Environment DEC
From the September 2008 issue
Waterfront Brownfield Transformed to Greenway
A $13.5 million environmental restoration project to improve access to Buffalo's waterfront is now open to the public. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) worked together to turn a previously unusable and inaccessible stretch of shoreline into a clean and scenic nature trail for public use along a prime section of the Outer Harbor waterfront.
The new greenway runs for nearly 2.5 miles along Lake Erie and connects with an existing bike path.
The Greenway Nature Trail, also called the "Greenbelt," stretches 6,400 feet along Lake Erie's shoreline from the former Pier Restaurant to the Terminal B building of Buffalo's old port facilities and connects to the already existing bike path along Fuhrmann Boulevard.
The trail is a portion of a 120-acre parcel of land along Buffalo's Outer Harbor that is currently owned by the NFTA.
Created Land
Beginning in the mid-19th century, the land was artificially created by dredging soils from the bottom of the Buffalo Outer Harbor and depositing the material along the shoreline, a practice that continued until the mid-1960s. Soils dredged from the harbor shipping channels were contaminated from heavy industry that once existed along the waterfront. The site also contained municipal ash and construction disposal debris.
Environmental Restoration Project
In 2002, the site was accepted into DEC's Environmental Restoration Program (ERP), which provides grants to local governments to reimburse cleanup activities. DEC provided $12.1 million in ERP funding to NFTA for the cleanup project, with additional funding secured by Congressman Brian Higgins provided through federal highway programs.
A stone embankment stabilizes the greenway shoreline.
Under DEC oversight, NFTA remediated contaminated soils along the shoreline and stabilized the shoreline slope with a heavy stone embankment to prevent erosion. The project also included ecological improvements along the shoreline and within the Bell Slip bay area, such as the construction of shallow-water fish habitat that is conducive to spawning for local fish species. NFTA also planted native vegetation along both sides of the pathway to attract local wildlife.
