According to the NYTimes, the EPA announced that it will designate the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, one of the most contaminated waterways in the nation, a Superfund site. This designation paves the way for a federally-funded clean up process of decades of pollution; the 1.8 mile canal was shown to have pesticide pollution as well as PCB cancer-causing pollution.  The EPA estimated that the cleanup would last 10 to 12 years and cost $300 million to $500 million. Interestingly, the Bloomberg Administration was not pleased with this news. The Administration argued that the designation could spark legal battles with polluters, defer completion of cleanup and dissuade construction by developers deterred by the stigma of a Superfund label.

The city instead envisioned a residential and commercial development project along the canal and supported voluntary cleanup measures by polluters. To establish these new residential areas, the city planned to hire the Army Corps of Engineers in a separate federal funding bid, but by doing so would not secure funding as well as with a Superfund designation. Critics also claimed the plan would complicate cleanup given the involvement of both the Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA. For those of you in the NYC area who are interested to learn more, the EPA plans to discuss next steps regarding the canal at a public meeting with neighborhood residents and other stakeholders on Thursday night at Public School 58 on Smith Street in Brooklyn.