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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"The Disney World Of Pollution:" With John Lipscomb Of Riverkeeper On The Gowanus Canal After Sandy And Nor'Easter

Take a few minutes to watch this great video produced by Amy Pearl for WNYC Radio.
It features John Lipscomb of Riverkeeper. Lipscomb manages the water quality sampling program for the clean-water advocacy group and was one of the first people back on the heavily polluted Gowanus Canal with his boat  after hurricane Sandy and again, after the Nor'Easter a week later.
The results of these tests  revealed extremely high levels of bacteria in the waters of the Gowanus after the storms.  They also revealed that raw sewage discharges from Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) continued to pollute the Gowanus even after the rains stopped.
"These CSOs are not permitted to discharge in dry weather." Lipscomb explains in the video.
Talking about the effects of the storm surge in and around the Gowanus, he reflects: "Part of the horror was from the Gowanus, part of the horror was from the sanitary sewer system, and part of the horror was from whatever was the ambient stuff."  He concludes: "It was like a war during that storm.  You don't recover from a war instantly."





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Riverkeeper Tests Still Show Extreme Bacteria Levels In Gowanus Canal Days After Hurricane Sandy

Data compiled by John Lipscomb and Andy Juhl of Riverkeeper
click here for a sharper image

Riverkeeper, New York's clean water advocacy group, has been doing a tremendous job of informing the public of the water quality around New York City Harbor in the days after Hurricane Sandy.
On November 2nd, four days after the storm, Riverkeeper conducted it's first patrol to take water samples. The group followed up with additional tests on November 8th.
(To see the results of all testing, click here)

Surprisingly, the result of the tests showed better than average water quality at all testing sites, except for the Gowanus Canal, which indicated extremely high levels of sewage contamination.
The Gowanus samples from November 2nd, which were taken at the Hamilton Avenue Bridge indicated an unacceptable Enterococcus counts of   >24,196 per 100ml. (The US Environmental Protection Agency guideline threshold for primary contact is 104 Entero per 100ml.)

On November 8th, one day after the Nor'Easter, the samples taken at the same location again showed Enterococcus count of  >24,196 per 100 ml.

 See photos taken by Riverkeeper on November 8th at Gowanus CSO outflow.

On November 9th, Riverkeeper checked the same location on the Gowanus again and still observed dry weather flow.  See photos below.

As we all know, New York City still discharges Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) into the Gowanus during heavy downpours. However, Hurricane Sandy, though destructive, was not a significant rain event.  Riverkeeper concludes that "the extreme contamination in the Gowanus Canal is probably due to additional, perhaps ongoing, sewage discharges from CSOs or bypasses into the Canal continuing after the tidal flooding ended."

Below is a more detailed summery on the findings by John Lipscomb and Andy Juhl of Riverkeeper:

We have been sampling to quantify the frequency and severity of sewage contamination around Manhattan and in the Hudson River for over 5 years, so we have a fairly good idea what typical conditions are like, and water quality around NYC is probably better most of the time than most people think. There are intermittent problems, mostly following rain, but also because of occasional infrastructure failures (i.e., broken pipes or pumps). Still, during dry weather, more than 90% of the samples we have collected around NYC are “acceptable” from the perspective of microbial indicators of sewage.

That’s the good news, the bad news is that we do see widespread sewage contamination following rain, which is not an uncommon event. 

We have heard a lot of concerns about water quality following Hurricane Sandy. Not only do we generally see the frequency and levels of contamination in the Hudson rise following rain, but because of the flooding, there were a large number of people who would have been exposed to the water, if it was contaminated. So there was justifiable reason for concern. 

Unfortunately, we don’t have any data from during or immediately after the storm. Given the amount of rain (approximately 1 inch overnight), it is possible that there would have been sewage discharges from CSO’s. It is also possible that the enormous volume of water associated with the high tide and storm surge would have diluted any sewage inputs. Without data we cannot say which of these is most likely. 

Given what we know about sewage contamination following storms, we expected that if there were high levels of sewage contamination during the storm, it would be relatively short-lived. The system tends to clean itself out after a sewage input event after 3-4 days although it is variable depending on location and conditions. The exception would be if there was continuing discharge, for example from pipes or pumps that were damaged by the hurricane, or if there was additional precipitation. 

One can speculate and extrapolate all you want, but there really is no way to answer any of the questions about water quality without going out and sampling. You need good data, so we went out and collected some. On Friday Nov 2, 4 days following the storm, John Lipscomb from Riverkeeper was able to collect a few samples from near Manhattan, and I was able to collect a few samples on Nov 6 (once our power came back) from the shore in Rockland Co, north of NYC. Taken together, those samples show acceptable water quality at 7 of 10 locations. The three locations with unacceptably high counts of Enterococcus were Sparkill Creek, Newtown Creek, and Gowanus Canal, all places where we see very frequent contamination problems. So taken together, these limited data suggest that if there was widespread sewage contamination following the hurricane, conditions were reverting back to normal. Unfortunately, for some locations, normal conditions are contaminated. 

Looking at the data in more detail, there is another story that can be identified. The Gowanus sample several days after the hurricane was remarkably high. With an Entero count of  >24200, the water in Gowanus was more than 230 times the threshold where you would close a water body for swimming. We suspect that this sample indicates that there was a continuing release of sewage into the Gowanus canal. This is the level of contamination we see during a rainstorm while CSO’s are flowing, or if there was a broken pipe, pump station, or some other infrastructure problem that caused ongoing release of raw sewage. It is possible that this extremely high level of contamination was related to hurricane damage to sewage treatment infrastructure that has not yet been repaired. 

So we had some evidence for infrastructure problems that might be Hurricane-related, but we had no idea whether that was widespread. We may have caught one instance (in Gowanus), but there could be more, so in the face of continuing concern from the public and the media, we decided to do some more comprehensive sampling on Nov 8th. So that’s more than a week after the Hurricane. Just to make things complicated, the night before our Nov 8 sampling trip, the area was hit by another strong storm, that dumped anywhere from 1 to 6 inches of snow and rain on the ground. We predicted that this winter storm would lead to fairly widespread sewage contamination, as happens just about every time we get precipitation. 

In fact, we did see evidence for widespread sewage contamination on Nov 8., more than 2/3 of the samples we collected had unacceptably high counts of sewage indicating microbes. Because some of those stations were OK a few days earlier, we think that these results are dominated by the impacts of the overnight snow/rain storm. We hope that this highlights the fact that we have a pretty common sewage contamination problem. It’s not necessarily because of big events like Sandy, it happens all the time. Because this type of sewage contamination is common, it really should be more of a concern than the concern we are seeing now about sewage contamination following a big, rare event, like a direct hit from a hurricane. 

Drilling down into the most recent numbers in more detail, we did see very high counts of sewage indicators coming from 2 of the 3 sewage treatment plant outfalls we sampled. We also again found exceeding high counts in Gowanus canal. Those cases do suggest to us that there may be some ongoing infrastructure problems. They are localized, but they need to be fixed. Those kind of infrastructure breakdowns are the kinds of things we would expect to see following a big event, like Hurricane Sandy. However, we cannot definitely connect these specific cases to the Hurricane.

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Riverkeeper Provides Critical Cleanup Tips for Homeowners, Renters and Businesses Dealing with Flooding from Superstorm Sandy

Flooding at First and Bond Streets during Hurricane Sandy

(photo credit: Eymund Diegel)

This is the information Gowanus residents and business owners have been waiting for for the last twelve days: comprehensive instructions on how to deal with the canal flood waters that poured into homes and businesses lining the shores of this Superfund site.
It is provided by Riverkeeper, NY's clean water advocacy organization. The group tested New York Harbor's waters last Friday and found that the Gowanus Canal had the highest level of Enterococcus ), which indicates extreme sewage contamination.   Clinical infections caused by Enterococcus include urinary tract infections, bacteremia, bacterial endocarditis, diverticulitis, and meningitis.
In addition, the waters of the Gowanus are laced with hazardous pollutants.

Please pass around the information below to those in the Gowanus area that are trying to clean up after the storm

Critical Cleanup Tips for Homeowners, Renters and Businesses Dealing 

with Flooding from Superstorm Sandy

As you address damage from Superstorm Sandy floodwaters in your home, apartment or business, Riverkeeper wants you to be aware of critical safety tips that could prevent sickness today and for years to come.

AVOID MOLD: CLEAN NOW, CLEAN THOROUGHLY
Federal, state and city health and environmental officials agree with our scientific experts, who believe that mold may be the biggest long-term problem most people face.

To avoid mold, remove standing water and dry indoor areas thoroughly. Discard anything that was wet for more than 24-48 hours, including mattresses, carpeting and rugs, upholstered furniture, cosmetics, stuffed animals, baby toys, pillows, foam rubber items, books, wall coverings and most paper products. Wash clothing used during cleanup separately from other laundry and with hot water and detergent.

For detailed cleanup instructions, see this CDC Website or Fact Sheet. For additional tips, look to the NYC Department of Environmental Protection’s flood site. If you need professional help in the New York City area, the DEP recommends contacting an environmental contractor. A list of contractors in the New York City area is provided by the Environmental Contractors Association.


AVOID CONTACT WITH FLOOD WATERS
We also want to reiterate that flood waters are likely contaminated with sewage and possibly with other hazardous pollutants. During the storm, as with any rain storm, sewage was discharged untreated from most New York City, Northern New Jersey and Hudson Valley sewer systems; the usual flow of sewage was compounded by power outages, storm surge flooding and other conditions that kept some plants off line after the storm. Today, nearly all plants in New York City and the Hudson Valley are fully treating waste and operating at full capacity. Exceptions include the Rockaway, Oakwood, Coney Island and Yonkers plants, which are either treating partially or at less than full capacity. The situation in New Jersey looks troubling, with hundreds of millions of gallons of untreated sewage still discharging daily into New York-New Jersey Harbor and Raritan Bay.

If you must come into contact with flood waters, wear gloves and other protections to prevent direct contact, especially with open wounds; wash frequently with soap, especially before eating or drinking; and keep vaccinations current. Do not smoke.

REDUCE WATER USE
Particularly if you live in an area where a sewage plant is compromised, including Westchester County’s Hudson River towns, limit your use of water to essential needs like cooking and drinking (follow boil water directives if in place in your area). Follow the “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” mantra to limit flushing of toilets. This will reduce strain on the plants while they aren’t running at full capacity or treating waste thoroughly. Try to make these steps a habit—especially during rain storms—to reduce water pollution.

While Riverkeeper focuses on storm response critical to our core mission of protecting the Hudson River and our drinking water, we want you to be safe and well informed as you respond to flooding in your home, business or neighborhood. If you’re fortunate enough not to have been affected by the storm, consider how you can help others.



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Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group Takes Position That Total Elimination Of CSOs In Gowanus Canal Is Only Acceptable Solution To Problem. Passes Resolution.

At last night's US Environmental Protection Agency's Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group's (GAG) general meeting,  members voted to adopt a resolution that asks for a total elimination of New York City's Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) into the waterway.
The resolution was drafted by the CAG's Water Quality/Technical Committee after an informational meeting with NYC Department Of Environmental Protection on April 3rd, 2012.  At that meeting, DEP, which has been names a Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) by the EPA for its role in contributing hazardous toxins to the canal and for allowing CSOs to continue to discharge into the Gowanus,  had refuted EPA's findings.

Despite DEP's best effort, the agency failed to convince the Committee members that more testing was necessary and that it had not yet been proven that the CSOs are contributing chemicals to the canal at levels that constitute unacceptable human risks under Superfund.

So last night, the Water Quality/Technical Committee put forth the following resolution:

The Gowanus Superfund Community Advisory Group fully supports the United States Environmental Protection Agency in its finding that New York City's Combines Sewer Overflows are a significant contributor of harmful sediment and Superfund regulated PAHs and metals to the canal. The CAG takes the position that the total elimination of the CSOs in the Gowanus Canal is the only acceptable solution to the problem.     The CAG asks that the EPA, under their Superfund authority, take the necessary measures that will insure protection of the proposed remedy from ongoing CSO sediment solids deposits and the release of PAHs and other toxics.

However, before a discussion or a vote on the resolution could take place, Jeff Edelstein, the CAG's facilitator, informed its members that DEP, represented by Jim Mueller, would like to present its position on the CSO resolution and wanted the opportunity to give members of the CAG a presentation.

Many CAG members strongly opposed.  Though some wanted to hear what the DEP had to say, the  prevailing sentiment, especially amongst members of the Water Quality/Technical Committee, was that this was neither the time, nor the place for DEP to argue its, as one member put it, its "PRPness"

CAG member 

Marlene Donnelly,  representing F.R.O.G.G. argued:

"The DEP did just have a lengthy meeting with the community. There was no representative from the EPA there to present an alternate perspective at that meeting. If we give DEP five minutes for a presentation tonight, we also need  to give EPA five minutes to present their perspective. Since they are not here to present. I think that it is inappropriate at this time to allow DEP time to present just their perspective without a counter- perspective."

Josh Verlun,  Riverkeeper's representative, agreed:

"I believe that it is inappropriate for DEP to impose their perspective on the resolution at this time unless we have representatives from both EPA and from all the other PRPs give their perspective as well. At last count, that number was 30 or so. It is not appropriate for one PRP to voice their opinion, when there are other agencies and stakeholders that are nor represented here tonight. "

Rita Miller, C.O.R.D. representative added:

"The DEP came before the Water Quality/Technical committee, and out of that discussion, I think it is fair to say that this resolution was born.  I think that our committee should be able to present the resolution to our fellow CAG members. We have the interest of our community at heart. There is no further presentation by the DEP necessary."
And Steven Miller, member-at-large concluded:
"I want to remind everyone here tonight that the City of New York is a PRP and that their interaction with us should be held within this context."

At the end, the CAG voted to not allow DEP to give its presentation and to move forward with the vote on the resolution.
The resolution passed easily.

It was so transparent that the DEP wanted to influence members of the CAG last night and was trying to prevent this resolution from passing.  Pretty low, I say.

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Thanks To Riverkeeper, Major Gowanus Polluters Just Fined

Times have certainly changed in the Gowanus area. Thanks to Riverkeeper,, MCIZ Corporation and other companies owned by host of other companies owned by Jacob Marmurstein on the Gowanus was just fined approximately $485,000 for numerous environmental violations by the NYS Department Of Environmental Conservancy. Riverkeeper, a watchdog organization dedicated to defending the Hudson River and its tributaries, had filed a case against MCIZ in 2009 for dumping into the canal.

Riverkeeper Announces Major Victory in Gowanus Canal

Enforcement Campaign

DEC Fines MCIZ and related Corporations $482,750 for years of pollution violations

Ossining, NY – February 16, 2011– Riverkeeper announced today that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has fined MCIZ Corporation and a host of other companies owned by Jacob Marmurstein $482,750 for years of dumping pollution into the Gowanus Canal.

Riverkeeper originally filed a Notice of Intent to Sue (NOIS) against 107 Sixth Street LLC and 36-2nd J Corp (two of the companies owned by Mr. Marmurstein) in September, 2009 as part of its Gowanus Canal enforcement campaign for operating an open dump and filling the Canal from a parking lot on their property.

“We commend the DEC for taking this action and levying a substantial penalty for years of environmental abuses by MCIZ,” said Josh Verleun, Riverkeeper Chief Investigator and Staff Attorney. “This action and recent enforcement efforts by the DEC and Kings County District Attorney’s office underscore the importance of vigilant enforcement against environmental law-breakers. With this type of dedication to serious enforcement, polluters will get the message loud and clear that our waterways are not open sewers and dumping grounds.”

On at least seven boat patrols and a helicopter patrol from May to November 2009, Riverkeeper observed and documented waste materials, debris and other illegal fill on the properties comprising the 6th Street Bus Yard operated by MCIZ, being deposited and dumped along the shore and into the Gowanus Canal. The materials that were dumped included concrete, rusted piping, wood, metal, plastic, and construction and demolition debris.

Riverkeeper’s ongoing efforts on Brooklyn’s waterways include regular boat patrols, water quality testing and a partnership with the Kings County District Attorney, the New York City Department of Small Business Services Dockmaster Unit, and the DEC aimed at coordinating surveillance and enforcement efforts on the Gowanus Canal, Newtown Creek, and other New York City waterways.

To read more, click here.

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UPDATE: Large Section Of Eroded Whole Foods Bulkhead Floating In Gowanus Canal?

photo credit: From the Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy

This just in from Ludger K. Balan, Executive and Environmental Program Director of the Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy, a non-for-profit organization dedicated restoration, revitalization, restoration, protection for our waterways and watersheds.

Ludger has spent countless hours not only boating in the Gowanus Canal but also diving in its waters, studying and observing the changes along the heavily polluted waterway.

His organization just alerted to the fact that a huge section of the bulkhead along the Whole Foods section has broken off. Here is his email:

Whole Food for Thought!

"A large section of bulkhead ( approximately 20-25ft span) broke off Whole Foods site and is floating in the Gowanus Canal. The on-going erosion and this level of exposure, which has been occurring for over a year, is contributing to further migration of  toxins between the Gowanus Canal and the uplands section at Whole Foods site."

Ludger K Balan, Executive, Environmental Program Director

The Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy

WWW.URBANDIVERS.ORG

***UPDATE***

On Friday, I received the email below from Josh Verleun, Chief Investigator for Riverkeeper, New York's #1 clean water advocacy group.

Josh, who, like Ludger, spends many hours investigating the Gowanus Canal in a Riverkeeper boat, reported to me that Ludger is mistaken. Apparently, the big floating object in the Gowanus is a boat that sank.
Josh writes:
"What is floating in the canal is not a piece of bulkhead, but is in fact the sunken remains of a houseboat that was once tied up close to the Carroll St. bridge.

I have been working on investigating the circumstances of this boat’s sinking for a number of months. The sinking of this vessel has been passed on to the Department of Environmental Conservation and other law enforcement entities as well. Here are some photos of the boat before it sunk, after it was sunk and the top was chopped off, and after it floated to where it is now.

The large piece labeled A1 (on Ludger's Photos) is the sunken boat. The other pictures of the Whole Foods bulkhead/shoreline look very similar to how they have looked the 8 or so times I was in front of the property in a Riverkeeper boat over the course of the summer and fall. The shoreline in that area is very unstable looking—dirt has eroded from underneath concrete that hangs out over the edge, so I certainly could imagine chunks of debris falling into the canal. But as far as I can tell nothing major appears to have changed since I was last there in November.

The bulkhead situation as well as the sunken boat will certainly be addressed at Monday night's meeting with Executives from Whole Foods.

Information about the meeting here.  I hope you will be able to attend."

(photo credit: Josh Verleun, Riverkeeper)

Houseboat before it sank

partly submerged houseboat

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