UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460

OFFICE OF
CIVIL RIGHTS

SEP 2 0 200(1

CERTIFIED MAIL #7001 2510 0002 9127 5440
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

In Reply Refer To:
EPA File No: 03R·04-R2

Partnership for Onondaga Creek
c/o Alma L. Lowry
Visiting Professor of Law
Director
Public Interest Law F irm
Office of Clinical Legal Education
Syracuse University College of Law
P.O. Box 6543
Syracuse, New York 13217-6543

Re:

PARTIAL ACCEPTANCE/PARTIAL REJECTION

Dear Professor Lowry:
This is in response to the administrative complaint dated April 9, 2004, that the Public
Interest Law Firm (PILF) filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of
Civil Rights (OCR) on behalfofthe Partnership for Onondaga Creek (POC) concerning the
Midland Avenue Regional Treatment Facility (RTF) in Syracuse, New York. The complaint
alleges that the Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection (County) and the
New York State Department ofEnvironmental Conservation (NYSDEC) violated Title VI ofthe
Civil Rights Act ofl964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d et seq. (Title Vl), and EPA's
regulations implementing Title VI, 40 C.F.R. Part 7.
Under Title VI, a recipient ofFederal financial assistance may not discriminate on the basis
of race, color, or national origin. Pursuant to EPA's Title VI administrative regulations, OCR
conducts a preliminary review of Title VI complaints for acceptance, rejection, or referral. 40
C.F .R. § 7 .120(d)( 1). A complaint should meet the jurisdictional requirements described in
EPA's Title VI regulations. First, it must be in writing. Second, it must describe alleged
discriminatory acts that may violate EPA's Title VI regulations. Third, it must be timely filed.
Under EPA's Title VI regulations a complaint must be filed within 180 calendar days of the

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 alleged discriminatory act. 40 C.F.R. §· 7. 120(b)(2). Fourth, because EPA Title VI regulations
only apply to applicants for and recipients of EPA financial assistance, it must identifY an applicant
for or recipient of EPA assistance that allegedly committed a discriminatory act.
For the reasons described below, OCR is accepting the complaint in part and rejecting the
complaint in part. The complaint is in writing. It also describes alleged discriminatory acts that
may violate EPA's Title VI regulations. Further, it describes alleged discriminatory acts by
recipients of EPA financial assistance. The timeliness of each allegation contained in the
complaint is discussed below.
The complaint makes the following allegations:
1.

The County and the NYSDEC have engaged in a continuing pattern of
discriminatory conduct related to the failure to provide adequate and meaningful
public participation opportunities to the predominately A.fiican-American residents
of the Midland Avenue community regarding the Midland Avenue RTF.

2.

The County proposal, and the NYSDEC approval, of the construction and
operation of the Midland Avenue RTF wilt have adverse disparate impacts upon
the predominately Afiican-American residents of the Midland Avenue community.

Allegation # 1 is rejected as untimely with respect to both the County and NYSDEC.
When a complaint alleges a continuing pattern of discrimination, the 180-day jurisdictional
window begins to run from the most recent alleged discriminatory act. Your April9, 2004,
complaint described a series of events related to the alleged failure to provide adequate and
meaningful public participation, but did not describe an alleged discriminatory act by either the
County or the NYSDEC that occurred within 180 days of the date you filed the complaint with
OCR.
In response to OCR's July 14, 2004, request for clarification, the POC identified an
alleged discriminatory act taken by the County within 180 days of the filing of the complaint.
Specifically, the POC alleged that in a March 15, 2004, letter the County refused to provide a
member of the public with information about the proposed or planned alignment for conveyance
pipes. While the March 15, 2004, letter stated that no final alignment had yet been selected, the
County also stated in that letter that they intend to identify one or more possible alignments for
intensive investigation and evaluation. Since the County explained it did not yet have the
information requested by the POC, the March 15, 2004, letter does not constitute another alleged
incident of failure to provide adequate and meaningful public participation. The previous dates
provided in support of the continuing pattern of discrimination allegation all occurred beyond 180
days before the filing of this complaint, therefore, allegation # 1 is untimely with respect to the
County.

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 The POC's reply to OCR's July. 14, 2004, request for clarification about timely acts
committed by the NYSDEC did not provide any additional information. Therefore, allegation #1
is also untimely with respect to NYSDEC.
Allegation # 2 is accepted for investigation with respect to both the County and
NYSDEC. Based on the information before OCR, a complex series of events related to this
project began in the 1980s, however this allegation only became ripe for review when, on
December 19, 2003, NYSDEC approved the Midland Avenue RTF and Conveyances Facility
Plan. The Complaint was filed on April 14, 2004, within 180 days of the Plan's approval and is
therefore timely.
Due to the complex facts of this case, please be advised that this acceptance is conditioned
upon our subsequent investigation, consistent with OCR's investigatory authority. Complexities.
associated with the timeliness issue and the potentially preclusive effect of EPA's Environmental
Assessment and judicial litigation regarding the Midland Avenue RTF may warrant
reconsideration.
OCR will discuss, at any point during the process, offers to informally resolve the
complaint, and will, to the extent appropriate, facilitate an informal resolution process and the
involvement of affected stakeholders.
Ifyou have any questions, please contact Yasmin Yorker, Assistant Director of the OCR
External Compliance Program, at (202) 343-9682, by e-mail at yorker.yasmin@epamail.epa.gov,
or by mail to the U.S. EPA, Office of Civil Rights (Mail Code 1201A), 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20460.
Sincerely,

d,/. af. cJI~d.­
{//;:a;:;D.Riggin~
Director

cc:

Nicholas J. Pirro, County Executive
Onondaga County
Office of the County Executive
John H. Mulroy Civil Center, 14th Floor
421 Montgomery Street
Syracuse, New York 13202

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 ..
Erin M. Crotty, Commissioner
New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway
Albany, New York 12233-1011
Stephen G. Pressman, Associate General Counsel
Civil Rights Law Office, MC 2399A
Barry Hill, Director
Office of Environmental Justice, MC 2201A
Melva Hayden, Title VI Coordinator
EPARegion2

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