State Senator Squadron Announces He Is FOR Gowanus Superfund Designation!

State Senator Daniel Squadron at last month's EPA Superfund meeting

Great News! Yesterday, State Senator Daniel Squadron announced that he is for the Gowanus Canal Superfund designation.

Daniel Squadron and his staff had hinted last week that the State Senator was about to issue a statement regarding the EPA's proposal to include the Gowanus Canal to its list of Superfund sites. After meeting with the city as well as with the EPA, the State Senator came to an informed conclusion. Here is his statement:

On April 8, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it had nominated the Gowanus Canal for consideration to be added to the National Priorities List (NPL), more commonly known as the Superfund list. If added to the NPL, the Gowanus would be entered into the EPA's cleanup program, which would include intensive study and analysis of the nature of the hazardous materials and pollutants within the canal, identification of the parties that have been responsible for the pollution, and a supervised cleanup.

Though the pressure to immediately announce a position on this issue was great, this is an enormously complex issue that cannot be decided based on headlines alone; the decisions we make now will have profound, long-ranging consequences for the local community and the effort to clean and revitalize the Gowanus. Given the gravity of such a designation, my staff and I have been working to fully understand the impact that Superfund designation would have for the canal, including the water, the silt and upland portions, and the health and welfare of the community. I investigated sites from around the country, evaluating where a Superfund designation has led to progress and where communities have succeeded with the Superfund Alternative Approach. I met and spoke with the relevant agencies, as well as Gowanus area residents, community organizations and Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs).

Over the course of these meetings, several parties indicated their belief that the Superfund Alternative Approach (SAA) program, also administered and managed by the EPA, might better achieve a positive outcome. I have concluded that while the SAA has proven to be a useful alternative for sites where there are one or two PRPs, in the case of the Gowanus it is highly unlikely that all of the PRPs will be easily identifiable, or will voluntarily accept responsibility. I also am not convinced that the SAA will guarantee the same transparency, leverage and long-term comprehensive outcomes as the Superfund program. Of course, any scenario, including the SAA, that offered additional federal dollars while meeting the standards of Superfund would be ideal. However, the burden in ensuring that such an alternative would in fact match Superfund's benefits, and bring added value, is high.

For this reason and others, I support listing the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site. Based on the conversations I have had and the commitments that have been made, I have concluded that listing the Canal on the NPL is the best strategy for achieving a comprehensive and timely cleanup of the canal and the sources of its contamination. Superfund designation would deliver appropriate oversight to the EPA, which has a unique ability to work with other levels of government, PRP's and the community to address a complicated site like the canal.

To continue reading statement, click here

Well done, Senator Squadron!

Let's hope that some of our other elected officials will finally come the fence or change their minds regarding the Superfund designation as well. How about it, Councilman De Blasio?


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Superfund Gowanus: Questions And Answers From Three Neighborhood Organizations

Members of Friends Of Bond, Carroll Gardens Coalition for Respectful Development (CORD) and Friends & Residents of Greater Gowanus (FROGG) , three neighborhood organizations, have just issued a question and answer flier regarding the proposed Gowanus Canal Superfund designation by the EPA.
All three organizations have joined forces and are working together to support the superfund designation. Here is their flier:

SUPERFUND GOWANUS

We all have questions…

WHAT IS GOING ON?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that the Gowanus Canal has been nominated as a Superfund site. The Superfund is a federally funded program that identifies and cleans up the most highly polluted sites throughout the country.

HOW DIRTY IS IT, REALLY?

For over a hundred years, countless toxic, industrial pollutants have been dumped into the Gowanus Canal. Add in the combined sewage overflow (yes, we’ve all seen it) and you get some idea of the problem. The EPA doesn’t nominate a site unless it’s absolutely necessary- it’s science, not conjecture or a popularity contest. EPA officials have already found cancer causing PCB’s and metals such as mercury and arsenic in the Gowanus Canal. While contaminants at many hazardous sites are measured in parts per million, levels of coal tar, for example, were found to be in parts per hundred in the canal sediment.

WOULD A CLEAN CANAL REMOVE THE PRESENT STIGMA AND PRESERVE OUR PROPERTY VALUES?

There may be some depreciation in property values at first but once an area is fully cleaned up, property values resurge. Let’s face it- nothing’s changed. We’ve all been living here, well aware of a contaminated body of water in our backyard. Only now, it’s finally being addressed, realistically and comprehensively. In fact, the value of our community’s health and future well-being is finally going up, not down.

WON’T A SUPERFUND CLEAN-UP TAKE MANY, MANY YEARS?

The City of NY has had decades to take action to bring the canal into compliance with the Clean Water Act of 1972. The current mayor has had 8 years and it still doesn’t meet water quality standards. Should we have confidence that the city can get us there without Superfund support?

To quote the EPA, a clean-up can take “longer than you hope and less than you fear.” Years and years of pollution and neglect will have to be undone. All the “quick fixes” that have been proposed are piecemeal at best, and would remediate parcel by parcel, leaving many areas unaddressed and still highly polluted. It may take time but with the EPA we will know that it’s being done right, by the experts, once and for all.

WHERE WILL THE MONEY COME FROM? ISN’T THE SUPERFUND BROKE?

Former and current polluters are liable to pay some of the costs. The federal budget allocates money each year for the Superfund. An additional 600 million is in the current budget allocation for sites already listed on the EPA Superfund National Priorities List.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING NOW?

The NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) invited the EPA to evaluate the situation along the Canal. The DEC has been overseeing the city’s long-term planning for the Gowanus for decades and understands all the issues. The DEC was also engaged in the clean- up of Lowes, Public Place & Whole Foods, and in doing so, found the problems to be much more than they could handle without the EPA.

WHAT ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND JOBS?

The goal of the EPA is simple- clean up and restore the canal. To get that task done, jobs will be produced. Once we have a clean canal, the area can develop as the community sees fit, along a healthy, viable waterway.

WHAT CAN ORDINARY CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS LIKE US DO?

There is a 90 day comment period which ends July 8^th wherein the EPA welcomes your comments- the more specific examples and experiences you include, the better. For more information, go to www.superfundgowanus.org There, you can also sign a community petition to our elected officials asking them to represent your views for a Superfund clean-up of the Gowanus. If you have more questions, CB6 will be hosting a meeting with the EPA. Find out from CB6 when and where, and come.

Friends Of Bond, CORD, FROGG May 2009

Please take a minute to sign the online Superfund Gowanus Petition Here
Let our politicians know that their constituents are in support of Superfund and that their delaying maneuvers are not supported by the community.

Click: The Superfund Gowanus Now Petiton

Please also contact our elected representatives in Washington. Here are the numbers:

Senator Chuck Shumer: 202-224-6542.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand - 202-224-4451

Congresswoman Yvette Clarke 202-225-6231

Congresswoman Nydia Valazquez 202-225-2361

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Congresswoman Velázquez: "Make The Right Decision And Designate Gowanus Canal A Superfund Site."

Thank You, Congresswoman Velázquez!

I am sure most of you have seen this op-ed piece by Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez which appeared in the Daily News Brooklyn section on Tuesday, but just in case you have not, I am posting it here.

Velázquez has been an outspoken supporter of the EPA Superfund designation for the Gowanus Canal. She was also the first representative who put in question the feasibility and funding sources for the City's Alternative plan.

In this op-ed piece she clearly asks for the Gowanus Canal to be listed.

(Hear that, Congresswoman Clarke?)

OP-ED: Gowanus needs Superfund status to ensure restoration

New York Daily News – Brooklyn Insert

December 8, 2009

by Rep. Nydia Velázquez

The Gowanus Canal has earned its place in the pages of Brooklyn history. First a creek and later expanding into a canal, it served as a hub for New York’s Industrial Revolution.

Even today, Gowanus stands at the core of local industry. It is an integral thread in the fabric of our community, and has been referred to as "the Jewel of Brooklyn."

Neighborhoods like Park Slope and Carroll Gardens could not have been built without its waters, which ferried wood, brick and brownstone from New Jersey and the Upper Hudson. With its location just steps away from the homes of thousands of New York families, it is critically important that we protect the canal and restore integrity to its waters.

Pollution within Gowanus is not a new problem. Brooklynites have been calling for its cleanup since the 1880’s and, by 1911, Mayor William Jay Gaynor activated a flushing tunnel.

Today, several suggestions have been made for its remediation.

One proposal by the Mayor’s office, which came to light after the EPA’s Superfund nomination, would use federal funding through the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). But those dollars are already vastly overextended.

In fact, the Army Corps of Engineers has a WRDA backlog of more than 1,000 projects, totaling $61 billion. Gowanus, if approved for WRDA funding, would go straight to the back of that 1,000 project line.

The canal wasn’t contaminated overnight, and it won’t be cleaned overnight, either.

In reversing decades of pollution, there is no such thing as a quick fix solution. At this point, the best thing we can do is identify a timely, effective plan moving forward--a plan that ensures a clean future for South Brooklyn, and requires polluting parties to pay their share of remediation.

That’s why I worked to secure funding for a study to identify methods for restoring the canal. And that’s why I am calling upon the EPA to designate Gowanus as a Superfund site.

The Superfund program was established as a means for cleaning the country’s most hazardous waste sites. Since its inception, it has helped restore many of our nation’s most polluted areas. With $1.89 billion in authorized funding for 2009, the Superfund budget dwarfs that of the Army Corps. And, unlike WRDA, EPA resources don’t depend on tax payer dollars alone.

Rather, the agency has the authority to recoup costs from polluters. That means the large corporations that contributed to Gowanus’s contamination will help pay for its remediation. That seems fair.

Despite its clear benefits, not everyone is in favor of Superfund status. Real Estate developers argue that the term "Superfund" carries too much of a stigma. They are worried that the name alone will curb consumers’ appetite for luxury condos in South Brooklyn.

But is a Superfund site, by any other name, less polluted? The fact of the matter is, Gowanus Canal is toxic--whether it’s deemed a Superfund or not. As New Yorkers, we need to be focused on restoring Gowanus and protecting Brooklyn families, not bickering over semantics.

With the comment period for Superfund status now closed, the EPA has an opportunity to complete its review. I urge the agency to make the right decision and designate Gowanus a Superfund site. Doing so will ensure the canal is cleaned up in a safe, timely, cost effective manner.

Brooklyn deserves no less.

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Senator Montgomery's Gowanus Canal Superfund Fact Sheet

Thanks to Jim Vogel of State Senator Velmanette Montgomery's office, for pointing me to the Senator's Gowanus Listing Fact Sheet which her office distributed last week at a meeting on the City's half-baked alternative clean-up plan.

I have been incredibly impressed by Senator Montgomery. She was the first elected official to come out in favor of the EPA's proposed listing of the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site.
Her clear vision, outspokenness and williningness to listen to the community in this matter is very refreshing.
Below is her fact sheet.

SUPERFUND IS NEEDED, NOW!
“Superfund” is the easy name for a program the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses to clean the most polluted areas of our country. The NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation asked the EPA to consider listing the Gowanus Canal after finding the incredibly high degree of pollution in the area.

THE CANAL IS VERY DANGEROUSLY POLLUTED
The level of pollution necessary for EPA Superfund listing is measured in “parts per million.” Heavy metals and certain other pollutants in the Gowanus Canal pollution registers in parts per HUNDRED. That’s 10,000 times more polluted than the lowest emergency listing! In addition, every time it rains raw sewage overflows into the canal. The bacteria count in a recent study is shocking, more than 25 times the unsafe level.

PROPERTY VALUES WILL INCREASE
Land surrounding a clean, safe canal will be far more valuable. A thorough and expeditious cleanup will be the best thing for everyone!

SUPERFUND CLEANUP WILL BE THOROUGH AND WON’T TAKE FOREVER
Progress should be seen quickly once work starts, but the complete cleanup will take time. The cleanup has to be thorough and consistent or the canal will return to the current dangerous state. Federal designation commits the cleanup to professional, uninterrupted effort.

RESPONSIBLE PARTIES PAY, AND WORK STARTS IMMEDIATELY
Superfund cleanups are funded by the people who caused the pollution.

The EPA believes much if not most of the cleanup will be the responsibility of National Grid.
*It won’t cost the community money.
*It won’t cost home owners money.
*It won’t cost new business owner money.
*The EPA has said it won’t cost New York City more money than they are already committed to spending.
The EPA starts work immediately from Federal funds set aside for this purpose.
*Congress budgets $320 million dollars annually for the Superfund
*An additional $600 million dollars has been allocated this year alone
*President Obama is reviving the funding stream that will place an additional billion dollars in the Superfund.
The EPA is ready to go!

THE CITY PLAN
New York City has proposed an alternative plan they believe will accomplish a similar clean canal, but the City is not in the business of cleaning toxic sites. While well meaning, the City plan is completely untested and contains questionable assumptions.
*The City plan depends on polluters voluntarily doing the work themselves, to their own standards; but these polluters haven’t done anything up to now.
*The City plan doesn’t intend to clean the whole canal, and a partial cleanup will not be safe.
*The City plan would need special Congressional approval for the Army Corps of Engineers to work on the entire Canal; they legally can’t go north of the Hamilton Avenue bridge!
*The City plan has no guarantees that the funding will actually happen; it relies on the idea that Congress will give substantial special money for years to come for this one project, which is very unlikely.
*The EPA has been doing this for decades and knows what it is doing. The EPA has said *Superfund listing will incorporate all City programs and not delay any efforts currently in progress. Superfund listing guarantees action in ways the City plan cannot.

JOBS
The cleaning process itself will produce new, Green jobs. And a clean Gowanus Canal and vicinity will be a much better employment area!

HOUSING
Current plans for building housing in the Gowanus area would expose families to a life next to dangerous contamination. For the sake of all, the area must be thoroughly cleaned to Superfund standards so housing for all can be responsibly built.

The fact sheet can be downloaded from Senator Montgomery's web site here.



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Attorney General Schneiderman During A Visit To The Gowanus Canal: EPA Budget Cuts Could "Easily Kneecap All Efforts To Clean Up This Canal"

Councilman Brad Lander with  New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in Gowanus on Tuesday.

New York Attorney General addressing the Press on the shores of the Gowanus

Brad Lander addressing Trump Administration's proposed EPA budget cuts

The number one question being asked by many Gowanus residents these days is: "Will the Superfund clean-up of the toxic Gowanus Canal be affected by the proposed budget cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency?"

As we all know by now, the Environmental Protection Agency is the hardest-hit agency under President Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget proposals. The budget would cut funding for the Agency by 31 percent from its current level, EPA’s staff could be cut by about 21 percent, and the Superfund program, responsible for cleanups of contaminated sites, would have its funding cut from about $1.1 billion to $762 million.

In addition, according to Inside EPA, the Agency's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is currently developing "a plan for consolidating its 10 regional offices into eight, a step being justified as a way to realize 'efficiencies' but which is already sparking concerns that it could spread an already strapped agency too thin to accomplish its mission. In addition, some state sources are concerned that cutting back on the number of regional offices could also limit support..."

Less money, less staff and cuts to the Superfund program?  Doesn't sound too promising for the Gowanus clean-up, does it?

This past Tuesday, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, accompanied by Councilman Brad Lander, held a press conference on the shores of the Gowanus Canal to address the proposed cuts.

"We are here today because the Gowanus Canal is an example  of a successful effort to clean up a Superfund site...so far. We are facing now an unprecedented assault on the Superfund Program and other environmental programs by the Administration of President Trump. Last week, Trump released a budget that calls for extraordinary dangerous and extremely shortsighted cuts to nearly all federal programs to protect our environment, our health our economy and our future.  This is a cruel betrayal  of the American people and in particular, a cruel betrayal of fellow New Yorkers," Schneiderman told the press.

"The budget the President announced promises to unravel all of our gains und promises to send us back to the sad old days of choking smog and toxins in our rivers and streams," according to Schneiderman.  "There are 85 Superfund sites in New York State, all off them are now at risk. If Trump gets his way, funding for this critical program will be cut by 43%. A hollowed out EPA, with far fewer staff and an administrator who does not seem to care about environmental protection or believe in climate change could easily kneecap all efforts to clean up this canal and could have a devastating effect on Superfund sites where the clean-up hasn't even begun."

"The canal right behind us is a terrific example. It has taken decades of hard work and constant advocacy to finally put this canal on a path of clean-up. It is being cleaned up now as part of an extremely successful, cost effective program known as Superfund," Schneiderman said.

"The clean-up of the Gowanus Canal could be slowed by these cutbacks. The Administration could delay further proceedings. This is not necessary and this is something that we are going to fight against."  Schneiderman further said: "There is no rational basis for these damaging cuts. EPA represents about 2/10th of 1% of the Federal budget, yet it has a positive effect on the lives of every single American."

"If Donald Trump and [EPA Administrator] Scott Pruit think that they can get away with the massive rollback of programs that are critical of the health and wellbeing of ordinary Americans, they have another thing coming," he added.
"No New York should have to wait a single day longer than necessary to clean toxins out of our waterways," Schneiderman concluded.

Councilman Brad Lander agreed with Schneiderman that President Trump's proposed budget would represent "completely intolerable cuts to the EPA."  According to Lander, "we would be the frog boiling ourselves in toxic water if we accept these cuts, so we have to fight back."  

"It took decades of activism by many of the people who are here and many others in the neighborhood to get the EPA take a look at this canal. Once they agreed to take a look, it was the science that dictated the Superfund clean-up. They did the investigation, they tested the sludge at the bottom of this canal. It is unsafe, it is toxic. That is why the Superfund designation was made and that is why we are on a path to get this canal dredged and cleaned up and turned from a toxic waterway into a community resource."

He re-iterated that the cuts were "penny wise and pound foolish.
"The beauty of the Superfund  program is that the polluters pay for the clean-up. This is what is going to happen here. We don't need federal money to actually clean the canal. Of course, that only works if the EPA can administer the program."
In the case of the Gowanus Canal Superfund, Lander mentioned that the EPA does not yet have a "signed consent decree that tell the polluters that they are on the hook."
According to Lander: "If the administrative budget is cut and the Superfund staff can't work on the administrative order, the polluters won't pay to clean-up the canal. That would be devastating for this community and foolish for all of us."

During the press conference, neither Councilman Lander nor New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman mentioned that NYC Department of City Planning  is currently studying  Gowanus for future re-zoning and development. A re-zoning could bring thousands of new residents to the banks of this polluted waterway.

Ironically, the press conference was being held in front of Lightstone Development's new 700 residential units, and across from a large development parcel, where Jared Kuschner, President Trump's son-in-law, plans on building a 30 story luxury apartment building.

Now that the Gowanus community has learned from Schneiderman and Lander that the EPA budget cuts could certainly slow down and undermine the Superfund clean-up of the Gowanus Canal, perhaps the next question asked by the community should be:
"If that is the case, should the rezoning of the Gowanus be set aside until we are certain that the canal clean-up moves forward in a timely fashion under the Trump administration?"

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Boating On The Gowanus: A Beautiful Yet Eery Experience

Chrissy Remein and John Lipscomb of Riverkeeper

Chrissy Remein

John Lipscomb

Oil sheen on the Gowanus

Coal tar and gasses bubbling up to the surface

Raw sewage near the large CSO at head of canal

When Riverkeeper Captain John Lipscomb contacted me a few days ago to say that he was bringing the organization's patrol boat to Gowanus and asked if I would like to hop on, I said 'yes', of course.
So, I met John and Chrissy Remein, Riverkeeper's New York City Coordinator at a dock in Red Hook yesterday and climbed on board, along with a film crew, which is currently working on a documentary on Gowanus.  John navigated the boat to the Ninth Street Bridge, where we got on a smaller boat to access the upper part of the canal.

Boating on an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site is always a bit unnerving, I must say. Even with a life vest and an experienced captain at the helm, the visible pollution on the surface of the water and the acrid fumes are reminders that this is one of the most toxic waterways in the country.

Plastic bottles, discarded shopping bags, and other garbage floating around the boat are the least of the problem.   In certain parts of the Gowanus, big globs of coal tar bubble up to the surface and leave an eery, oily sheen on the water.  Closer to the top of the canal, near the Flushing Tunnel and close to the largest Combined Sewer Overflow, foam mixed with human waste is piling up around a boom just feet from the Union Street bridge.
Of course, that is just what the eye can see. The native sediment at the bottom of the Gowanus Canal is contaminated with a deep layer of  'black mayonnaise', a mixture of coal tar and other industrial waste that accumulated there decades ago.

As everyone knows, a clean-up of our toxic waterway is underway and so far, the EPA
team responsible for its remediation has kept to the schedule outlined at the beginning of the process.   However, the Environmental Protection Agency is the hardest-hit agency under President Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget proposals. The budget would cut funding for the Agency by 31 percent from its current level, EPA’s staff could be cut by about 21 percent, and the Superfund program, responsible for cleanups of contaminated sites, would have its funding cut from about $1.1 billion to $762 million.

According to Inside EPA, the Agency's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is currently developing "a plan for consolidating its 10 regional offices into eight, a step being justified as a way to realize 'efficiencies' but which is already sparking concerns that it could spread an already strapped agency too thin to accomplish its mission. In addition, some state sources are concerned that cutting back on the number of regional offices could also limit support..."

Of course, the beauty of the Superfund program is that the polluters will ultimately foot the bill for the clean-up, but fewer staff and cuts to the Superfund program certainly will directly impact the clean-up of the Gowanus Canal by delaying it.

An EPA memo detailing how the agency plans to implement the Trump administration's budget request was just published by Inside EPA.  Here is the section pertaining to Superfund program cuts:

The administration is proposing to slash $330 million, or 30 percent, from Superfund cleanup spending in FY18. The memo details these cuts. For instance, it says Superfund emergency response and removal funds of $144 million would be cut by $29 million, and 19 FTEs would be eliminated from the 244 FTEs allotted to that program. This would lower funds for non-time critical removal actions and non-cleanup support contracts, it says, "returning responsibility for cleanups to states and local communities."

At the same time, it encourages the program to maintain current levels of on-scene coordinators with an eye toward using special account money. The attorney points to inconsistencies in this: EPA is seeking to reduce non-time critical actions with the message of moving that work to states, but at the same time it is cutting states' grants, and the removal program is to look to using special account remedial money when such funds have not traditionally been assigned to go to removal actions.

Superfund's federal facilities funds would be cut by $513,000 from a total of $5 million with 5.4 FTEs eliminated from 103.2  full-time equivalent employees.  In Superfund's remedial program, $152.8 million would be cut from a total of $371.9 million, and 63.7 positions eliminated from 868.8 FTEs.

"The program is to continue to prioritize the use of existing settlement funds to clean up hazardous waste sites and look for ways to remove some of the barriers that have delayed the program's ability to return sites to the community," the memo says. It also encourages the program "to increase direct charging FTE to Superfund special accounts, as appropriate."

Superfund enforcement would be slashed -- from $31.8 million down to $1.9 million in nonpay funds -- and this program would see an elimination of 177.5 FTEs from a total of 708.6 FTEs, the memo says. This would reflect a "refocus on enforcement areas that are not delegated to states and on providing national consistency," it says. It will also leverage resources by combining the Superfund and federal facilities enforcement programs.

If these budget cuts do go into effect,  it will be a disgrace and will be a heavy price to pay for Gowanus and its residents.  For decades, the community has been exposed to extremely dangerous conditions and a slowdown in the Superfund clean-up would seem almost criminal.

The Gowanus Canal can and should be an asset and a safe place for all New Yorkers. 

Obviously, we still need to fight to make that happen.

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Gowanus Superfund: City And Elected Officials Spinning As Fast As They Can

Last Night's C.G.N.A. meeting at the Hannah Senesh School

Maria Pagano, C.G.N.A. President

Caswell Holloway, Chief of Staff for Deputy Mayor Schyler

Joshua Verleun, Staff Attorney and Investigator for Riverkeeper, Inc.

Lauren Collins, Acting Director of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy

Buddy Scotto

David Von Spreckelsen ( Foreground) Toll Brothers' V.P.

who is lobbying the city to reject the Superfund.

Gowanus Superfund: City Official Taking Questions

Jim Vogel, Spokesperson for State Senator Velmanette Montgomery

Thank goodness the EPA will either designate the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site or not purely based on science, because if the agency could be influenced by our elected officials, we would all literally be up shit creek.

For the last two weeks, our electeds have been 'spinning' and closing ranks as fast as they can in regards to the Gowanus Canal Superfund nomination. Mayor Bloomberg had been the first to announce that he is against the nomination. Councilman Bill DeBlasio was right behind him. Others, such as Assemblywoman Joan Millman, have been sitting on the fence ever since. Most surprisingly, State Senator Daniel Squadron, who had shown such promise as a forward thinking politician, willing to engage and to listen to his constituents, failed to show any leadership in this matter. What a great disappointment.
The sole politician who came out in favor of Superfund has been State Senator Velmanette Montgomery. Her willingness to follow her conscience is admirable.

Speaking as one, those less courageous politicians have been advertising an alternative plan to EPA's Superfund designation for the Gowanus Canal. What exactly this alternative plan entailed was not revealed to the community until last night, when Caswell Holloway, Chief of Staff for Deputy Mayor Schyler finally 'enlightened' the community at the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association meeting on Monday evening.

So what is this plan? Simply speaking, it entails a "faster, more efficient clean-up" which is up to EPA's standard, without the stigma associated with the Superfund name. The only difference I could detect between the city's proposal and the EPA's
Superfund program seemed to be the way responsible polluters would be brought to task for the clean-up. The city's plan would ask the polluters to come to the table 'voluntarily,' Mr. Holloway stated. The other difference, of course, is in the name Superfund.

It was clear from many of the questions asked by the audience, that there is much scepticism that the city can get the canal cleaned as thoroughly as the EPA.
Someone in the audience wanted to know why the city was mirroring the efforts of the EPA instead of letting the agency handle the clean-up. Another wanted to know why the city had neglected the canal for so many decades, just to be playing catch-up to the EPA now. Yet another asked Mr. Holloway if the city would still go forward with a clean-up even if the Gowanus area's rezoning from industrial to residential may not.

One thing became incredibly clear to me while I listened to Mr. Holloway. Before the EPA stepped forward with their Superfund proposal for the canal, the city was going to do the very least it could do to clean the polluted waterway before allowing residential housing to be built on its shore. And that seemed to be all right with our elected officials.
Shame on them. They collectively failed to represent this community.
Lets all remember that when they want to get re-elected.

They owe the residents of Carroll Gardens and Greater Gowanus an apology.


More video to come as it uploads.

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Our Elected Officials React To Gowanus Superfund Designation

Dear Readers, after Tuesday's announcement that the EPA had included the Gowanus Canal on its list of Superfund sites, our local officials have issued their own statements in response.
In case you have not yet read them, here they are. I will include more as they are issued.



Statement By State Senator Velmanette Montgomery

I congratulate the people of Brooklyn on today’s announcement by the United States Environmental Protection Agency that the Gowanus Canal will be listed on the National Priorities Registry.

I was proud to stand with the local Gowanus residents who overwhelmingly said “Superfund Me!” And today we know our voices were heard. We know that this is the beginning of a lengthy process, but we are confident that with the oversight of the EPA, and their extensive experience and success in dealing with highly polluted areas like the Gowanus Canal that this complicated job will be done thoroughly, professionally, and to recognized international standards. I am confident that New York City and Brooklyn will gain enormously as we reclaim the long-ignored Lavender Lake and transform it into a vibrant, healthy, natural resource to the benefit of us all.

Thank you, everyone who contributed their personal knowledge and contributed to today’s decision. And thank you to the EPA for hewing to the science. All of us look forward to working with you on this long overdue reclamation.

Statement By State Senator Daniel Squadron

“The Environmental Protection Agency made the right decision today by listing the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site, a designation I have advocated for since May.

“After hearing from hundreds of interested parties and carefully reviewing the status of the cleanup site, the EPA reached the same conclusion I did: designating this waterway as a Superfund site is simply the most reliable way to ensure we have the dollars and the coordination to undo years of environmental damage. I commend the EPA not only for its conclusion but for its commitment to transparency and participation throughout the process. Since the listing was first proposed in April 2009, the EPA has included the community in its deliberations at every step of the way--a precedent that bodes well as we undertake such a complex cleanup effort together.

“Having achieved a Superfund listing, we must now ensure that the cleanup is transparent and effective, and that the community is included in the process of planning and oversight. As the community has long argued, the canal and surrounding area must be cleaned comprehensively--the cleanup must address the silt in the canal bed, the water itself and the upland portions of the site. Further, the EPA must guarantee that its work complements existing efforts to clean the canal and revitalize the community. Specifically, acknowledging the value of the City's construction of a flushing tunnel to address Combined Sewer Overflow pollution is critical, as is working cooperatively with DEC to approve the needed barrier along the embankment of the Public Place site.

“Working efficiently and with the community, the EPA will be a welcome partner in the effort to clean the Gowanus Canal.”

Statement by Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez

“Today’s announcement of Superfund designation ensures the Gowanus Canal will be fully restored, helping provide a healthy future for South Brooklyn. The EPA has the proven expertise to oversee a comprehensive clean-up, while holding accountable those responsible for the pollution. As this process moves forward, I will continue working to revitalize this local landmark so that it can fully live up to its potential.”

Statement by State Assembly Member Joan Millman

For decades, the community has demanded that the canal and surrounding land be completely cleaned in order to provide housing, including senior and affordable housing, parkland and recreational opportunities. I am confident that the Gowanus Canal will be a priority for the EPA and they will use the full weight of their authority to remediate the site comprehensively and expediently. I have been assured that the EPA will adhere to the highest and most complete standards of remediation and will utilize the most up to date monitoring systems to assess and avert any hazard to the community during the clean-up process.

I call upon the EPA to commence clean-up activities as soon as possible and not delay remediation due to lengthy legal battles with responsible polluters. Of the local residents, business leaders and community activists that I have met with, all agree that we cannot continue to ignore this heavily polluted waterway.

I again urge the City to continue moving forward with the planned rezoning of the Gowanus Canal area. The EPA has made it clear that its proposed remediation for the area will be dependent upon the final use of the land. Land that is zoned for mixed or residential use will be required to achieve a higher standard of clean-up.

A successful clean-up of the Gowanus Canal will tie together communities, provide open space for a variety of recreational uses, and create a safer environment for all.

Statement By Councilman Brad Lander

“I am very enthusiastic to hear about Superfund designation of the Gowanus Canal, which was announced today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Previous EPA studies have confirmed that the Canal is highly toxic and requires comprehensive cleanup. I am convinced that Superfund designation is the best approach for getting it done – to bring the substantial resources necessary, provide for optimal coordination between all interested parties, and best insure that the community is well-informed and involved. Over time, I believe that Superfund designation will turn the Gowanus Canal area from a toxic remnant of mistreatment of the environment into a sustainable community resource for decades to come.

“Starting today, I am eager to begin working with the full range of stakeholders toward a comprehensive cleanup of the Canal and the surrounding area. For supporters and opponents of Superfund designation, it is now time to come together and work collaboratively toward our shared goals of a comprehensive cleanup and a revitalized community.

"Citizen involvement in this project will be critical for years to come. The EPA has done a great job with community outreach, information, and involvement thus far, and I am optimistic they will continue to do so. Toward this end, I also want to express my strong support for the prompt creation of a Community Advisory Group (CAG) for this site, to facilitate broader community involvement. I hope that the CAG will not only look at the dredging of the Canal (the focus on the Superfund project), but bring people and public agencies together to better address sewage overflow into the Canal, brownfields around the Canal, bulkheads, and other related issues.

With Superfund designation in place, it is time for everyone to come together, roll up our sleeves and get to work!”

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

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Bravo! State Senator Velmanette Montgomery Supports Gowanus Superfund Designation

Bravo to State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, for being the lone voice of reason amongst our elected officials regarding the designation of the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site.
In the letter below, which the State Senator sent to Dennis Munhall, of the U.S. EPA, she expresses her concern about the building of housing on contaminated land, especially the Public Place site, and stated that she supports the designation of the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund.
The State Senator is showing clear leadership, following her conscience for which she has earned my admiration. Let us hope that our other elected officials will follow her lead, especially her colleague in the State Senate, Daniel Squadron.

Below is Sate Senator Montgomery's letter.

Mr. Dennis Munhall
United States Environmental Protection Agency
290 Broadway
New York, NY 10007

Dear Mr. Munhall;
I would first like to thank the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for extending the comment period for the proposed Superfund designation of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. This issue is of critical importance and many residents and businesses wish to make considered statements. I am grateful the EPA clearly appreciates the importance of the depth of local concern.

Since one-half of the Gowanus Canal lies within the 18th New York Senate District, the development and health of the area, for both the current and future residents and businesses are my top priorities. While the economic development of this artery is crucial to the future of New York City sustainable, healthy development is only possible in a sustainable, healthy environment.

Much of the development proposed for the areas surrounding the Gowanus Canal, such as the Public Place project, envision much needed affordable housing with parks and playgrounds for the families living there. However I cannot in good conscience support development on contaminated land. The area must be made safe for current and future generations.

Therefore I support the cleanup of the Gowanus Canal and its designation as a Superfund site. However there are a number of questions and concerns that I would like to have addressed prior to designation.

Please describe your proposed project management plan for coordinating the City, State, and Federal remediation and reclamation efforts. Please clarify particularly:

-How will the Superfund and local operations involve the water in the canal, the accumulated sediments, and the surrounding soil? What will be the degree of remediation?

-How will the Superfund designation impact requirements for new York City to address problems stemming from Combined Sewage Overflows? To what extent will Superfund designation address the CSO repair efforts? Will the Superfund process work in partnership and hopefully expedite the efforts of the Army Corps of Engineers?

-How will contaminants be removed or remediated? Will it be by barge or truck, and how will the surrounding community be protected during the removal and transport process?

-What is the anticipated structure for ongoing community participation within the process?

-What is the anticipated funding schedule and mechanism for the cleanup?

I further request:
-An expedited schedule for the cleanup and remediation efforts.

-That the Federal government guarantee the money necessary for the cleanup effort, and not wait for the acquisition of penalty money from polluters. This community has already waited decades. It cannot wait any longer.

-An assurance that the Superfund remediation process will not interrupt current remediation programs being conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers, the City and State of New York, and others. Ideally these efforts will be optimally coordinated to speed the recovery of this contaminated area.

I thank you for your consideration and look forward to your timely response.

Sincerely,
New York State Senator Velmanette Montgomery
NYS 18th Senate District

cc:
Honorable Nydia Velasquez, 12th New York Congressional District
Honorable Yvette Clarke, 11th New York Congressional District
Honorable Daniel Squadron, 25th New York Senate District
Honorable Joan Millman, 52nd New York Assembly District
Honorable Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of the City of New York
Honorable Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President

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Bloomberg Still Pushing His Gowanus Greenwashing Plan Over EPA Environmental Science

"Put simply, if we treat the Earth over the next forty years the same way we did over the previous forty, the planet will be in serious peril that we will not be able to reverse."

From Michael Bloomberg's campaign web site

Pardon me for asking, but why is Mayor Bloomberg so intent on derailing the Environmental Protection Agency 's listing of the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site? Ever since the EPA announced that it was considering placing the canal on its list of the nation's priority cleanup sites, the Bloomberg machine was set in motion to stop the designation. To counter the federal agency, the city quickly came up with its own clean-up plan, for which it neither had the scientific expertise nor the funding.
Why the rush by the city to out-EPA the EPA? Most certainly, because long ago, Mayor Bloomberg had promised his developer friends, like the Toll Brothers, that they could make millions off the banks of the Gowanus by building luxury condos. He had visions of 12 to 14 story buildings with thousands of units of housing along the waterway. Just think of the profit! All the City needed to do was to re-zone the area from industrial to residential use. Sure, the banks of the canal were toxic, but that was just a small technicality. The City was fine with letting individual developers clean up their own sites.

It seemed like such a win-win situation for the Bloomberg administration and for the developers. Most Gowanus residents, however, were not as comfortable with the arrangement. Though they showed up at every community meeting on the subject, though they shared their concern about the toxic nature of the area and questioned the safety of bringing families to live on the waterway, their voices were conveniently ignored.
It was all a done deal long before local residents had ever been informed of the plan.

But then, a rather big wrench was thrown into the works. In April, 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it had nominated the Gowanus Canal for consideration to be added to the National Priorities List (NPL), also known as "the Superfund list" for short. If added, the Gowanus would be entered into the EPA's cleanup program. which would include intensive study and analysis of the nature of the hazardous materials and pollutants within the canal, identification of the parties that have been responsible for the pollution, and a supervised cleanup.

That was bad news for Team Bloomberg. The Superfund listing could derail their carefully laid plans, the area would be stigmatized and developers would get cold feet, they opined. Existing house prices would plummet, they insisted.
They were so intent on keeping the Gowanus from being listed, that they came up with their own "better and faster" plan to clean up the canal. They also created a very lengthy document, which they handed in as part of the agency's public comment period.

But that was still not enough. Recently, Mayor Bloomberg personally started lobbying against the Superfund designation by calling Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, the head of EPA in Washington, to make a case against the Superfund listing.

That makes me 'super' angry. An overwhelming amount of comments sent to the EPA by local residents regarding this matter are FOR the designation. Mayor Bloomberg totally ignores that little fact. He pretends to be speaking on our community's behalf, when in reality he is representing his cronies.I have no doubt that the EPA and Administrator Jackson will only consider science, when making the decision on whether to list the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site. I trust that they will make the right decision and take charge of this environmental disaster.
I do however resent the meddling of our mayor in matters that should be left up to scientists. These are hardly the actions of a "Green" mayor. Shame on him.

Related reading:
Mayor Bloomberg, Your Band-Aid Approach To Gowanus Clean-Up No Solution
Gowanus Superfund: City And Elected Officials Spinning As Fast As They Can
Last Night's CB6 Gowanus Superfund Meeting: The Pros Vs. The Amateurs
Regarding Gowanus Superfund Designation, Our Local Pols Are Showing Incredible Lack Of Leadership
'Why The Gowanus Should Be A Superfund Site' By Tom Angotti, PHD





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