The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has issued the final State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit for Cornell's Lake Source Cooling (LSC) facility, the agency announced this week.

Under the terms of the final permit, Cornell will fund a $2.1 million collaborative study to identify the sources and impacts of the nutrient phosphorus, and how it affects the Cayuga Lake ecosystem. The study will support DEC's development of a total maximum daily load, which will provide a road map for phosphorus reductions in the lake.

"We are glad that the DEC has renewed our permit for operation of the environmentally sustainable Lake Source Cooling project," said Vice President Tommy Bruce. "And we are especially pleased that we can now move forward on a collaborative effort, with the DEC and local stakeholders, for the well-being of Cayuga Lake."

From mid-October to mid-December of 2012, the public had the opportunity to comment on the draft SPDES permit for LSC, and the DEC said it carefully considered these comments in developing the final permit.