We need only 200 More Signatories to Meet the Goal of Our Coalition Letter Which Requests That Governor Cuomo Safeguard Cayuga Lake by Ending Cargill Salt Mining Under This Historic Waterbody

Greetings,

I implore all activists to help achieve our goal of 1,100 signatories to the Coalition Letter Which Requests That Governor Cuomo Prohibit Issuance of State Permits/Authorizations for Salt Mining Under Cayuga Lake and Require a Transition to Salt Mining Only Under Dry Land

Many thanks to the 907 signatories to our coalition letter which sends a clear message to Governor Cuomo to end Cargill's massive 13,000-acre salt mining operation under Cayuga Lake that imperils the drinking water for more than 40,000 local residents. Please beat the bushes for 200 more signatories.

Toxics Targeting just received additional powerful media coverage for documenting a Cargill Notice of Violation (NOV) of SPDES Permit for a 2/7/19 "un-permitted" sodium ferrocyanide discharge directly into Cayuga Lake from the Cargill Salt Mine in Lansing, NY. This compound can release free cyanide into the environment.

Many thanks to all the hard-working journalists who have covered this story. See below and at: Halt Cargill Salt Mining Under Cayuga Lake Campaign

IF YOU LIVE IN THE FOLLOWING COMMUNITIES, TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT CAYUGA LAKE, THE SOURCE OF YOUR DRINKING WATER:

The Bolton Point public water system draws water from Cayuga Lake only 1.8 miles south of the Cargill mine and supplies the:

"Towns of Dryden, Ithaca and Lansing, and the Villages of Cayuga Heights and Lansing and provides water to some City of Ithaca customers on Oakwood Lane, Hector Street, Warren Place, Sunrise Road and Richards Place (bold and underscore are emphasis added)."

Ithaca College is reportedly supplied with drinking water from the Bolton Point system.

The Town of Ulysses is reportedly supplied with drinking water from the Bolton Point system.

The Village of Aurora and Wells College obtain drinking water from Cayuga Lake.

Seneca Falls obtains drinking water from Cayuga Lake.

In addition to public water supply systems, thousands of local residents obtain drinking water directly from Cayuga Lake using private systems.

The Source of Cargill's Pollution Discharge Has Reportedly Not Been Comprehensively Cleaned Up

After Toxics Targeting documented Cargill's "un-permitted" sodium ferrocyanide discharge directly into Cayuga Lake, the firm and New York State declared that the sodium ferrocyanide dumping problem had been solved, but that is not true.

According to Cargill's own report, the contamination source has yet to be remediated because it lies underneath railroad tracks located mere feet from the shoreline of Cayuga Lake. This source must be removed in order to halt cyanide releases that have plagued the lake for decades.

See page 5: Cargill SPDES Notice of Violation (NOV) Response Activities Report - April 2019 and Photos: Cargill - Soil Sampling - 11 Petroleum Affected Test Pits

Call Governor Cuomo TODAY at 518 474 8390 to request that he:

1) Rescind Cargill's Permits for General Mining and Shaft #4 Construction granted by the State Department of Environmental Conservation;

2) Require Cargill to Phase Out its Existing Salt Mine under Cayuga Lake and Begin Mining Salt Under Dry Land in a New Mine and

3) Make sure that Cargill investigates and cleans up the toxic pollution problems on its site in strict compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements.

Conclusion

Please help protect Cayuga Lake from a potential salt mine disaster similar to the 1994 collapse of the largest salt mine in America in Retsof, NY, near Geneseo, that polluted a pristine aquifer. A similar Cargill salt mine failure could cause irreparable harm to Cayuga Lake. That would be unacceptable.

Thanks for all your help. Onward and upward.

Walter

See a summary of our: Halt Cargill Salt Mining Under Cayuga Lake Campaign