2. Background of Niagara County
522 square miles
Largest City: Niagara Falls
Second Largest City: North Tonawanda
Population in 2013: 214,239
Borders Lake Ontario and Niagara River

3. Watershed
Part of the Lake Ontario Tributaries and the Niagara River/Lake Erie tributaries
In the Lake Ontario Tributaries:
25% poor water quality
40% good water quality
In the Niagara River/ Lake Erie:
12% poor water quality
49% good water quality.

4. Air Quality
In 2012 there were zero unhealthy air days for the general population
There were 6 unhealthy air days for people with asthma
Since 2003 the air quality of Niagara County has improved greatly
There are high CO2 emissions in Niagara County

5. Energy Energy positive county
Mostly powered by hydroelectric power, Nuclear power and Gas.
Niagara County has largest hydroelectric plant in New York State, Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant
Also has one of the last coal powered plants in the state

6. Lead Poisoning in Niagara County
1.2% lead levels in children
Lead poisoning damages the brain
Niagara County’s lead poisoning issues come from old house paint
Niagara County Lead Poisoning Prevention Program

7. Soil Flat county No mountain ranges
Heavy soils, the nutrients are good for growing crops like soy beans, wheat and corn
Large farming industry

8. Superfund Sites
A Superfund site is a piece of land that has been determined by the EPA as an unsafe area
Superfund Sites in Niagara County: Forest Glen Mobile Home Subdivision and Eighteen Mile Creek
Forest Glen Mobile Home Subdivision: Started in Completed in 2003
Eighteen Mile Creek: Current

9. Contamination Contamination of Soil, Air and Water
Eighteen Mile Creek Superfund Site,
In 2012, 3,213,114 metric tons of CO2 emissions were produced in Niagara County
2,000,000 of the emissions were from ONE coal burning plant
Love Canal

10. Love Canal
1880
1980
1940
1900
1960
1920
1893- William T. Love proposes plan to create model city
1910- Stopped building of canal, leaving a large ditch
1920- Site is turned into a chemical dumpsite
1953- Hooker Chemical Company sells land to city for 1$
Houses and a School are built
1978- Large amount of rainfall triggers explosion

11. Sources
"2012 Greenhouse Gas Emissions." EPA Flight. Environmental Protection Agency, 9 Jan Web. 19 Apr
 Beck, Eckardt C. "EPA." The Love Canal Tragedy. N.p., Jan Web. 18 Apr
“Childhood Lead Poisoning.” Environmental Public Health Tracking. NYS Department of Health, July Web. 19 Apr. 2014
"Eighteen Mile Creek, Niagara County" EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 29 Oct Web. 19 Apr
"Niagara County Quick Facts." Niagara County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. N.p., 27 Mar Web. 19 Apr
"Niagara Power Plant." New York Power Authority: About Us. N.p., Web. 18 Apr

12. 1800
1825
1850
1900
1925
1950
1875
1975
2000
2025
1808- Niagara County is founded
1893- William T. Love announces plans to build model city
1953- Love Canal property is sold to city for $1
2012- Olcott Beach closed 7 times due to high levels of bacteria
2014- Tonawanda Coke Plant violates fedral clean air laws, presenting environmental threats
2013- Army Corps of Engineers finds chemicals that have been leaking from Niagara Falls Storage Site
-Plan proposed to cleanup the Eighteen Mile Creek Superfund Site
1961- Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant is built

13. Environmental Health Diagnosis of Niagara County by: Emily LaPlante
This report provides information of the environmental health of Niagara County, New York. The research in this report is from multiple news articles, organizations, different environmental government corporations and an interview with the district engineer from the Niagara County Soil and Water District. The report talks about important environmental issues within the county and the stakeholders involved.

14. About EcoEd
-Rensselaer’s EcoEd Research Group involves faculty and students in the development and delivery of creative, interdisciplinary environmental education to K-12 students. The goal is to extend the broad impact of humanities and social science research on environmental problems through translation into hands-on excercises through which students develop capacity to deal effectively with environmental problems, and with complex problems in general – integrating many types of knowledge. -In EcoEd’s Secondary School Research Program, the students are assigned an RPI student mentor, and with them move through a nine-week exploration of a research topic, culminating in a substantial written report and formal oral presentation.

15. Recommendations
I think that by closing down the coal powered plant in Niagara County, they could easily decrease in CO2 emissions. The closing down of the coal powered plant could increase the property values of the land nearby the plant. I also think that by paying more attention to places that could contaminate the soil and water, Niagara County could easily decrease in the amount of contamination in the county.

16. Methods
Counties are a good sized geographical place to study, but still people know little about them.
Counties are hard to find information on, but government websites are a good place to start.
It is important to know about what goes on within a county to know about how to fix problems in the state.
I researched air quality, soil conditions, water quality and many other things to determine the health of Niagara County.