MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release: January 2, 2014

MAHONEY ANNOUNCES SAVE THE RAIN PROJECT MEETS MAJOR MILESTONE

6 Million Gallon Storage Facility Now Accepting Flow from 9 sewer outfalls, Reducing Pollution to Onondaga Creek and Onondaga Lake. Syracuse, NY Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney today announced that the Clinton Combined Sewage Storage Facility in Armory Square in Downtown Syracuse is on-line. With this success, Onondaga County meets a major milestone in the Countys feder al court order requiring Onondaga County to reduce combined sewer overflows into Onondaga Creek and Onondaga Lake. The facility is now capturing the flow from nine combined sewer outfalls, reducing pollution that results from heavy storms overwhelming the City of Syracuse's combined sewer system. Thank you to the entire project team for their resolve to meet this important milestone on schedule and with minimal disturbance to the community, said Joanie Mahoney. This storage facility is a cost effective and environmentally responsible alternative to building a sewage treatment plant in Armory Square. When I was sworn in as County Executive six years ago, our community was on a very different path towards cleaning up Onondaga Lake. I'm proud of how far we have come in such a short period of time and once again congratulate our project team for their monumental work effort to complete this project on schedule," Mahoney continued. In January 2008, County Executive Mahoney halted the construction of a sewage treatment facility in Armory Square, which had an estimated $94 million price tag. As an alternative, the County has built a state-of-the-art, six million gallon stormwater storage facility and simultaneously investing millions of dollars in green infrastructure throughout the City of Syracuse to capture stormwater before it enters our combined sewer system. On November 27, 2013, County Executive Mahoney announced the partial reopening of the former Trolley Lot in Armory Square, providing parking spaces free of charge for holiday shoppers. The lot

will continue to provide complimentary parking until final paving and restoration of the parking lot, scheduled to occur in Spring 2014. The Clinton Storage Facility includes three tunnels for storage, each of which is 19 feet high, 15 feet wide, and 850 feet long the length of almost 3 football fields. These tunnels are 19 feet below the surface of the Trolley Lot. A total of 2,500 cubic yards of concrete were poured in the construction of this facility. The 6 million gallon capacity of the facility equates to the volume of just over 9 Olympic sized swimming pools. The project construction costs total $77.8 million, including $31.2 million in grant funding from federal and state resources. The Countys Save the Rain Program is a national model for sustainable stormwater management, recognized by EPA as a green infrastructure partner community in 2011, awarded a 2013 U.S. Water Prize by U.S. Water Alliance, and most recently recognized by New York State with a 2013 Environmental Excellence Award. For more information on the Clinton Storage Facility, including photos of the construction process, please visit the Save the Rain website: http://savetherain.us/clinton/.

###