Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce

Government Affairs Committee

By JoAnn Cornish, Deputy Director of Planning and Development for the City of Ithaca

January 4, 2007

 

 

BRIEFING PAPER

DREDGING OF WATERWAYS IN THE CITY OF ITHACA

 

Project Description

Dredging in the City of Ithaca crosses political boundaries and includes issues that affect economic development, recreational uses, and environmental concerns.  Cayuga Lake and Cayuga Inlet are part of the New York State Canal system.  It is the responsibility of the Canal Corporation, a subsidiary of the NYS Thruway Authority, to conduct periodic dredging operations along the canal system to maintain navigability.  The last time the southern end of Cayuga Lake was dredged was in 1982.  The dredge spoils were deposited in Allen H. Treman State Marine Park.  The spoils were dewatered on site, graded, and seeded.  This area is now valued for the habitat it provides for nesting birds. According to the Army Corp of Engineers, the Inlet should be dredged every ten years, indicating that the Cayuga Inlet is twenty-four years overdue for sedimentation removal. 

 

The Army Corp of Engineers coordinated the dredging of the Flood Control Channel between the Fish Ladder and the State Street/Route 79 Bridge in the summer of 1999.  More than 75,000 cubic yards of spoil material was excavated and dewatered on barges and trucked to an approved dredge spoil site in the Town of Ithaca.  The dredge spoils from the Flood Control Channel were tested in 1997 by the NYSDEC and found to be clean, Class A materials.  Recently, the Army Corps of Engineers has expressed concern that the accumulation of debris in the Cayuga Inlet is beginning to create a bottleneck and raise flood levels in the Inlet south of the Flood Control Channel by several inches.  Thus, dredging is not only important for navigation but also critical to the proper functioning of the Army Corp’s flood control system in Ithaca.

 

The DEC tested the sediment quality of the dredge spoil materials during the summer of 2001.  Areas of testing were in the Cayuga Inlet, in Six Mile Creek, and in Cascadilla Creek.  The creeks are of concerns because of the industrial facilities that were located near the creeks.  According to the DEC, if the sediments are clean, Class A materials; they can be hydraulically dredged to a spoil site(s) for dewatering.  If the materials are toxic and rated Class B or C, they will most likely have to be mechanically dredged and trucked off site to an approved site. 

 

From soundings done by the Canal Corporation in the summer of 2001, it is anticipated that approximately 400,000 cubic yards of dredge spoils will need to be removed.  According to the Canal Corporation, one or more dewatering sites totaling 20 to 30 acres in size, will need to be secured for this operation.  Additionally, the sites must be within 1 to 1 ½ miles of the Inlet to be within range of the Canal Corporation’s hydraulic dredging equipment.  Containment areas will be needed for the spoils for about two years, when the dewatered material can be moved. 

 

Intermunicipal Cooperation

In order to secure sites for the dredge spoils, it is important that the City, Town, County, and State work together cooperatively to identify suitable sites.  This must be a coordinated effort since resources are very limited.  The goal is to find a permanent site that can be used repeatedly as the need for dredging arises.  This does not preclude the possibility of using some of the dredge spoils for one time uses if feasible.

 

Economic Impact

The maintenance of the Flood Control Channel for navigability is also essential for the economic health of the City and the region. As waterfront redevelopment continues, the increase in the boating activity as well as other water dependent uses will depend on a navigable waterway. The Channel has the highest concentration of boat traffic in the county due to its four marinas. The Allan H. Treman Marina boat launch is the most heavily used launch in the county. In addition, there are both seasonal and transient marina slips located along the Cayuga Inlet and one of the State’s largest covered boathouses, accommodating as many as 50 boats.

 

The need to dredge our waterways has been expressed as a primary concern among area boaters and area marina operators.  The prolonged period between dredging activities is impacting the economic and recreational value of our waterways, specifically businesses located along the Inlet. 

 

Funding and Project Development

Senator Winner’s office is committed to helping see this project come to fruition.  We have been meeting on a regular basis with representatives from Finger Lakes State Parks, Senator Winner’s office, the Canal Corp., the thruway authority, and the DEC. A member item has been submitted to cover the costs of a topo survey of the city owned festival lands and the previously approved dredge spoil site in Allen H. Treman Marina.

 

In May of 2006, the City of Ithaca applied for a grant from the NYS Environmental Protection Fund Waterfront Revitalization Program.  The grant was awarded to the City, and with the city’s match, there is approximately $266,000.00 available for planning and design of the dredging operation.  Completion of the planning and design phases will resolve the obstacles that are currently preventing dredging from taking place: the need for sufficient data to determine amount and location of spoils to be removed, the need for identification and design of a suitable dredge spoils site(s), the need for coordination between responsible agencies, and the City’s critical need for additional resources to coordinate a project of this magnitude.

 

Chamber’s Role

The Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce should lobby our State, County,
Town, and City officials to commit resources for the completion of this project.  The study will be complete in early 2009.  At that time the hope is to have funding in place so that the actual dredging operation can commence.