The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has honored four Western New Yorkers as New York Environmental Champions. Dr. William Boeck and Thomas Lowe of Niagara University, Dr. Joseph Gardella of the University of Buffalo and Dr. Sherri Mason of Fredonia State University were recognized for their dedication protecting the public's health and the environment.“It is a privilege for EPA to be able to recognize the dedication and accomplishments of these environmental trailblazers,” said Regional Administrator Judith Enck. “These individuals and organizations are an inspiration, encouraging us to do our best to protect the environment every day.”
The EPA recognized Boeck and Gardella as "invaluable community voices" on the Niagara Falls Storage Superfund Site in Lewiston. The high-level radioactive military waste originated in WWII and is in Lewiston for what Gardella said was supposed to be temporarily.
"You have radioactive materials in a temporary storage site that was designed to be good for 20 years. It's been in there over 20 years," said Gardella. "There's no current danger of waiting and we've been waiting for a long time, but that doesn't guarantee that anytime in the future something could happen."
Because the waste came from military activities, there are places to permanently store the material, but Congress has not yet come forward with the legislation needed to pay the estimated $500 million bill cleanup is expected to cost.
"The budget of the Army Corps of Engineers is not sufficient to see that work to be done any time in the near future," said Gardella. "Our community group has been going to our federal elected officials to tell them that special legislation is needed."
Mason was recognized for leading the charge on the study of microplastics in Lake Erie. In collaboration with the 5 Gyres Institute and Fredonia State, Mason conducted the first-ever analysis of plastics pollution and found high plastic particles within the Great Lakes.
Lowe is Director of ReNU Niagara, Niagara University's Community Outreach Office. He also chairs the Niagara Beautification Committee and is a founder of Greenprint Niagara, among other environmental work. Lowe said it is funny to him to be called an Environmental Champion because he sees himself as more of a naturalist.
"I do parks, I do greenspaces, I do beautification. I don't necessarily get into the higher-end stuff, like energy, greenhouse gases," he said. "I've dabbled in it a little bit with the state's Climate for Communities project, which we started looking at about a year ago. But to me, it's about the natural environment. That's where my focus has been. Enhancing and protecting the natural resources we have."
"I think the naturalist side is easier to get into, is more of the grassroots side - no pun intended. It's a little bit more accessible," Lowe said. "Sometimes you think you have to have an advanced degree to understand some of these issues people talk about."
Among his projects are community gardens. He said when it comes to growing food, Western New Yorkers have more to think about than other parts of the country, given our Rust Belt history. He advised that food never be grown directly from the ground, but instead be grown in raised beds.
"A lot of northeastern cities have adopted the same practices as a result of living in a post-industrial era, where factories used to stand," he said. "Unless you do a lot of research into what existed on a piece of vacant land for decades and decades and decades, you don't know what's in the ground."
Rather than going through expensive soil testing, Lowe advised to always grow "up" - at least 18 inches from the ground. He said Niagara Falls residents, in particular, should never grow food directly in the ground because of the city's industrial history and the potential for lingering toxins in the ground.
"If you have a backyard garden, chances are you're growing in soil that's been a backyard for many years," he said. "But Niagara Falls is known for our chemical processing plants. When you're dealing with chemicals, a lot of that stuff that seep into the soil."
