ITHACA– State Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton will hold a press conference locally today to release the contents of a letter written to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The letter, which Lifton wrote jointly with Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Steve Englebright, will request that the State DEC not reauthorize Cargill’s salt mining permit that expires on November 1st. The letter also requests that the Department “safeguard Cayuga Lake 100% from possible catastrophic mine failure” by requiring Cargill to phase out its 13,000 acre salt mine under Cayuga Lake and to start mining under the surrounding dry land instead.

Lifton’s press conference will take place at 2 PM in her Ithaca district office. President of local environmental group Toxics Targeting Walter Hang will join Lifton to provide new information that has “just come to light” regarding salt mining under Cayuga Lake.