Don't Eat The Fish! Man Seen Fishing In Gowanus Canal

(photos by Linda Mariano)

A few days ago, Gowanus resident and activist Linda Mariano came across a man fishing in the Gowanus Canal off the Carroll Street Bridge. He had caught several small fishes, which he had placed in a bucket. She tried to explain to him that the Gowanus Canal is an EPA Superfund site and that it was NOT a good idea to consume the fish. The man did not seem to speak English very well and perhaps did not understand her warning. However, a 'No Fishing' sign with graphics warn people  just a few feet away from where he was standing.
Apparently, this is not the first time he has been seen with his fishing rod and others have apparently warned him as well.

The Federal Environmental  Protection Agency declared the Gowanus Canal a Superfund Site in 2010 because it is one of the most polluted waterbodies in the nation. Once a thriving industrial transportation route, it was contaminated by the Manufactured Gas Plants (MGP), paper mills, tanneries and chemical plants that once operated along the Canal and discharged toxins into it.  To this day, contaminants mixed with raw sewage find their way into the Gowanus through Combined Sewer Overflow points along the canal.

One of the largest sewer overflow pipes happens to be right next to the Carroll Street Bridge at the spot were the man was fishing.

Ironically, one of the factors (besides its toxicity) that earned the Gowanus Canal a spot on the EPA Superfund List was the fact that people were fishing and consuming fish caught in the waterway, especially when the anglers told EPA that they sold the extra catch to local restaurants.

Members of the  Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group (CAG) have been urging  the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to put up clearer and more urgent No Fishing, No Crabbing and No Swimming signs along the Gowanus. With the CAG's input, NYSDEC has finalized a new version of the signs. which will be put up shortly.

Just yesterday, we walked across the Carroll Street Bridge ourselves and witnessed a huge plume of dirt being discharged from the CSO outfall into the canal. The dirt most probably cane from a construction site on the Par Slope side of the Gowanus.

There was also a plume of raw sewage right next to the Lightstone residential buildings just adjacent to the outflow.

So, please folks, don't eat fish caught in the canal.

Gowanus Canal at the Carroll Street bridge yesterday at 2 pm.

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All Three Pumps Now Operating At Gowanus Flushing Tunnel On Douglass Street

Just recently, the New York City's Department of Environmental Protection has turned on the third pump of the newly refurbished Gowanus Flushing Tunnel at 201 Douglass Street so that the agency can run a series of equipment tests. The first two pumps were turned on and tested late last year.

The Flushing tunnel is designed to bring water into the canal from the East River and from Buttermilk Channel, which will significantly improve water quality.

According to Gary Kline of New York State's Department Of Environmental Conservation, who shared the news with Friends And Residents Of Greater Gowanus, "dissolved Oxygen results in the canal for the past 2 weeks have been between 9-12 mg/l since the City brought the third pump on line for testing. This is a significant improvement in a very short time... Sample results also indicate that there has been no significant increase in turbidity observed during the start up period as the tunnel has gone from 1 pump to now all 3 pumps in operation.. The start up turbidity sampling is to conclude next week.... I hope the community will notice a major improvement in water quality this summer as compared to the past three years during the construction. The sewage pump station also nears completion and start up testing."

The equipment has been out of commission since 2009, when the City began to upgrade both the Gowanus Canal Flushing Tunnel and the Waste Water Pumping Station.
The upgrades cost $190 million and were supposed to already be completed. The project, ran into delays when flood waters submerged the new equipment during Hurricane Sandy.

The photos above were taken on Friday, May 9th.



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National Grid Currently Performing Pilot Study At Public Place In Gowanus

A view of Public Place from 4th Place in the 1930's

After a few delays, National Grid recently began a pilot study at the Public Place site in Gowanus.  The study will help the utility company design a clean-up plan for the 5.8 acre track of land along the heavily polluted Gowanus Canal.

The following information has been posted by National Grid:

National Grid and its contractors are now performing the pilot study activities at the former Citizens Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) – also known as Public Place. The site is bound by Smith, Huntington and Fifth Streets and the Gowanus Canal. 

Pilot study work, including timber pile extraction and sheet pile driving along the Gowanus Canal and on the surrounding land, is scheduled to begin the last week of February, weather permitting. We anticipate the duration of this project to be approximately five weeks. During this time, you may experience noise and vibrations associated with pilot study activities. We will be monitoring and evaluating air, noise, and vibration during this process. 

The testing conducted during the pilot study will be used to design a remedy that delivers a safe and successful cleanup while limiting disruption to the community and achieving a long-term solution. Information gained during the Citizens pilot study will also be used for remediation efforts at the former Metropolitan and Fulton MGP sites.National Grid is committed to keeping the community informed of our activities during the construction period. We will continue to post updates on our website (www.citizensmgpsite.com) and distribute updates via email. 

For more information on the activities mentioned above, the pilot study in general, or if you would like to be added to our distribution list, please leave a message on our hotline at (718) 403-2084 or email us at info@citizensmgpsite.com.

Here is some background on the site:

From the 1860s to the early 1960s,  the Public Place site was the home of the former Citizens Gas Light Company's 12th Ward Gas Work Plant,  where coal and petroleum products were turned into flammable gas. The gas was used for cooking, lighting, heating and commercial purposes in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Unfortunately, one of the by-products of this gasification process is coal tar, a black viscous liquid, which is harmful to the environment.  At Public Place, coal tar has been found at depths of 150 feet.
When the Citizens Gas Works plant was decommissioned in the 60s, the site was given to the city 'by condemnation' as public land in 1975. Hence the name "Public Place".

Citizens Gas Light Company later sold to Brooklyn Union Gas, which became Keyspan, which is now National Grid.
The responsibility for the clean-up falls on National Grid. The work will be done under the supervision of NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.
Since some of the coal tar has been found to ooze from the site into the Gowanus Canal, the US Environmental Protection Agency, which declared the canal a Superfund site in 2010, is also involved.

EPA has named National Grid a Potential Responsible Party [PRP] which means that the company will contribute to the Gowanus Canal clean-up.

Public Place has been slated for development by the City of New York . The Gowanus Green project, as it is ironically named, would bring 770 units of affordable housing to the shores of the Gowanus.
One has to wonder how prudent and realistic it is to build housing on such historically polluted land.
Many in the community are skeptical that the site will ever be safe for human habitation.

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City To Start Initial Pump Test For Gowanus Flushing Tunnel In Next Few Weeks

Good news for Gowanus residents.  It would appear that the Gowanus Canal Flushing Tunnel, located  at 201 Douglass Street at the head of the canal,  may soon be back in operation.  According to Gary Kline of New York State's Department Of Environmental Conservation, who shared the news with Friends And Residents Of Greater Gowanus, the "City will start the initial pump test of the Flushing Tunnel in the next 2-3 weeks."

According to Kline, "there are three pumps in the Flushing Station, each will be brought on line in a scheduled series of pump equipment test. All three pumps should be fully operational by late March."

Prior to the initial tests, New York City's Department of Environmental Protection will install a pair of temporary silt curtains across the Canal.  "The silt curtains will slow water velocities and impede sediment from being transferred from the upper canal as the pumping is brought on line," Kline explains.

When re-started, the flushing tunnel will bring water into the canal from the East River and from Buttermilk Channel, which will significantly improve water quality.

The equipment has been out of commission since 2009, when the City began to upgrade both the Gowanus Canal Flushing Tunnel and the Waste Water Pumping Station.
The upgrades cost $190 million and were supposed to already be completed.  The project, ran into delays when flood waters submerged the new equipment during Hurricane Sandy.

The sewage pump station upgrade is also progressing.  Gary Kline reports that it "should be available for initial testing late spring."

The huge  pipe that had been installed in the Gowanus as an interim oxygenation system will be dismantled this winter.




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News From SAVE GOWANUS Regarding Lightstone Group's Development On Bond Street

image via Save Gowanus

Save Gowanus, an association "dedicated to the responsible and sustainable development of the area surrounding the Gowanus Canal", is holding its next meeting on the proposed Lightstone Group development at 363-365 Bond Street on Tuesday, June 4th.
Please take the time to attend to  hear an update on legal issues, fundraising, and getting support from local politicians.

Tuesday, June 4th @ 7 PM

Mary Star of the Sea

41 1st St. (bet. Hoyt  and Bond)

And if you can, stop by to meet and talk to members of Save Gowanus at the Carroll Park Fair, Sun. June 2nd 11-6.

Please also take time to tell NYS Department Of Environmental Conservation to safeguard our community from impacts of Lightstone’s Brownfield Cleanup by emailing your comment regarding Lightstone's application before June 1st.

You can do so by sending the following letter prepared by Save Gowanus.
(Click here to send it directly from their web site.)

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC)
Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP)
John Grathwol, NYS DEC- Division of Environmental Remediation,
Remedial Bureau B,
625 Broadway,
12th Floor,
Albany, NY 12233-7016

Response to Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) application and Remedial Investigation Work Plan (RIWP) from LSG 400 Carroll Street LLC and LSG 363 Bond Street LLC for a site known as 400 Carroll Street and 363 Bond Street, site ID #C224173. This site is located in the City of Brooklyn, within the County of Kings, and is located at 400 Carroll Street and 363 Bond Street 11231

Redevelopment and Brownfield Cleanup Programs must take place in the context of our post-Sandy, climate change world. In Dec 2010 NYS issued the Sea Level Rise Task Force Report to the Legislature. The task force also recommends that city, county and state governments seriously consider abandoning whole areas of the coast altogether, to allow vegetation to gradually migrate away from the shoreline and give nature a chance to build more natural barriers to rising seas, hurricanes and severe storms known to hit the Northeast frequently. The report offered no other real solutions to this growing problem.

We are deeply concerned that the State of New York may be financially supporting and encouraging new large-scale residential development in flood-prone coastal districts which will also be subjected to the rising level of the sea. We are particularly concerned that such new large scale developments, while being designed in a manner to protect the new structures from flooding, will result in negative impact to flooding conditions in existing surrounding neighborhoods. We also are concerned about the prospects of adding large numbers of new residential buildings in flood districts that would require evacuation during storm conditions, even though the new structure may have sufficient freeboard to prevent flood damage to the building.

We believe that the State of NY should not extend state funding, in any form, to brownfield redevelopment sites in coastal areas that carry risks of of creating additional flood harm in the adjacent upland communities by altering region-wide coastal flooding and stormwater drainage patterns. We ask that any such property brought into the NYS Brownfield Cleanup Program that is in a coastal area, be required to provide an objective and thorough region-wide hydrological impact study that describes how the area drainage would change given the proposed development.

We also ask that any brownfield remedy carried out in such an area be assessed and evaluated for its effectiveness under storm and flooding conditions. We ask that a detailed explanation be given on how the remedy and the proposed redevelopment construction will function as sea level base lines rise over the coming decades and century. The citizens should know if the re-investment of their tax dollars are being put to a good or frivolous use.


Stay connected to Save Gowanus via their website or via their Facebook page.

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"Stop Providing Cover For City" Community Tells NYS DEC At Gowanus CAG Meeting

S

Gary Kline, Jeff Myers, Robert Schick and James Tierney of NYS DEC

James Tierney, Assistant Commissioner for Water Resources for DEC

Gary Kline of DEC

Jeff Myers of DEC

Assemblywoman Joan Millman and State Senator Daniel Squadron

CAG Member Steven Miller

Josh Verlun, CAG member and Legal Council for Riverkeeper

At last night's meeting between representatives of New York State's Department Of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and members of  US Environmental Protection Agency's Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG) at PS 32, the discussion centered mostly on the State’s role in the enforcement of Clean Water Act requirements to eliminate Combined Sewage Overflow from the canal and how the State is coordinating with EPA’s Superfund cleanup process.

The DEC was mostly responsible for  the US Environmental Protection Agency stepping in and declaring the Gowanus Canal a Superfund site.  It is a decision that the DEC seems to stand by.

"We support the most rapid, possible removal of the toxic contaminants by dredging it from the Gowanus Canal. We want it capped and stabilized thereafter and we want it to happen soon.  There is no doubt that there is support from within DEC from Commissioner Joe Martens down," 

James Tierney, Assistant Commissioner for Water Resources for DEC, stated last night.

However,  the Superfund program is meant to only address the highly toxic material at the bottom of the historic industrial waterway,  It is not meant to address sewage.

The State has been slow to address the CSO issue in any meaningful way under the Clean Water Act.

Instead, DEC has entered into a consent order with New York City's Department Of Environmental Protection, which buys the city more time to solve the problem by implementing  a "phased approach."

The first phase is a  $150 million dollar upgrade project to the flushing tunnel and the reconstruction of the flushing tunnel that will reduce the total amount of CSO into the canal by 34%. A green infrastructure element of the plan will reduce the amount by another 9%.  

"Those are not my projections, but the City's. So take that as being the source," Tierney told an already skeptical crowd.

These percentages simply aren't high enough for many on the CAG and in the community. Even the DEC had to admit that they are 'floatable targets' and depend on rain amounts.

CAG member Steven Miller expressed the sentiment of many when he told Tierney last night that "the Clean Water Act has failed this community."  

Recently, the CAG unanimously passed a resolution calling for a 100% cessation of CSOs.

In addition, since  the CSOs have been found to be a significant contributor of harmful sediment and Superfund regulated Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAs) and metals to the canal,  the CAG has asked that the EPA, "under their Superfund authority, take the necessary measures that will ensure protection of the proposed Superfund remedy."

Addressing the CAG request for CSO controls as part of a Superfund remedy, Tierney stated: "Bringing those CSO levels down to zero has an enormous price tag attached to it.  It could be as high as $400 million.*  There are gigantic tanks involved." Further, he added:   "When it comes to CSOs there is a lot of interest in this by DEC, because we have never had a Superfund clean-up that incorporated a full blown CSO control plan.  Just so that you realize, that's brand new,"  Tierney insisted.  

He repeatedly talked about the high cost of retention basins and seemed to suggest strongly that if forced to spend the money, there may be legal action.

"It's unlikely that this process, particularly if it goes into dispute, would be resolved in multiple years of litigation," he added.

No doubt, DEC sensed last night that the community won't back down from getting the best, most comprehensive clean-up of the canal and that it expects DEC to step up,  to stop providing New York City's Department of Environmental Protection with cover and to start providing this community with meaningful relief from Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO). 

*Later in the meeting, DEC's Gary Kline admitted "that you can put a bracket" around that number and that its nay " a range based on the size of the facility that you are going to build."

The CAG asked the DEC to provide a breakdown of that figure.

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Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group To Meet With NY State DEC Representatives. Public Invited

The EPA Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group will be meeting with representatives of New York State's Department Of Environmental Conservation on December 4th, to speak about the agency's role  as it relates to the Superfund clean-up as well as the issue of Combined Sewer Overflow that continue to discharge into the canal.
Representing the DEC will be James Tierney, Robert Schick, Venetia Lannon, and Gary Kline.

Below is the meeting announcement from the CAG

The public is invited to attend a meeting of the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group (CAG) with senior-level officials from the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) on December 4 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at PS 32, 317 Hoyt Street, Brooklyn.
Your presence at this meeting will help demonstrate the community’s strong support for a comprehensive clean-up of the canal. The CAG will be asking NYSDEC officials pointed questions about the state’s role in the enforcement of Clean Water Act requirements to eliminate sewage overflows, whether and how the state is coordinating with EPA’s Superfund cleanup process, and other issues of vital importance to a proper clean-up of the canal and protection of public health.
NYSDEC is the only agency that has the right to review and provide comments to EPA on EPA’s Superfund clean-up plan prior to its release, which is expected by the end of 2012. The CAG encourages a strong public turnout at this meeting to show NYSDEC the community’s concern that the clean-up be done right. Questions and comments will be collected from members of the public at the meeting to be answered by NYSDEC as time permits, or to be submitted for later response.

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Best Comment Of The Day: Even NY State Favors "Non‐Structural Solutions" For Coastal Areas

Marlene has left the following comment on your post "Adapting To New Realities In Red Hook And Gowanus As We Move Forward Post-Hurricane Sandy"

Just don't understand the "narrow minded" notion that we should develop at the waters's edge at any cost. The current wave of coastal development is not based on any open market notion.
Page 43 of the 2010 NYS Sea Level Sea Level Rise Task Force has this to say on the matter:
Risk in coastal areas is also increasing due to decisions that favor coastal development at the local level. Local governments are at the front lines of decision making about regulation, taxation, zoning and development decisions in New York State’s 315 coastal cities, towns and villages. . . . . They decide how close landowners can build to the water, enforce building codes and permit development projects. In most communities, these decisions are made in isolation. . . . . In addition, many local leaders have little knowledge of the risks posed by sea level rise and continue to permit new development in high‐risk coastal areas.
Local political pressures generally favor economic growth. New residential development is the primary means to raise revenue for these governments through assessment of real property taxes. . . . . This situation presents a serious obstacle to dealing with climate change impacts locally.

That report favors "non‐structural solutions" for coastal areas on NY State. The Gowanus is just such an area.Non‐structural solutions, means not building structures.

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Tonight, General Meeting Of EPA Community Advisory Group For Gowanus Canal Superfund

The Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG) will be meeting tonight at Mary Star of the Sea Senior Housing, 41 1st Street,  from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm.
Everyone in the community is welcome.
The agenda includes updates from  the US Environmental Protection Agency, New York State Department Of Environmental Conservation and New York City Department Of Environmental Protection as well as  CAG Committee reports.



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Notes On EPA's Presentation Of Gowanus Canal Feasibility Study To Members Of Community Advisory Group

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

Jeff Edelstein, Gowanus CAG facilitator

Brian Carr, EPA Region 2 lawyer

Victoria Hagman(l) and Natalie Loney,

EPA Region 2 Community Involvement Coordinator

Hans Hasselein, Gowanus Canal Conservancy

Eymund Diegel, Proteus Gowanus

Michelle De La Uz (l), Fifth Avenue Committee and Ludger Balan, Urban Divers

Christos Tsiamis, Environmental Protection Agency's site manager for the Gowanus Canal Superfund, presented the just-released Feasibility Study to the Community Advsiory Group (CAG) at a meeting on Monday night.
Many CAG members had also attended the EPA's presentation on the FS to the general public at PS 58 last week, so they were already quite familiar with the options available for cleaning and containing the highly toxic sludge that has been accumulating on top of the native sediment at the bottom of the canal. This allowed Tsiamis to take more time to take questions and to explain specifics, especially addressing the issue of re-contamination after the clean-up.
As Tsiamis pointed out, the Gowanus Canal cannot be cleaned effectively without eliminating the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) discharges from New York City's sewer system as well as the coal tar oozing from National Grid's three  MGP sites lining the canal. This, of course, involves a tremendous amount of co-ordinate with New York City's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which is responsible for the CSOs and with NYS Department Of Environmental Conservation (DEC)  under whose supervision National Grid will clean up the MGP sites.
"This is an issue that has to be addressed. We need to curtail those sources of contamination," Tsiamis stated.
Quite a few CAG members seemed concerned that NYC DEP has, until now, not shown a willingness to take responsibility for their part in the clean-up. After all, Farrell Sklerov, a spokesperson for DEP told the Brooklyn Paper: “The evidence clearly indicates that the primary sources [of contamination] are the former industrial plants on the canal, and not ongoing sewer overflows.”

That seems laughable since most residents of the Gowanus area have witnessed CSO events such as this one.
"The CS0s have to be dealt with so that we have a sustainable remedy. That's a statement in the Feasibility Study." Tsiamis told the CAG. "We have been in talks [with the City] about ways that can be implemented to address this particular matter." 

A meeting has been scheduled between the EPA and DEP for February 2 to discuss specific technical possibilities.
One way to control CSOs within the framework of the Superfund would be to construct a retention basin to retain discharges after heavy rains, much like the facility completed by DEP in Perdegat Basin,

As a community, we should let the City know that its denial and delay mechanisms are not going to fly in this community.

Perhaps a letter writing campaign to Mayor Bloomberg and to our own city representatives, Councilmen Brad Lander and Steven Levin, is in order?

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