Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's office issued the following earlier today:
January 16, 2020
Chautauqua Lake Is A Major Recreation and Tourist Destination in Western New York - As Well As Drinking Water Source; Feasibility Study Would Develop a Strategy to Restore the Lake’s Watershed
Washington, DC – U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Environment and
Public Works Committee, called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE) to prioritize funding to protect the lake’s water quality from
toxic algal blooms by including the Chautauqua Lake Feasibility Study in
its Fiscal Year 2020 Work Plan.
Chautauqua Lake and its surrounding
communities suffer from continued environmental, public health, and
economic damage caused by repeated harmful algal blooms, and this study
would allow USACE to evaluate the excessive phosphorous runoff that
causes these harmful algal blooms.
Additionally, the USACE would be able
to study flood risk management measures, assess ecosystem restoration
efforts, and address the accelerated erosion along the lake’s tributary
streambanks. Erosion along Chautauqua Lake’s tributary streambanks have
resulted in excessive sediment deposition, which also impairs the lake’s
water quality. Schumer and Gillibrand called on the USACE to allocate
funding for the Chautauqua Lake Feasibility Study in the USACE FY 2020
Work Plan in a letter to R.D. James, Assistant Secretary of the Army for
Civil Works, earlier this week.
“Chautauqua Lake is a jewel of Western
New York and a vital source of drinking water, recreation and economic
activity for both residents and countless visitors alike, but it is
threatened by harmful algal blooms that we must do more to reverse and
prevent,” said Senator Schumer. “That’s why
today I’m calling on the Army Corps to include the Chautauqua Lake
Feasibility Study in its Fiscal Year 2020 Work Plan, to carefully
examine the destructive, repeated harmful algal blooms in Chautauqua
Lake that have significantly diminished water quality. To successfully
battle the blooms, Chautauqua Lake is going to need the Army Corps’
expertise and support.”
“Chautauqua Lake is one of our state’s
great natural treasures, and Congress should do everything it can to
help stop the algal blooms that have plagued the lake’s water quality
and harmed the local economy in Western New York,” said Senator Gillibrand, member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
“While I was proud to fight for the authorization of this Feasibility
Study, the Army Corps now needs to allocate this funding and actually
implement it. I will always work to ensure New York’s waterways are safe
and clean.”
Schumer and Gillibrand successfully pushed to authorize the Chautauqua Lake Feasibility Study in the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. The
Chautauqua Lake Feasibility Study would enable the local communities to
better understand changing flood risks and provide tools to help guard
against future environmental degradation and property damage. The study
would inform best practices concerning excessive weed and harmful algae
growth, as well as mitigation for sediments deposited at the mouths of
the tributaries, to further minimize flood risks harming the
environmental health and economic viability of Chautauqua Lake.
Chautauqua Lake is an important recreation
and tourism destination for boating and fishing. The lake is
approximately 13,000 acres in size and is fed by an approximately
100,000-acre watershed with 14 major tributaries. About 34 percent of
the lake’s watershed drains from agricultural and developed lands.
Excessive nutrients like phosphorous damage the ecological state of the
watershed, threatening water quality.
The full text of the letter to R.D. James, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, may be found here and below.
January 14, 2020
Mr. Rickey Dale JamesAssistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
108 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310-0108
Dear Mr. James:
We write to request that you allocate
funding for the Chautauqua Lake Feasibility Study as an Investigations
New Start project in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) FY 2020
Work Plan. We worked alongside our colleagues in Congress to secure New
Starts funding for the USACE in the Further Consolidated Appropriations
Act of 2020. As a result, we now urge you to allocate $300,000 in New
Starts funding to begin addressing the environmental harmful algal bloom
(HAB) challenges that threaten the economic development of the
surrounding area.
Chautauqua Lake is not used only by
residents and visitors as a source of drinking water; it represents the
most important economic asset for the surrounding 14 municipalities
within the lake’s watershed. The lake is a huge draw for tourists using
recreational watercraft, swimmers, kayakers, and anyone else who wishes
to enjoy the water. Regrettably, however, with 1,515 commercial farms,
15,500 acres of grapes, and eight wineries, Chautauqua Lake is
particularly susceptible to the impact of HABs due to high
phosphorus-rich runoff. Since 2017, Harmful Algal Bloom outbreaks have
caused 22 beach closures and led to a total of 286 lost recreational
days.
As you may know, in the Water Resources
Development Act of 2018, we were pleased to authorize a feasibility
study for Chautauqua Lake to address ecosystem restoration. We have also
been informed that this is the number one aquatic ecosystem project for
an Investigation New Start at the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division
of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. With a total estimated cost of $3
million, this study needs a mere $300,000 to begin to tackle this
alarming environmental, health, and economic problem. Therefore, we urge
you designate and fund the Chautauqua Lake Feasibility Study as an
Investigations New Start.
Thank you for your consideration. Should you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us or our staff.
Sincerely,
