Hear Directly From The EPA Regarding Dredging In Gowanus Canal At Tuesday's Gowanus CAG Meeting

The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group will be hosting its general meeting on Tuesday, December 1, 2020 at 6:30pm via Zoom. Come and hear directly from the Environmental Protection Agency about the Superfund clean-up of the polluted waterway. The dredging of the toxic 'black mayonnaise' in the canal has just recently started, so we are sure it will be interesting to many to get an update from the federal agency 

All meetings are open to the public.

Zoom Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83249420669
Call-in option:
(929) 436-2866. Code 832 4942 0669#

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Latest EPA Update On Gowanus Canal Superfund: All You Need To Know

Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group

Christos Tsiamis

EPA Region 2 Gowanus Canal Project Manager

EPA Fact Sheet on Fulton Bulkhead Barrier Wall

The Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group gathered this past Tuesday for its October General Meeting to receive an update on work currently performed in and around the canal under the supervision  of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Christos Tsiamis, the EPA project manager for the Gowanus Canal Superfund gave the CAG an overview on the Fulton Bulkhead Barrier Wall Construction at the head of the canal. 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. The work is being done by National Grid contractors  and consists of "880 feet of steel sheet piling to be placed in front of the bulkheads along the eastern side of the Gowanus Canal and will extend from the canal head end to the Union Street Bridge."

Work on the wall began in late August 2019 and has been progressing as planned, except for a small  delay caused by repairs to the Union Street Bridge. However, the NY City Department of Transportation has assured EPA that it will open the bridge so that barges carrying material for the wall construction can get through. EPA does not project a significant delay because of the bridge repair.

"The conclusion is that we are on track to finish that wall by August 2020," Tsiamis told the CAG.

DoT at work on the Union Street Bridge this morning

Recently, the group of Potentially Responsible Parties (Polluters) handed EPA 90% of the design for the clean-up of the upper portion of the canal. EPA is in the process of reviewing in detail  all aspects of the canal design and will send back comments to the PRPs shortly.

"I mention this because we have had some differences with the PRPs, in particular National Grid and their contractor in regards to the approach of that particular clean-up. We had objections to the schedule that they were presenting." Tsiamis stated.

EPA believes that the dredging at the head of the canal can begin in August/ September 2020, whereas National Grid is pushing for a start date in May 2021.

"We still believe that the head of the canal clean-up can start by sometime in 2020. We are looking carefully at the design that they have submitted and we will let you know how things are going at the next CAG meeting." Tsiamis added.

Regarding the two retention tanks that NY City's Department of Environmental Protection is mandated to build to keep Combined Sewer Overflow out of the Canal during rain events  (one 8 million gallon tank at the head of the Canal and a 4 million gallon tank on the Salt Lot on Second Street), Tsiamis mentioned that the City has just provided EPA with the 90% design for the larger of the two tanks.  Again, the Agency is currently reviewing the plans.

"I am also looking forward to resuming work on the middle of the canal retention tank," he told the CAG.

When asked how DEP had reacted to a recent decision by EPA Region 2 Regional Administrator Lopez to disallow the City to shift from constructing the two CSO tanks to a tunnel,  Tsiamis answered: "That matter is finished on the part of the EPA. and we are moving forward."

"The EPA has spent nearly a year and a half and lots of resources looking at what had been presented to us. We offered our input to the Administrator. He considered everything and he made his decision.  That decision is very well summarized in the letter that was sent by him to [DEP's] Commissioner."

{see letter below}

"We now have to really focus all of our efforts on getting on with the work, finalizing the design, initiate the design, hopefully in an accelerated fashion, and cleaning up the canal, which is not a small task.," Tsiamis concluded.

Letter from EPA Regional Administrator Lopez To DEP Commissioner Sapienza 

regarding CSO tunnel decision.

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CSO Tank Vs CSO Tunnel: Is DEP's New Alternative Yet Another Way To Delay A Solution To Untreated Sewage Flowing Into The Gowanus Canal?

Gowanus Canal CAG member Brad Vogel facilitating the meeting

Kevin Clarke, NYC DEP project manager giving presentation

CSO TUNNEL vs. the CSO TANKS

Reflections on DEP's Presentation to the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group

on January 22, 2019

Dear Neighbors,
You may remember that as part of the Gowanus Canal Superfund Cleanup, the Environmental Protection Agency has named the City Of New York the second largest Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) for discharging "hazardous substance-contaminated untreated sewage" into the canal.

For decades, the City of New York has diverted Combined Sewer Overflow (raw sewage mixed with rainwater) into our canal during rain events, when our sewage treatment facility is overburdened.

As part of the Gowanus Canal Superfund Record of Decision signed in September 2013, a legally binding blueprint for the environmental clean-up of the canal, EPA has mandated that New York City construct an 8-million gallon tank and a 4-million gallon tank to address CSOs from outfalls RH-034 at the head of the canal and OH-007 at the Salt Lot in the middle of the canal, near Whole Foods.
These two tanks are a control measure meant to significantly reduce overall contaminated solid discharges to the waterway during heavy rain events and will protect the canal from being recontaminated after the Superfund clean-up.

EPA Region 2 suggested placing the 8-million gallon tank underneath the Double D pool at Thomas Greene Park near Nevins Street. The Agency reasoned that the pool needs to be removed anyway because it sits on the former Fulton Municipal Manufactured Gas Plant ,which needs remediation. Also, the parkland is owned by the City, which would save the acquisition cost.

Though this all sounded logical and very necessary to the Gowanus residents, the City came up with ways to shirk its responsibility, which it has successfully done since construction of this man -made canal began in 1849.

First, the NYC Department Of Environmental Protection (DEP) argued that a 5 million gallon at RH-034 and 2 million gallon tanks at OH-007 would be enough to meet the City's obligations.

When the EPA flatly said no, the City tried to complicate the project in the hope to delaying it. In the process, they also made it mind-blowingly expensive. ($1.2 billion so far)

First,  the City lobbied to place the 8-million gallon tank on two privately-owned parcels at 234 Butler Street and 242 Nevins Street that needed to be seized by eminent domain. (A third seized parcel will be used for staging during construction.)

The City also insisted on constructing an elaborate head-house for odor mitigation equipment and various screens,.

The City scored a victory of sorts, when, in June 2016, then-EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck was willing to make concessions to the City by signing a settlement agreement allowing the siting of the 8-million gallon tank at  the head-of-the- canal site.

The agreement also:
- allowed the City to take land by eminent domain
-costs local residents more money in taxes and water rates.

-egregiously allows the City to re-contaminate  the canal with CSO for 2-7 years after the EPA's dredging and capping of the canal, because the tank will be completed after the Superfund clean-up.

Just as it seemed that New York City was finally moving forward, it threw another wrench in the works.  It proposed a CSO TUNNEL vs. the CSO TANKS.

In November 2018 at its monthly meeting, the Gowanus Community Advisory Group

(CAG) was shocked to hear DEP's bombshell announcement that the agency was advancing an alternate proposal for a Combined Sewer Overflow storage tunnel under the Canal, instead of the two CSO tanks that DEP has been advancing.

This past Tuesday, DEP's Kevin Clarke gave the CAG a presentation on the agency's newly proposed tunnel alternative, which will be 28-31 feet in diameter, 1/2 mile long, running from outfall RH-34 at the head of the canal to outfall OH-007 at the Salt Lot, following the alignment of the canal.  The soft ground tunnel will be 100 feet below the canal and is expected to have a 100 year life expectancy.

Clarke admitted that all work on the tunnel so far "has been conceptual" and that "the tank program" is "still moving ahead." He did tout several tunnel benefits:

-increased storage capacity

-provide equivalent solids reduction

-requires less disruption to the neighborhood during construction

-requires a comparable investment:$1.28 billion

-and provides a scalable system, allowing for future extensions to improve neighborhood flood resilience, accommodate future development and population  growth.

DEP expects the tunnel to be completed by 2030, which according to Clarke "is a little bit longer time frame" than the tanks.

This means that NO CSO WILL BE CAPTURED BY THE CITY IN THE GOWANUS CANAL BEFORE 2030. 

Unfortunately, the EPA was not at Tuesday's meeting because of the government shut-down, so there was no fact checking by the Federal Government.

Ultimately, it is EPA that will evaluate whether  the CSO tunnel alternative is acceptable.

Personally, I have listened to DEP presentations in regards to the CSO issue for more than ten years.

These are my take aways and thoughts after Tuesday's presentation:

- Let us never forget that New York City would never have addressed this grave environmental issue if it had not been compelled to do so by the EPA as part of the Superfund designation.

-To this day, the City's efforts to reduce raw sewage flowing into our canal has cost over 100 million and has so far only resulted in acquiring two parcels of real estate at the head of the canal by eminent domain.

-DEP seems to be in no hurry to build either tank or tunnel.  Why would it take 11 or more years to construct either one? 

-If DEP really wanted to capture more CSOs, why not make the two tanks larger to match the tunnel's 16 million gallon capacity?

-The City's argument that the CSO tunnel provides a more scalable system because it can be made longer may be compelling, but anyone in the community who believes that the City will come back any time soon to add additional sections may be too optimistic.

In all these years, we have only seen pretty slides and heard much empty talk from New York City. That is not about to change.

And on a rainy day like today, raw sewage still makes its way into our canal.

If you have forgotten what a CSO event in the Gowanus Canal looks like, here is a reminder.

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EPA Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group To Meet This Tuesday (Sans EPA Due To Shutdown)

The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group will host its regularly scheduled meeting regarding the Canal's Superfund clean-up this Tuesday, January 22, 6:30 pm at Mary Star of the Sea Senior Apartments, 41 1st Street, Brooklyn .

The Environmental Protection Agency, whoever, will sadly be absent from the meeting, due to the federal government shutdown.

The meeting will be self-facilitated by members of the CAG, if the federal government shutdown is not resolved by tomorrow, which is very likely.

On the agenda will be a presentation by NYC Department of Environmental Protection on the agency's surprising alternate proposal for a 16-17 million gallon Combined Sewer Overflow storage tunnel under the Canal, instead of the two CSO tanks that DEP has been advancing.

You may remember that DEP dropped the bombshell announcement at the CAG's last general meeting in November 2018. 

This is bound to be an interesting meeting for anyone living in or near Gowanus, so I urge everyone to attend. This is our opportunity to ask DEP how much more time a tunnel will take, and how much more it will cost.  More importantly, let us find out if this is yet another way for DEP to delay the City's part of the Superfund clean-up.

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It Came From The Gowanus Part II: More Items See The Light Of Day After Being Dredged From The Bottom Of The Canal

The bottom of the Gowanus Canal, that 1.6 mile polluted waterway that runs through our community, is filled with 'black mayonnaise', a mixture of native sediment coated in coal tar and other noxious material. However, the depth of the canal also holds an interesting array of objects that speak of its not-so-distant past as one of this nation's busiest industrial channel.

This past Monday, December 10, 2018, I had the opportunity to join several fellow members of the Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group to view some of the objects that were retrieved during EPA's dredging pilot study at the Canal's 4th Street Turning Basin. (A similar tour had been organized by EPA back in November 2016, to show members of the community much larger items had been removed at the beginning of the pilot study.)

These latest uncovered objects include wagon wheels, bricks, old tires, metal poullies and hooks, yarn spools, and an almost perfectly preserved porcelain coffee can.

After they were dredged from the bottom of the canal, the items had been transported to a sediment processing facility in New Jersey. They were then brought to the Public Place site at Smith Street and Huntington Street, which has served as a staging area during the pilot study.

According to the EPA, the objects will remain on site until mid-January 2019 "pending arrangements for their transfer to local organizations or eventual disposal."

Though, according to the EPA, their archaeological consultant, John Vetter, and the New York State Historic Preservation Office have deemed none of the objects of national or state importance, they nonetheless hold value for our community, as they document and memorialize the cultural and history of the Gowanus Canal.

Please weigh in by leaving a comment or by contributing ideas on where we can preserve and display these objects so that they are accessible for future generations.

(Personally, I have always dreamed of transforming the Landmarked Coignet Building into a Gowanus Museum, which would house all these objects.

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Harbor Seal Spotted Sunbathing In Gowanus This Past Week-End

Harbor Seal sunning in the 4th Street Basin of the Gowanus Canal this past Sunday.

(photo credit: Jason Deleon)

photos courtesy of Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club

It seems that all creatures big and small enjoyed yesterday's picture perfect spring day.
The Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 was alerted to the presence of a Harbor Seal in the Gowanus Canal near Whole Foods on Sunday morning when a local resident sent a photo to the agency. The animal was sunbathing on top of equipment that had been moved into the 4th Street Turning Basin as part of a Dredging & Capping Pilot Project related to the Superfund clean-up of the canal.
Members of the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club confirmed the sighting with an additional photo.
A seal in the heavily polluted canal is a rarity for sure. As we all know, the canal was declared a Federal Superfund site, an 'honor' reserved for the most contaminated places in the country.

In an email to the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group, E.P.A. Community Involvement Coordinator Natalie Loney wrotes:
"Just wanted everyone to know that EPA reached out to the Riverhead Foundation on Sunday morning after the seal was spotted sunning on the floating dock in the 4th Street Turning Basin. (Pic attached) We were informed that if the animal was not in obvious distress it should be left alone. Apparently, harbor seals are very adept at navigating into and out of these types of channels/canals.
Moving forward, any additional sightings should be reported to the Riverhead Foundation. However, action is unlikely if the animal is not in obvious distress."

The Foundation's 24 hour hotline number is 631-369-9829.

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At Last Night's Town Hall, EPA And Congresswoman Velázquez Update Community On Gowanus Canal Superfund

On Thursday evening at the Wyckoff Gardens Community Center

Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez

Peter Lopez, EPA Regional Administrator

EPA Community Involvement Coordinator Natalie Loney

Gowanus: From tidal

Walter Mugdan, Director of the Emergency and Remedial Response Division 

for the EPA's region 2 office 

Christos Tsiamis EPA Remedial Project Manager for the Gowanus Canal Superfund

Last night, the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group (CAG) hosted a town hall meeting on the Environmental Protection Agency 's $506 million Superfund clean-up of the 1.8 mile toxic canal. Representatives from EPA Region 2 were on hand to give the public an overview and an update on the environmental remediation and to answer questions from the public.

The key note speaker was Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, who was one of the first elected officials to support the designation of the Gowanus Canal to EPA's list of most toxic sites in the country in 2010, despite pressure from other electeds, including then-mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"I remember getting calls and letters under the door to my house telling me that if I proceeded to support the Superfund nomination for the Gowanus Canal, I would pay the consequences because it would bring the real estate value around the canal down," she recounted "Really?" she told the people in the audience, who broke out in laughter.

To Mayor Bloomberg's request not to support the nomination, she response was:
"Your Honor, in all due respect, I am not a scientist. I am an elected official. I will wait for the scientists to let me know what is the best way to clean-up and restore the canal." Last night, she told those in attendance: "The rest is history."

"I am so proud. Not only has this been a community driven process, but the EPA has been on the forefront of this process. One of the first actions taken by the EPA was to form the Gowanus CAG, which has been meeting monthly for so many years now."

Addressing Washington's new administration, she reassured local residents. "I know that you were concerned when President Trump sent the EPA budget to us. As we all know, the President proposes;  for that is his duty. but it is our privilege as members of Congress to dispose of the budget. When they cut the Superfund program by $360 million, we restored the funding. In 2017, the budget for the program was $1.08 billion. We are on track this year to approve a similar amount, or even slightly higher for 2018. No one should be concerned that the Superfund program will not have the money to continue this work."

The Congresswoman mentioned that she will call on the EPA to create a Superfund job training program so that "we can train able-bodied residents from this area so that they can reap the rewards of the economic activity that is going to happen here."
"We are cleaning up the canal the right way, in a manner respectful to the community's needs," she concluded. "I want to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to the members of the CAG and to everyone in the community for being active participants throughout this process."

Velázquez then introduced Peter Lopez, the new EPA Region 2 Administrator, who echoed the Congresswoman by saying that commitment and engagement by local residents is vitally important.
He also took the time to acknowledge "the very capable team" responsible for the clean-up and to "thank the professionals who have been working here."

He called Walter Mugdan, Region 2's Superfund Director, a Renaissance man. "What I value most in Walter is his heart, his compassion and his commitment. I am very glad to have him as an ally and to help me understand this project more fully."

He also acknowledged Christos Tsiamis, the Gowanus Canal Superfund project manager: "He is hands on, very dedicated, and relentless in his pursuit in making this canal a shining star for the community."

Lopez also gave a shout out to Brian Carr, the team's legal council and to the project's Community Involvement Coordinator, Natalie Loney.

He concluded: "I would like to thank you on behalf of the EPA. We are committee to serve you. want this community safe, we want people to have a quality of life. They say that without vision, people perish. What I see in this room is tremendous vision and tremendous energy. We want to work towards this vision."

Natalie Loney gave a brief presentation on the history of the canal from Gowanus creek in new Amsterdam to a man-made waterway in the mid-1800s, which served as a major industrial transportation route, to its current status as a Superfund site.
For decades, three Brooklyn Union Gas Manufactured gas plants (MGP), paper mills, tanneries and chemical plants, which once operated along the Canal, discharged wastes into it. The resulting sludge at the bottom of the canal contains high levels of contaminants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls and heavy metals, including mercury, lead and copper. In addition, contamination flows into the Canal by way of New York City's Combined Sewer system, which discharges sanitary waste from homes and rainwater from storm drains.

(You can access a similar presentation given by Natalie a few years ago at TEDxGowanus conference.)

Walter Mugdan then spoke on the environmental remedy laid out in the Record Of Decision (ROD), which was signed in 2013. He also updated the community on what has been accomplished, what the next steps are and, most importantly, the timetable.

Currently, the EPA is about to begin a dredging and capping pilot study at the 4th Street basin, across from Whole Foods.  Future steps will include the restoration of the First Street Basin, construction of a cut-off wall on the eastern side of the canal from the Head of the Canal to the Union Street Bridge, the clean-up of the former Fulton MGP site under Thomas Greene Park, as well as the construction of  two CSO tanks by the City of New York to capture 'the first flush' of sewage and rainwater during rain events keep it from discharging into the Canal until it can slowly be pumped to the wastewater treatment plants after the storm.

Dredging along the length of the Canal will begin by 2020. Work will continue sequentially along the canal in three sections, starting at the Norther end.

"I want to stress that this is an unbelievably complicated project," Mugdan told residents. "Problems will arise, but we have a top notch team working on this project."

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