUTION THAT THE COUNTY HAS CALLED TOO COSTLY AND DISRUPTIVE: SEPARATING RAIN OVERFLOWS FROM HUMAN SEWAGE PIPES. SINCE ONLY THE HUMAN SEWAGE WOULD NEED TO BE PROCESSED, THIS METHOD COULD POTENTIALLY CUT DOWN ON THE VOLUME THAT EXISTING TREATMENT PLANTS HAVE TO HANDLE. HOWEVER, IT WOULD REQUIRE ALMOST EVERY SEWER PIPE IN THE COUNTY TO BE REPLACED – EXCEPT FOR A FEW PLACES THAT HAVE ALREADY HAD THE CHANGE…

[TAKE SOT

NAME: Aggie Lane

Number: 4

OUTCUE: from the hit

DURATION: 0’07”]

[CG: super\Aggie Lane\Partnership for Onondaga Creek]

<“We got sewer separated on this block, but at least we’ll feel some value from the hit.”>

[Note: Broll of county building, Mahoney, etc]

<Track 3>

AND THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE HAS TAKEN THAT INTO CONSIDERATION. LAST WEEK SHE ORDERED A 60 DAY HOLD ON BUILDING THE ARMORY SQUARE PLANT IN ORDER TO INVESTIGATE IF THERE ARE BETTER OR MORE PERTINENT SOLUTIONS TO THE SEWAGE POLUTION PROBLEM.

PHIL TENSER, NCC NEWS.