ALBANY - The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has proposed removing water bodies in Franklin, Lewis, St. Lawrence and Broome counties from a federal list of impaired waters, Commissioner Pete Grannis announced Wednesday. Recent assessments found significant water quality improvements in Gull Pond and Cranberry Lake, while Beaver River should also show improvements following the recent construction of a new wastewater treatment plant for the area.

“New York is making great progress in improving water quality throughout the state through initiatives that target untreated sewage effluent discharges, stormwater and agricultural runoff, industrial pollution, and other sources of contamination,” Commissioner Grannis said. “While there is much more work to be done, we recognize the efforts of communities that have helped clean up our waters.”

Under the Federal Clean Water Act, DEC must periodically identify waters for which a water quality standard has not been met due to pollution. Such waters are considered "water quality-limited" or “impaired.” After assessing data collected from a variety of sources, DEC identifies waters that are impacted by pollution and that would benefit from a pollutant reduction plan (commonly referred to as a Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDL.) Such waters are proposed by DEC listing to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Upon EPA approval of a final list, these waters are scheduled for development of a TMDL to restore water quality. If DEC develops necessary plans to demonstrate how a waterbody will be improved, if other non-TMDL actions are identified to address the impairment, or if waterbodies show sufficient improvement and begin meeting water quality standards again, DEC can then propose to delist them.

The three North Country waters being proposed for delisting from the federal impaired waters inventory are: 

• Gull Pond in the Town of Altamont, Franklin County and Town of Piercefield, St. Lawrence County and Cranberry Lake in the Town of Clifton, St. Lawrence County.  The two lakes were first listed in 1998 for impacts due to acid rain that caused pH standards were being met. 
• Beaver River: Towns of Croghan and New Bremen, Lewis County.  The river was first listed in 2008 due to low dissolved oxygen and pathogens from nearby septic systems. DEC proposes to delist it because the impairments will be addressed by the construction of new Town of Croghan wastewater treatment plant.
• Beaver Lake and White Birch Lake, in the Town of Windsor, Broome County.  Both were first listed in 2002 for excessive phosphorus coming from nearby septic systems. DEC proposes to delist them due to recent assessments which have shown the attainment of water quality standards and full support of recreational uses.
• Park Creek and tributaries in the Town of Kirkwood, Broome County.  First listed in 2002 due to pathogens resulting from nearby septic systems, DEC proposes to delist it due to the pending construction of a municipal wastewater treatment facility in the Town of Windsor. These local water quality improvements are also part of a broader cooperative effort to improve the waters of the Chesapeake Basin.

Public comments can be sent to NYSDEC Division of Water, Bureau of Watershed Assessment and Management, 625 Broadway, 4th Floor, Albany, NY 12233-3502, or by email to jamyers@gw.dec.state.ny.us .

DEC will submit the draft list to EPA in April, and EPA is expected to approve the list by the end of May.