In late September, the Gowanus Canal, polluted from sewage runoff and years of industrial waste, made headlines when Riverkeeper, a watchdog organization, threatened to sue major polluters unless they take remedial action. The Environmental Protection Agency is also considering the waterway as a possible Super Fund, which would take extensive containment measures and look for clean-up funds through litigation against present and past polluters. The Bloomberg administration opposed both these plans, offering that the city could clean the canal faster, without hampering private development—and Friday, in a pump house along the canal, Bloomberg announced the details of his plan: a two-stage process that he expects would clean the canal within ten years. The first stage, according to The Architect’s Newspaper, consists of three capital programs to increase fresh water flow, dredge the river, and increase capacity to transport and process sewage runoff. The second, and more vague, stage involves approaching companies to help remedy some of the long-term environmental damage, with matching funds from the federal Water Resources Development Act. The city would grant oversight rights to the EPA, which could step in if the city’s program failed to meet its standards. There are no data yet concerning which plan, city clean-up or the Super Fund process, would be safer for residents or more environmentally sound. Some people have criticized Bloomberg, saying that his sudden interest in the canal isn’t just to protect private development but because Riverkeeper implicated the city’s Department of Transportation as one of the polluters. The decision has caused some polarization and frustration already; at Friday’s announcement, for example, eight supporters of Super Fund designation were barred entry to the event, while the developer Toll Brothers was allowed inside, reports the Daily News. A Bloomberg representative said that it was simply a private event for invited guests and the media. And there are other residents, on the other hand, who don’t care who cleans the canal, as long as someone does.
Riverkeeper, Feds, State Jostle to Clean Gowanus [Brownstoner]
Advocates of Super Fund Barred from City Conference [Daily News]
Flushing the Gowanus [Architect's Newspaper]
Photo by Timothy Vogel