From the moment it was made public that the E.P.A. had proposed the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site, our local politicians have shown an incredible lack of leadership and an amazing disregard for their constituents' health. Pardon me for asking, but are they collectively committing political suicide?
Since Walter Mugden, of the US EPA stated at a public forum two weeks ago that the Gowanus Canal was so severely polluted that it easily fit the criteria to be included on their list of Superfunds, our politicians have been spinning this as a "complex issue" that needs careful consideration.
Now, truly, what exactly is there to consider?
It is all rather simple, I think.
Our city government has neglected the canal for decades and has contributed to its pollution by allowing raw sewage to flow into its waters every time it rains. That makes the city one of the canal's biggest polluters. There is a half-hearted clean-up attempt being proposed by the city, but it was never going to dredge the whole canal to remove toxic materials. Even if it wanted to, New York City doesn't have the money anyway to do a thorough job. Instead, Mayor Bloomberg, with the support of our (mostly absent) City Councilmember Bill DeBlasio, had the glorious idea of opening up the Gowanus Canal area for residential use and allowing individual developers to clean their building sites (uplands only) themselves. What a concept: bring entire families to the shores of a terribly polluted waterway and hope for the best! Now that is real advocacy for one's constituents.
The NYS Dept. Of Environmental Conservation wanted to do a more thorough clean-up, but realized that it was too big and complex of a job, so they reached out to the federal government and asked for help. I tend to think that someone at DEC had a conscience and realized that our politicians were going to put people's lives at risk by having them live in apartments next to an open sewer, so they wisely brought in the EPA.
According to Walter Mugden of the EPA, it only took his agency one of its tests to determine that the Gowanus canal met the requirements for a Superfund site. More were not needed after the first reading. Yes, it is extremely toxic, probably more so than residents even imagined.
The EPA has stepped forward and has promised a comprehensive clean-up.
Now, one would think that our elected officials would say "Thank You Very Much For Your Help" to the EPA, but that is not the case. Mayor Bloomberg immediately announced that his administration didn't need any &%^$#@ help from the EPA. Councilmember DeBlasio was a little more subtle, but stated that the Feds would "just get in the way" of a Gowanus Canal clean-up. He opined that "You don't want to drink out of it, you don't want to eat fish out of it, but it is not a danger to live near it."
Well thank you, Professor DeBlasio!
But DeBlasio must have had a moment of self doubt when he wrote a letter to Lisa Jackson of the EPA in Washington DC on April 22nd 2009 to ask:
" Is part of the basis of the proposed designation that people eat fish caught at the mouth of the canal? Is there a clear causal link between the canal sediment and levels of toxins in fish caught in NY Harbor? Is there any other predicted risk to the health of the residents or workers along the banks of the Gowanus under normal living or working conditions now?"
Maybe, Mr.DeBlasio should have asked EPA these questions a long time ago, before he advocated rezoning the area to residential.
And how about our other elected officials?
Just today, it was announced that the EPA had extended the 60 day public comment period by an additional 30 days after Councilmember deBlasio, Assemblywoman Joan Millman and Congresswoman Nydia Vélazquez requested more time to consider the risks to our citizens which have not concerned them until now.
Ms. Millman explains her request to EPA by stating: "This is a complicated situation, with a sad history of neglect and inactivity."
Exactly my point, Ms. Millman!
Had these officials reached out to the EPA when they first took office, the canal might be clean already.
Now they are dragging this out even longer. Funny that the community never received more time to comment on the Toll Brothers' spot-rezoning. That was a 'complex' issue as well.
It sure feels as though this community is fighting its own politicians. Silly me, all this time, I thought that they were representing us.
I have written off deBlasio, but I sure hope the others will get off the fence soon and follow their conscience. And that includes newly-elected NY State Senator Daniel Squadron and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke.
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