Rochester Embayment no longer an 'area of concern'

After almost 40 years of projects, enduring partnerships, and millions of dollars, an area of Lake Ontario that stretches across Monroe County has made a turnaround.

The Rochester Embayment spans the area between Bogus Point in Parma and Nine Mile Point in Webster. In 1987, it was one of 43 spots designated as "areas of concern" by the International Joint Commission, a binational organization that coordinates management of water bodies that straddle the U.S.-Canadian border. The designation indicated that those places had experienced serious environmental degradation and identified specific problems with each.

But on Tuesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and local partners announced that the embayment's area of concern status has been lifted.

“Today is a day to celebrate this historic moment for the communities of New York and the Great Lakes region," said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa Garcia. "EPA is officially taking the Rochester embayment off of the areas of concern list."

It was no small accomplishment. At the time it was listed officials identified more than a dozen problems including the loss of habitat and key species, frequent beach closings due to water quality, and pollution that led to warnings not to eat the fish.

A Monroe County-led committee developed and carried out a remedial action plan to clean up and restore the embayment. That led to partnerships between county and local governments, state and federal agencies, and experts at local universities and businesses including Eastman Kodak Co.

Efforts targeted contaminated sediment from historic industrial pollution and sources of nutrient pollution such as sewage or fertilizer and manure runoff from farms. They included a $550 million storm and sanitary sewer project in the city of Rochester and dredging in the Genesee River to remove sediment contaminated with silver.

Habitat restoration projects included efforts to address erosion and cattail overgrowth in the Braddock Bay wetland complex.

"This delisting is not an ending, but it's a new beginning for our community and environment," said Starr O'Neill, Monroe County's manager of environmental health and the present coordinator of the embayment's remedial plan. "There is still work to be done. And with continued collaboration, there is no limit to what we can achieve."