A Momentous Occasion: Dredging Of Toxic Material Begins In Upper Portion Of The Gowanus Canal Today

Today marks a momentous occasion for the Gowanus Canal and the Gowanus community in Brooklyn. The Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund Cleanup of the Canal is about to begin in earnest this morning, with the dredging of the toxic sludge at the bottom of our waterway.

Heavy equipment and barges have been moved into place over the past few days. The first phase of this work will begin in the upper portion of the Canal, from Butler Street to the Carroll Street Bridge.

In two subsequent phases, the middle and lower parts of the canal will be dredged.

To mark the important occasion, EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez and other elected officials will hold a press conference at the esplanade at 363 Bond Street to celebrate the commencement of the clean-up of one of the most polluted sites in the United States.

On a personal note, I would like to thank Christos Tsiamis, the EPA Project Manager and Brian Carr, EPA Legal Council for all of their hard work on behalf of the Gowanus Community.

Both worked against tremendous odds to devise the most comprehensive, well-engineered clean-up plan for the Gowanus Canal. Without them, we would not have gotten this far.

At a recent community meeting, Tsiamis said:

"I want everyone to know that this was not always in the cards that this was the kind of clean-up that we were going to get.

What others had proposed when we were starting was a perfunctory dredging of a couple of feet, followed by a sprinkling of a sand cover on top of the remaining contaminated sediment. That was all and nothing more! 

Instead, our plan included first the removal of all the contaminated sediment that had been accumulating in the canal for a century and a half. 

Secondly, our plan included the stabilization of all native sediment in the areas where the coal tar that had gotten in there would percolate upward into the canal and recontaminate the water. 

Thirdly, our plan had a multilayer cover that included layers that have the capacity to absorb contaminants as they move upwards. This cap will offer a clean bottom of the canal. 

Equally important in our plans is that we included measures for preventing sewer and storm water from recontaminating the canal.

Over the past ten years, it was not always easy to implement this plan. We had to fight some gargantuan battles with several entities just to ensure that the interest of the citizens were well served. In the end, we prevailed," said Tsiamis

Natalie Loney, Brian Carr and Christos Tsiamis at today's ceremony

Photo credit: Marlene Donnelly

More in depth information about what will happen in the upper portion 

of the canal over the next few months.

With the lessons learned during the Pilot Study in the Fourth Street Basin near Whole Foods in 2018, the EPA has made some adjustments to the original clean-up plan and estimates that the work on Remediation Target Area 1.

The work needs to be carefully choreographed. Before the toxic material at the bottom of the canal can be removed, new bulkheads needed to be installed to provide structural support to the shore. 
Also, work on the Fulton Bulkhead Barrier Wall Construction at the head of the canal had to be completed. The sealed wall will serve as an environmental barrier, preventing liquid coal tar from the former Fulton Manufactured Gas Plant from recontaminating the canal after the Superfund clean-up is completed.

In addition, the Union Street Bridge and the landmarked Carroll Street Bridge need to be stabilized with pipe piles in order to not compromise them during dredging. The Carroll Street Bridge will most likely stay in an open position for three to four months and will be closed to traffic. The Union Street Bridge, however, will be passable.

Once the dredging of the toxic material is completed, the bottom of the canal will be capped o keep toxins deep in the native soil from percolating back up into the water after the dredging. 

To prevent recontamination, the contractor doing the work will:

-inject a cement layer into the most contaminated pockets of native sediment to stabilize these areas
-add an oleophilic clay layer
-add granular activated carbon (to absorb any chemical pushed up from below) and a sand layer. The thickness and content will vary to match the expected dissolve phase flux through the cap and to provide an even surface for the top.
-finish with an articulated concrete armor top

Most of the toxic dredged material will be transported out of the community by barge on the Gowanus to New Jersey where there is sufficient space to separate and treat it before disposal.

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It's Quite A Sight: The Dredging Of Toxic "Black Mayonnaise" At Gowanus Canal's 4th Street Turning Basin Now In Full Swing

A big coal tar-covered object that was dredged out of the canal on Friday.

Brian Carr, EPA Region 2 lawyer , and Christos Tsiamis EPA Senior Project Manager for the Gowanus Superfund at the 4th Street Basin checking out the work being performed this past Friday.

Something quite extraordinary is happening at the 4th Street Turning Basin of the Gowanus Canal. Currently, The Environmental Protection Agency's Dredging And Capping Pilot Study at the basin near Whole Foods is in full swing.

The work consists of dredging the contaminated sediment at the bottom of the basin and capping it to prevent recontamination. The results of this work will inform EPA and help fine-tune different techniques that will eventually be applied to the entire canal.

It is quite fascinating and satisfying to see the toxic 'black mayonnaise' being lifted out of the canal after so many decades.  The crew performing the work uses a G.P.S. system to map and to keep track of where dredging has been performed.  The material is placed into barges, then de-watered at a staging area at the Public Place site at Huntington Street,  before it is sent to a licensed disposal facility.

Though there were some initial delays due to problems associated with  the installation of bulkheads to provide structural support to the shore, the dredging and, subsequently, the capping work will now continue in full swing. The work is estimated to be completed by the end of the summer.  E.P.A.'s goal is still to begin the dredging of the main canal sometime in late 2020.

Christos Tsiamis, EPA Senior Project Manager for the Gowanus Superfund and  Brian Carr, EPA Region 2 lawyer, visited the worksite this past Friday and seemed pleased with the progress being made.

For Tsiamis and Carr, as well as for the community, the completion of the 4th Street Basin Pilot study in just a few months will represent a huge milestone. It means that for the first time in over a century, there will be a clean portion of the canal.  And that is something to celebrate.

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Now The Clean-Up Is The Law: EPA Region 2 Gowanus Superfund Team Updates Community Advisory Group

Christos Tsiamis, EPA Region 2 project manager for the Gowanus Canal

Brian Carr, EPA Region 2 lawyer with Christos Tsiamis

Natalie Loney, EPA Region 2 Community Involvement Coordinator, and Christos Tsiamis

New York State Senator Velmanette Montgomery

Doug Sarno, EPA Gowanus Community Advisory Group facilitator

On Tuesday evening, the  Environmental Protection Agency Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG) gathered at Mary Star Of The Sea Senior Center for its regular monthly meeting.  It was the first meeting since the release of the EPA's Record Of Decision (ROD) on September 30th, 2013.

The signing of the document was a gigantic leap forward in the Superfund process.
The ROD not only represents the blue print for the final decision on how to clean the heavily polluted 1.8 mile long Gowanus Canal, it makes this clean-up "the law of the land."

The EPA Region 2 Gowanus Superfund team was present at Tueday's meeting to let the community know "where we are and where we are going" from this point forward.

Natalie Loney,  EPA Region 2's Community Involvement Coordinator, indicated that the agency will hold two informal community meetings in early November to talk about the ROD. Dates and locations will be announce shortly.

Christos Tsiamis, EPA's Project Manager for the Gowanus Canal, spoke in depth about timeline, process for the remediation and the ROD. 

The clean-up calls for the removal of the contaminated soft sediment at the bottom of the canal that has accumulated during a century and a half of industrial use.  The material will be shipped to an off-site facility and will be disposed of in an environmentally appropriate manner.

Since isolated contamination will remain even after dredging, several layers of capping material will be applied over the native sediment. This will prevent the remaining contamination to come in contact with aquatic life.

In addition, the 450 foot long First Street Turning Basin will be restored, dredging and capped in the same manner.

The ROD puts in place several controls to insure that the canal will not be re-contaminated after remediation.
One control involves the Combined Sewer Oveflows at the head of the canal.  Two retention tanks will be installed to capture the discharges from these CSOs during heavy rains.  The waste water will be pumped out again as soon as capacity at the local treatment plant is restored, 

The EPA will also make sure that the remedy will not be impacted by the coal tar from three former Manufacturing Gas Plant (MGP) sites.  The Metropolitan site, the  Fulton site,  and the Citizen's site (a.k.a. Public Place) will be remediated by National Grid under the supervision of NY State Department of Environmental Conservation.  EPA will work closely with them.

The next three years will be dedicated to designing the remedy, but the EPA is anticipating doing some work in the canal by this spring.  The final phase, the actual remediation, will take about 6 years.

On the legal front,  Brian Carr, EPA Region 2's lawyer, stated that Notices Of Liability have been sent out to the Responsible Parties, who will have to pay for polluting the canal.

When asked what will happen if the polluters do not pay, Carr stated: "We continue to hope for cooperation." He did make clear, however,  that non-complience would lead to serious monetary fines.

Christos Tsiamis added:  "The ROD is a final decision.  It is the law.  It will be followed."

New York State Senator Velmanette Montgomery stopped by the meeting briefly and addressed the CAG. " There is a lot of community involvement taking place here. I am honored to see it with my own eyes."

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A Monumental Day For Gowanus: EPA Releases Its Finalized Plan To Clean Up the Gowanus Canal Superfund Site

A copy of the Record Of Decision for the Gowanus Canal Superfund

(with various signatures from EPA embers and members of the community)

EPA Regional Manager Judith Enck

Christos Tsiamis, EPA Region 2 project manager for the Gowanus Canal, Brian Carr, EPA Region 2 lawyer, and Walter Mugdan, EPA Region 2's Director of the Division of Environmental Planning and Protection

Brian Carr, Natalie Loney, EPA Region 2 Community Involvement Coordinator, and Christos Tsiamis

Elected officials

State Senator Velmanette Montgomery

Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez

Assemblywoman Joan Millman

Borough President Marty Markowitz

Councilmember Brad Lander

Lizzie Olesker, Gowanus Canal Community Advisory member who read a statement for the CAG

Gowanus Superfund Community Advisory Group

This is a historical day for Gowanus. After 150 years of environmental abuse, which turned it into one of the most contaminated bodies of water, there is a plan to remediate the 1.8 mile toxic canal, and that plan has just been written into law.
As promised, and keeping with their initial timeline, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)just released the signed Record Of Decision (ROD) for the clean-up of the Gowanus Canal Superfund.

At a press conference held on the shores of the canal this morning ,  EPA Regional Manager Judith Enck was joined by her amazing Region 2 team, which worked so tirelessly towards this moment:
Walter Mugdan, EPA Region 2's Director of the Division of Environmental Planning and Protection, Christos Tsiamis, EPA Region 2 project manager for the Gowanus Canal, Brian Carr, EPA Region 2 lawyer, and Natalie Loney, EPA Region 2 Community Involvement Coordinator.

The ROD represents the blue print for the remediation. The clean-up will cost $506 million, last 8 to 10 years, and will include dredging of the toxic material, caping, controls to reduce sources of contamination from uplands, as well as removal of contamination from the 1st Street Basin. Most importantly, the ROD will address and control the flow of contaminated sewage solids from the Combined Sewer Overflow. The EPA is requiring that discharges from two major outflows be captured in retention basins. This will reduce CSOs in the canal by an estimated 58 to 74%.

Enck took time to thank the community for all its input. The agency received over 1,800 comments from the public after it outlined the various clean-up methods in its Proposed Remediation Plan, which was released earlier this year.  The comments were carefully considered to chose the final remedy.
For example, the EPA decided to pass on the option of remediating the least contaminated sediment in a facility in Red Hook after residents made it clear that they would not support it.

Several members of the EPA Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG) were also present this morning.  Member Lizzie Olesker read the statement below for the entire CAG.

The Gowanus Canal is the first EPA Superfund Site in Brooklyn, making the announcement of this Record of Decision (ROD) an historic event for the 2.5 million people of our borough. The much needed cleanup of the Gowanus Canal is long awaited; and this Record of Decision comes as a firm commitment to the people of Brooklyn that the contaminates of the Gowanus Canal will be removed from our dense urban environment. The CAG looks forward to a detailed review of the ROD and providing ongoing input to those elements that will impact the community moving forward. 

Formed in 2010, the mission of the Gowanus Canal CAG is to be a forum for dialogue between representatives of all segments of the community about the federal Superfund clean-up of the Gowanus Canal and other related issues of concern to the community 

This EPA Record of Decision (or ROD) is the outcome of more than 3 years of extensive meetings and discussions with the community and the Gowanus Canal CAG. The Gowanus Canal CAG is by far the largest, and most diverse community group ever formed to work with the EPA on a Superfund site. The CAG, having arrived at a number of consensus resolutions on the canal cleanup, is grateful for the opportunity and role it has had in the process leading up to this announcement of the Record of Decision. The CAG provided consensus resolutions to EPA supporting the overall scope and approach of the proposed plan, while stressing a focus on ecological restoration and honoring the historical character of the canal. 

The CAG appreciates the EPA's attentiveness to schedules and time frames in reaching this ROD. We understand that the CAG, as a community engagement tool, will take on new roles as this process unfolds. The Gowanus CAG looks forward to continuing a robust exchange with the EPA, as design plans for implementing the cleanup that is specified in the ROD moves forward in a timely manner. The CAG is committed to disseminating information about the Gowanus Canal and engaging all area stakeholders in ensuring that community issues are heard and articulated to EPA and other agencies. 

Information and a calendar of meetings for the Gowanus Canal CAG can be found at http://gowanuscag.org. The ROD will be discussed in detail at the next full meeting of the CAG on October 22, 2013.

As a resident of this community, I would like to thank the EPA Region 2 team for their dedication, their perseverance and all their hard work on our behalf.
Walter, Christos, Brian and Natalie, words can't adequately express my admiration. I hope you know what this day means to this neighborhood.

The entire Gowanus Canal Superfund Record Of Decision can be accessed here.


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Full Report On Tuesday Night's EPA Gowanus Canal Superfund CAG Meeting

Jeff Edelstein, CAG Facilitator

Christos Tsiamis, EPA Region 2 project manager for the Gowanus Canal  with Brian Carr, EPA Region 2 Legal Council

Christos Tsiamis

The Environmental Protection Agency's Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG) held its general meeting at Mary Star Of The Sea housing on First Street last night.

Superfund progress report

Both Christos Tsiamis, EPA Region 2 project manager for the Gowanus Canal,  and Brian Carr, EPA Region 2 Legal Council, were in attendance and gave a Superfund progress report.

Tsiamis explained that the Remedial Investigation and the Feasibility study have been completed. Based on all the collected data and discussions with various parties, namely National Grid and New York City as well as members of the community,  Region 2 has prepared a plan for the clean-up of the polluted waterway. A prototype plan was submitted to EPA's National Review Board at the agency's headquarter in Washington.  "We are right now at the stage of putting together the Plan for presentation to the public and are hoping to put it out for comment to the community by the end of this year," Tsiamis stated.

The formal review process generally lasts about 30 days, but because of the size of the community and the anticipated number of comments, the period will most likely be extended.

At that point, Region 2 has to look at all the comments that have been submitted and consider them. After the plan has been refined, a final document called a Record of Decision will be prepared.

Tsiamis concluded: "We are right on schedule.

Polytechnic Institute of New York University Professor Maurizio Porfiri

Brooklyn Atlantis

Also on the agenda last night was a presentation of 'Brooklyn Atlantis', a project led by Polytechnic Institute of New York University Professors Maurizio Porfiri and Oded Nov. A team of graduate students in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science has been working on a system of mobile instrumented buoys with wireless capabilities for data collection and environmental monitoring. As Professor Porfiri explained last night, the buoys would move about on the Gowanus Canal, powered by rechargeable batteries that use solar energy. Cameras mounted on the buoys will be taking photos above and below the water's surface.   Sensors will monitor water quality by checking temperature, dissolved oxygen levels, ph levels (and perhaps salinity and water flow.)   Photos and data will be downloaded to a website.

An important component of Brooklyn Atlantis is the participation of citizen scientists who will be able to access images on the computer, classify wildlife on photos as well as earn points for correctly identifying objects, access sensor data for different canal locations and compare results.

The project has been funded by the National Science Foundation. Professor Porfiri expects Brooklyn Atlantis to run simultaneously to the EPA clean-up of the canal.

More information about Brooklyn Atlantis can be found at www.brooklynatlantis.poly.edu

Leah Graziano of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Chris Dorsoki of the NYS Department of Health

Public Health Assessment Of the Gowanus Superfund area

Chris Dorsoki of the New York State Department of Health and Leah Graziano of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) gave an overview of the role of their agencies and how they support the EPA and the Gowanus Canal Superfund site community.

Dorsoki and Graziano shared information about the Public Health Assessment that was prepared and the conclusions drawn from the Assessment.
Regarding the Gowanus Canal, it was found that swimming in the canal would harm people's health because of exposure to bacteria. Eating fish and crabs from the Gowanus was also a health hazard.

Dorsoki explained that a Public Health Assessment is not the same as a health study.  A few CAG members asked why such study has never been done in Gowanus, especially in light of the fact that the canal has been declared a Superfund.  Dorsoki said that a health study can take decades to complete.

After a brief discussion, Jim Vogel, representing NY State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, declared that the senator's office would formally request a study.

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EPA Region 2 Presents Gowanus Canal Feasibility Study To Community

Walter Mugdan, EPA Region 2's, 
Director of the Division of Environmental Planning and Protection

Christos Tsiamis, EPA Region 2 project manager for the Gowanus Canal

Patty White, geologist for CH2MHill

Natalie Loney ,EPA Region 2 Community Involvement Coordinator

Brian Carr, EPA Region 2 lawyer

The Environmental Protection Agency's Region 2 team responsible for the Gowanus Canal Superfund clean-up hosted a public information meeting last night at PS 58 to present the Feasibility Study, which was released in late December 2011.

Walter Mugdan, Director of the Division of Environmental Planning and Protection, started the meeting by pointing out that his agency is on schedule. "This job is being done 2 or 3 times faster than it was plausible to expect, but the heavy lifting is yet to come, of course." he told the audience.

Mugdan praised the tremendous effort of the site's manager, Christos Tsiamis, who "is a stern task master. "  The audience gave Tsiamis a rousing round of applause.
Mugdan also acknowledged the very engaged members of the Community Advisory Group (CAG) for the Gowanus, the largest such group in the country.

Patricia White, geologist for CH2MHill, an independent contracting firm hired by the EPA, started off the presentation by reviewing background information about the site. She also explained the Feasibility Study process, which includes:
-Develop remedial action objectives
-develop preliminary remediation goals
-define remediation target areas
-identify and screen remedial technologies
-develop and screen remedial alternatives
-evaluate remedial alternatives in detail
White also pointed out that one of the key Feasibility Study consideration is re-contamination of the canal after the cl were source control from the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSOs) and storm water discharges, discharges from the three former MGP sites, contaminated groundwater discharge, street runoff and discharges from unpermitted pipes.
Christos Tsiamis took over the presentation to speak about the various technologies that were retained and combined into seven remedial alternatives and screened according to effectiveness, implementability and cost.
The sediment dredging and capping alternatives all include dredging of the highly polluted soft sediment at the bottom of the canal, but while some alternatives call for solidifying the top of the native sediment, and capping either with a two-layer cap or a three layer cap.
So far, alternatives 5 and 7 have been retained for further detailed evaluation.
The EPA is also currently evaluating the best treatment and disposal alternatives for the dredged sediment.
The alternatives include offsite disposal, offsite or onsite stabilization with beneficial use, thermal desorption, offsite cogeneration or offsite or onsite stabilization and disposal in a constructed Confined Disposal Facility (CDF)
Of course, Tsiamis pointed out, the Gowanus Canal cannot be cleaned effectively without eliminating the CSO discharges from New York City's sewer system as well as the coal tar oozing from the three National Grid MGP sites lining the canal. The CSO discharges "cannot go on from our perspective" Tsiamis stated.
New York City's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been given a schedule by DEP. Tsiamis will meet with the City to discuss this matter further in February.  ***It is important to note her that the City, one of the major Potentially Responsible Parties (PRP) has not yet signed a consent order to take responsibility of their part of the clean-up.
As for the former MGP sites, EPA is coordinating and prioritizing with National Grid, which is responsible for the clean-up and NYS Department Of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the agency in charge of overseeing the remediation of those sites. According to Walter Mugdan, DEC has been very aggressive in moving forward.

Walter Mugdan diplomatically added: "In due course, we hope that all the involved agencies will recognize what needs to be done."
The next step? A proposed remedy will be presented to the public in 6 to 8 months, and a remedy will be selected by the end of 2012.
Last night's EPA presentation can be viewed online here.


**In one final note, it was announced last night that the EPA Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) for the Gowanus Canal Superfund was awarded to Friends And Residents Of Greater Gowanus.Congratulations to Marlene Donnelly, Bette Stoltz, Linda Mariano, Margaret Maugenest and Diane Buxbaum and all the members of FROGG for their hard work on behalf of the community.

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