Reality Check! EPA Warns City Gowanus Area Upzoning Cannot Compromise The Canal Clean-up

Just hours before the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group's October meeting this past Tuesday,  the Environmental Protection Agency sent a letter to New York City warning that the proposed upzoning of the Gowanus neighborhood cannot compromise the EPA Superfund clean-up of the 1.8 mile toxic waterway. 

The letter, written by EPA Region 2 Administrator Peter Lopez informs the New York Department of City Planning and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection that his agency anticipates a significant increase in wastewater generated as a result of the rezoning from manufacturing to residential.

EPA estimates that waste water will increase from the present 178,795 gallons per day to 1,977,302 gallons per day once the proposed development has been completely built out. 

This should not come as a surprise to the City since the EPA had addressed the same concerns in its comments on the Gowanus Neighborhood Rezoning Draft Scope of Work for an Environmental Impact Statement (DSOW) back in May 2019.

The EPA is very clear that it does not get involved in land use issues. However, anticipating future use is an important component of designing the Superfund remedy. The Federal Agency is also protective of its environmental remedies and will get involved if there is a risk of re-contamination to a Superfund site.

The City of New York is one of the major polluters of the Gowanus canal, as a result of allowing sewage to discharge into the canal when waste water exceeds the capacity of our treatment facilities during periods of heavy rainfall.  To remedy the situation, EPA has mandated that the City construct two retention tanks to capture the waste water during these rain events.

The City has been dragging its feet and using one delaying tactic after another to avoid taking responsibility for polluting the canal. As it stands, NYC DEP now anticipates the completion of the first tank in 2032.

EPA, for its part, is moving ahead at full speed.  In November, the dredging of the toxic material in the canal will begin, followed by the installation of a multi-layer cap at the bottom of the waterway.

Since the City has not yet begun building its tanks, solids from the waste water discharges risk recontaminating the Superfund site.

It will be interesting to see how the City's Departments of Environmental Protection and Planning will try to engineer their way out of this, given the fact that the City has not yet managed to capture current CSOs into the waterway, let alone 10 times the amount.

Once again, it would appear that the EPA is stepping in to protect the environment and the health of the Gowanus community. The same cannot be said about Mayor deBlasio, as well as Councilmen Brad Lander and Steve Levin, who are all pushing for the rezoning before environmental remediation.

Below is Administrator Lopez's letter to the City.

Dear Director Lago and Commissioner Sapienza:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in receipt of public notices indicating that
the Department of City Planning (DCP) has resumed the Gowanus rezoning process,
commencing with the public meeting on October 22, 2020 before the Brooklyn Community
Board 6 Land Use Committee.

As you know, the proposed rezoning affects an area surrounding the Gowanus Canal, which EPA
placed on the Superfund National Priorities List in March 2010. The Gowanus Canal Superfund
Site (Site) is defined as the approximately 100-foot wide, 1.8-mile-long Canal, and also includes
any areas that are sources of contamination to the Canal.

In 2013, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the cleanup of the Canal that included the
dredging and off-Site disposal of much of the accumulated contaminated sediment within the
Canal, the capping of certain contamination remaining below the dredged material, and the
control of upland sources to prevent the recontamination of the clean Canal. See
https://semspub.epa.gov/workl02/692106.pdf

Such upland sources include certain contaminated sewer solids discharged into the Canal during
Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) events when stormwater and sanitary sewage capacity is
exceeded within the approximately 1,758-acre Gowanus Canal watershed. The CSO portion of
the EPA-selected remedy requires the City, a potentially responsible party for the Site, to
construct and operate two CSO retention tanks. Pursuant to several EPA administrative orders,
the City is required to design those CSO tanks and to participate in the first stage of the dredging
and capping work. The City will be required to construct the CSO tanks pursuant to a future EPA
enforcement instrument.

EPA does not have a direct role in local land-use or zoning decisions. However, accounting for
current and anticipated future local land use is an important component in EPA's planning of
response actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and
Liability Act ("CERCLA" or "Superfund"). EPA also has a role in ensuring that future land-use
changes do not adversely affect the integrity of Superfund cleanups, including the ongoing work
at the Gowanus Canal. Accordingly, in May 2019, EPA provided comments to DCP on the
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) scoping documents for the rezoning, and also directed the
New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to provide rezoning-related
information to EPA as part of the CSO tank design process.

The first phase of the dredging and capping is to begin in mid-November 2020 in the upper
Canal, which is in the area where DCP has proposed rezoning for residential use. Progress on the
Canal cleanup is among the factors cited by the City in support of the rezoning.
Progress on the CSO tanks, however, has been delayed by DEP, as noted in recent EPA
communications to DEP. In June 2020, DEP requested that EPA grant an extension of time to
complete the CSO tanks. EPA is reviewing that request, which may impact the effectiveness of
the remedy and have implications on the rezoning.

In light of community interest associated with the start of dredging, DEP's CSO-related delays,
and the resumption of the rezoning process, EPA believes that it would be of assistance to the
City, the community, and other stakeholders to reiterate the cleanup-related discharge parameters
of the ROD.

In anticipation of potential redevelopment, the ROD requires that any future activities that fall
under the City's purview, including development, do not compromise the effectiveness of the
Gowanus Canal remedy. Among other things, the ROD specifically states:

Current and future high density residential redevelopment along the banks of the canal and

within the sewershed shall adhere to NYC rules for sewer connections (Chapter 31 of Title 15

of the Rules of the City of New York) and shall be consistent with current NYCDEP criteria

(NYCDEP, 2012) and guidelines to ensure that hazardous substances and solids from

additional sewage loads do not compromise the effectiveness of the permanent CSOcontrol

measures by exceeding their design capacity. For example, redevelopment

to take mitigation measures to prevent or offset additional sewer loadings. Separated

storm water outfalls will also require engineering controls to ensure that hazardous

substances and solids are not discharged to the Canal. [ROD at page 84.]

In EPA's May 2019 comments on the EIS scoping documents, EPA noted that the City

preliminarily projects a significant increase in the wastewater generation in the neighborhood as

a result of the proposed development. Specifically, for residential development, wastewater

generation is estimated to increase from 178,795 gallons per day (gpd) at present to 1,977,302

gpd once the proposed development has been completed. (See Gowanus Neighborhood

Rezoning and Related Actions at Table B-1).

Consistent with EPA's May 2019 comments, the EIS process should accurately determine not
just the total wastewater generation, but also the incremental sanitary and stormwater volumes
and what appropriate mitigation measures, or combination of measures, are required to prevent
added CSO-related discharges to the Canal and adverse effects on the Canal remedy. In
particular, EPA believes that DEP must determine whether any infrastructure serving the parcels
that are to be rezoned requires upgrading to provide adequate conveyance and prevent overflows
to the Canal. EPA will review all such determinations and other relevant information related to
the impacts of the proposed rezoning on the Superfund Canal remedy and will assess whether
any mitigation measures proposed as part of the development, as a result of the rezoning, would
indeed be protective of the Canal remedy.

EPA acknowledges the City's authority to engage in land-use planning and zoning. With that
said, however, EPA respectfully submits that any rezoning impacting the Canal must proceed in
a manner that is protective of human health and the environment, as envisioned in EPA's Canal
remedy.

EPA looks forward to engaging with the City, the community and other stakeholders in a
cooperative manner so that the appropriate information is available for a productive
consideration of rezoning issues.

After the rains! Raw sewage floating on the Gowanus Canal 

Read more

Environmental Remediation Of Gowanus Canal Moves A Giant Step Forward As EPA Issues Order To Begin Superfund Clean-Up

The long awaited environmental clean-up of the Gowanus Canal has just moved a giant step closer. 

On Tuesday, January 28,  the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Unilateral Administrative Order to the six major corporations that bear the most significant responsibility for the canal's pollution.  The order compels the Responsible Parties to begin the important work of dredging and capping of the upper portion of the Gowanus Canal and to restore the First Street Basin, which was illegally filled a few decades ago.

Though the beginning of the dredging work in that portion of the canal is still six or seven months away, the EPA is giving the PRPs advance lead time so that contractors can be hired, equipment can be procured and moved into place.

The work on this upper portion is expected to take about 30 months and is estimated to cost $125 million.  Upon its completion, the clean-up will continue on the middle and lower parts of the canal. Most of the toxic  dredged material will be transported out of the community by barge on the Gowanus.

Currently, bulkheads are being replaced from Butler Street to the Union Street Bridge to prevent the collapse of the uplands during dredging. Work on the Fulton Bulkhead Barrier Wall Construction at the head of the canal is also ongoing. 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.

This big step signals the true beginning of the clean-up of this long neglected waterway. It will be a pretty momentous occasion for Gowanus.

Below is EPA's press release on the order:

EPA Issues Administrative Order Requiring Start of Gowanus Canal Superfund Site Cleanup

NEW YORK (January 28, 2020) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the issuance of an administrative order requiring the start of the cleanup of the Gowanus Canal Superfund site in Brooklyn, New York. This is a major milestone in the cleanup of the site. The order, which covers both the cleanup of the upper canal – denominated as Remediation Target Area (RTA) 1 – and the 1st Street turning basin, is based on years of detailed engineering, scientific studies and design work. The work required by the order involves full-scale dredging and capping of RTA 1, as well as restoration of the 1st Street turning basin. This important work is estimated to cost $125 million and is expected to take about 30 months to complete. EPA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) are coordinating closely on the cleanup of the Gowanus Canal and the surrounding area. The NYSDEC has primary responsibility for addressing contamination at the upland properties adjacent to the Canal.

“This order will ensure the remediation of a portion of the heavily-contaminated waterway, which is the centerpiece of a revitalized neighborhood,” said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez. “By addressing Superfund sites in densely populated urban areas such as the Gowanus Canal, EPA is protecting public health and the environment while supporting Brooklyn’s continued economic redevelopment.”

“We’ve come a long way to achieve this significant milestone in cleaning up the Gowanus Canal. With pilot dredging tested, full-scale dredging, capping and restoration of the canal can proceed, starting with the first third of the canal,” said U.S. Representative Nydia M. Velázquez. “We are on an ambitious timeline for cleanup as compared to other Superfund sites throughout the nation. Most importantly, we are cleaning up Gowanus the right way, in a manner respectful of community needs, and responsible parties are shouldering the cost. I would like to thank all the EPA regional staff for their tireless work for the health and benefit of Brooklyn and New York.”

The remediation of RTA 1 is the first of three areas of the Canal that are targeted for cleanup. The restoration of the contaminated filled-in former 1st Street turning basin will serve as the primary wetlands area for mitigating or offsetting incremental encroachment into the Canal created by construction of deeper and more robust bulkheads along the Canal that are needed to allow dredging to take place at the necessary depths. The start of dredging required by the order is currently scheduled for September 2020, contingent on completion of bulkhead upgrades.

EPA, NYSDEC and the New York State Department of Health will be overseeing the work, which includes plans for community health and safety monitoring. The order is being issued to six parties that EPA determined have the largest shares of responsibility for the contamination at the Gowanus Canal site: Brooklyn Union Gas Co. d/b/a National Grid New York; the City of New York; Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, Inc.; Hess Corp.; Honeywell International Inc. and The Brooklyn Improvement Co. EPA is seeking to enter into cost recovery settlements with about 30 other private and federal government entities that have significantly smaller shares of responsibility.

More than a dozen contaminants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and heavy metals, including mercury, lead and copper, are present at high levels in the Gowanus Canal sediment. The cleanup plan for the Gowanus Canal Superfund site includes dredging to remove contaminated sediment from the bottom of the Canal, which has accumulated because of industrial and combined sewer overflow (CSO) discharges. Following dredging, construction of a multilayer cap in dredged areas will isolate and prevent migration of any remaining chemicals in the deep native sediments. Certain areas of the native sediment, below the original canal bottom, that contain mobile liquid tar and are too deep to excavate will be mixed with cement and solidified to prevent the migration of the tar into the water of the Canal. Controls to reduce CSO discharges and prevent other land-based sources of pollution, such as street runoff, from compromising the cleanup are also included in the cleanup plan.

The Superfund program has been providing important health benefits to communities across the country for nearly 40 years. Superfund cleanups also strengthen local economies. Data collected through 2017 shows that at 487 Superfund sites in reuse, approximately 6,600 businesses are generating $43.6 billion in sales and employ 156,000 people who earned a combined income of $11.2 billion.

To view EPA’s administrative order for the site, please visit: https://semspub.epa.gov/src/document/02/586740

Learn more about the Gowanus Canal Superfund site here: www.epa.gov/superfund/gowanus-canal

Read more