State taxpayers are paying for billions of dollars in environmental clean-up funds under two so-called "Environmental Bond Issues" but little of the money is filtering down to Lockport hazardous waste sites, brownfields, and dump clean-ups. Instead, residents are being given a long list of excuses by local, state, and national officials. Money raised with promises that it would go to clean-up polluted streams such as 18-mile Creek is diverted to the "restoration" of opera houses and historic theatre sites. Funding for removal of such hazards as the Flintkote Company ruins in Lockport go instead to "helping the handicapped", take kiddies on nature walks, and pay for endless "educational experiences" for school children.
Historic restoration buffs and educators have been among the most successful groups to steal the majority of the millions in environmental funds. The most recent environmental fund raid plans were announced Thursday, 2/11, when a Niagara Falls history group disclosed plans for a "Love Canal Interpretative Center." A "feasibility study" for a "museum" is to be financed from a $25,000 initial grant from a Niagara County $2.5-million environmental fund. That fund, is being depleted at the rate of about $500,000 a year by countless grants to everybody from Lions Clubs to individuals who have crafted "environmental proposals" so as to get a "piece of the action." Somewhat strangely, the Niagara County fund is being administered by employees out of the University of Buffalo.
The pilferage of environmental monies is by no means restricted to the Niagara County area. However, with so many brownfields needing clean-up on the Niagara Frontier, especially in Lockport, the results of the reallocation of environmental money to education and other "politically correct" movements is most noticeable.
While school children get crayons to draw pictures of green trees and blue lakes, there is no money to draw crews into 18-Mile Creek to do the dirty work of chemical, trash, and danger removal. The Buffalo News reports that Love Canal settlement funds are going to benefit "handicapped people getting wheelchairs, children are getting books and playgrounds are getting trees." But Lockport, and similar communities that host "brownfields" and hazardous waste endowments, are getting excuses.
Lockport suffers when environmental polluters close up business, declare bankruptcy, or just plain disappear and leave the community an endowment of dangerous buildings, decaying properties, drums of unknown chemicals, and the problems they didn't want to deal with. Finger-pointing then goes on, ad nauseam, as officials claim they can't find "responsible parties" or money. Nobody pays, nobody goes to jail, but Lockportians in common with other folks in similar communities suffer the visual, air, ground, and water pollution. Throughout, a new pollution is generated. "Information pollution" pours out of political offices trying to explain decades of inaction.
Tackling the real problems is an unglamorous job that most lack the willpower, resolve, or skill to solve. Most explanations are prefaced by phrases like, "We're waiting for...." Local officials appear overwhelmed with the problem with no effective public course of action defined. It's the "same old, same old" e.g., it's somebody else's problem to solve. But it's Lockport's problem to endure. (2/15/99)
The remains of an old factory, much the same as its been for over thirty years, on Mill Street in Lockport. Various "responsible parties" point fingers at each but nobody seems skilled enough to make this eyesore and hazard area go away. Would it move anything if we had a few children from nearby Dewitt Clinton School come over on their lunch hour and pose with with a couple politicians?
Much of the pollution, brownfields, and hazard sites Lockport is endowed with border the Erie Barge Canal and associated waterways such as 18-Mile Creek. Yet no effort is underway to move some of the millions in "Canal Initiative Funds" to environmental cleanup. Instead, money from this latest federal and state pork barrel is going to "low income housing." Money Lockport has been allocated to clean-up the Richmond Avenue strip along the canal in downtown---a most visible site---has been held up while "historic groups" get into the action. The latest: "digging for Indian treasures." Money is allocated for people to try to find something that might be there but there is no money to deal with what we know is here.
When action is proposed it comes out of local taxpayer's hides. The latest example, inability of Niagara County to properly manage its municipal landfills. Solution: put a new tax on county property owners. Even with substantial amounts of federal and state money, the county disposal district keeps coming back to the locals for even more. But Niagara County has been of little help to Lockport in attempts to track down "responsible parties" to clean up the Flintkote site and other such hazards.
The pictures you are about to see don't appear in local media. This is the reality local politicals, booster organizations, and those responsible would rather not see on a "World Wide Web." Here at the Lockport website we do have many pages to boost this area (more than any other site, anywhere). Yet, the environmental disgrace and misapplication of environmental funding detailed here, is also a part of the "picture of Lockport." We thought you should know so you can properly appreciate all those "nice" stories the media carries about "grants" going to help children take environmental field trips and the like. (2/12/99)
Because of its proximity to the canal, "Canal Initiative" funds could be applied for to clean up 18-Mile Creek and its banks. Isn't anybody in the County Building or City Hall clever enough to write a grant application for this?
A few years ago it was from this general area (both up and downstream) that the State DEC reported high PCB levels were entering the water. There is still no public explanation or solution.
Looking south along 18-Mile Creek running parallel with Water Street, in Lockport. This is an old chemical dumping ground regarded as "hot" with hazards such as PCBs according to DEC statements a few years ago. The water isn't fit to drink but the ducks don't know that. It even looks dirty. Since the creek crosses and picks up some overflow from the canal, New York State and Federal "Canal Initiative" funds could be applied for to clean up the stream bed...and the banks.
Part of the old Flintkote Building in Lockport's
Lowertown. When seen from the inside, the building contains old drums, asbestos, sharps,
litter, and a multitude of "traps" for children or anyone else
"exploring."
The matter of responsibility for this environmental nightmare has been "studied to death." But the finger-pointing goes on while politicians brag about how they've obtained "environmental funds" to help plant trees in some park or obtain environmental CD's for children in school.
Dealing with the real world doesn't produce such nice "photo opportunities."
Lawyers and politicians have made it possible for these
two aerial environmental hazards off Mill Street in Lockport's Lowertown to remain
standing...for decades!
The Town of Lockport recently decided to take down four water towers. From first considerations to execution the process will take no more than six months.
It's almost a comedy to witness the finger-pointing that goes on in the matter of this hazard site in Lockport. We'll witness more of the same upon publication of this report. In addition to the environmental damages, public papers indicate taxes on the property have not been paid since 1989. Owners walked away from the property back in the 1970's.
Why hasn't money from the two (2) State Environmental Bond Issues or the multi-million dollar Niagara County environmental fund been used to deal with this hazard? How many times have Lockport or County officials applied for or demanded funding for this project?
This kind of "Environmental Management" is a shame to the county, the state and the city.
About 20 drums, most now empty, had contained hazardous chemicals. They now litter this impromptu waste storage area off the south side of Mill Street in Lowertown. Three guesses what has happened (will happen) to the chemical contents of these containers.
It's some of the remains of the old Dusault foundry at the foot of Washburn Street in Lockport. It's wide open for anyone to go in and visit anytime. Inside is the usual assortment of hazards: chemicals, asbestos, sharps, and traps. Even the sight of these hazards turns this photograph various shades of purple! Money from an environmental fund could clean-up this hazard. Or, perhaps an "environmental emergency" could be declared and our Lockport National Guard unit of engineers could get some real experience dealing with this. Could this be one of the reasons why Lockport Savings Bank wouldn't expand and build their headquarters, in Lockport, just up wind from here?
What would it take to have some clean-up crews go to
into 18-Mile Creek in Lowertown and remove this drum and other chemical containers from
the creek and properly dispose of them?
What about working on the creek bottom to remove heavy metals, PCBs, and other hazards?
Isn't this what we were supposed to get from the various Environmental Bond Issues and other funding?
This once great industrial site off Ohio Street in Lockport was Simonds Saw & Steel in its heyday. Then it became Guterl Special Steel. Then the whole place closed down and only a portion of it (not pictured) has been picked up by Allegheny Ludlum. It's a huge site, only a fraction shown here, and Allegheny uses a very small part of the property. The reason? Somewhere along the line, during the 1940's and 50's, "radioactive" metals (uranium and thorium) were processed here and portions of the site are still reported "hot." No meaningful clean-up of the "hot" area has been attempted. Other chemical contamination is also reported. Such contamination and decay is preventing re-use of this otherwise prime industrial location.
Present occupant, Allegheny Ludlum, is careful to make
sure everyone understands they have taken only a portion of the site. Signs, like
the one on the left, throughout the complex make this clear. Allegheny is not
responsible for clean-up. Simonds and Gurterl are out of business. It now
would come under "Superfund" site classification and is possibly beyond
local efforts to clean-up.
Fencing around the property is constantly being broken down allowing easy access to radioactive and hazard areas. Security measures, at least, could be maintained with the help of a relatively small amount of State or County environmental funding. Such funding could also help press for federal clean-up.
Update: 7/5/99 - State officials have sent "advisory notices" to property owners in the neighborhood of the Simonds site basically repeating information revealed above about radioactive materials. Their "investigation" of reports in the Lockport Page indicates radiation levels "100 times higher than normal background levels." The State says, the radioactive material probably fell from rail cars that were unloading at Simonds. The State officials disclosed to the Buffalo News that they took "samples" off the property on June 14th for detailed testing.