Tackling The Problem Of Combined Sewer Overflow: Why Can't New York Be More Like London?

 (photos courtesy of www.thamestunnelconsultation.co.uk)

Thames Tunnel Film (2011) from Thames Tunnel on Vimeo.

While New York City has once again wiggled out of its obligation under law to stop combined sewer overflows (CSOs) from its sewer system to flow into surrounding waters with the blessing of the NYState Department of Environmental Conservation, London is facing its CSO problem head on.

Both Cities have aging sewer systems. Both systems discharge untreated sewage and industrial wastewater that occur when wet weather flows exceed the treatment capacity of these combined sewer systems. Both have a growing population. Yet New York is trying to push the problem further down the road and London is planning the Thames Tunnel "that will tackle the problem of overflows from the capital's Victorian servers and will protect the River Thames from increasing pollution for at least the next 100 years." Construction of the Tunnel Project is slated to begin in 2016.

In comparison, New York is implementing a Green Infrastructure Plan "which relies upon modeling to project CSO reductions based on information available to date, that would result from managing stormwater equivalent to one inch of rainfall on 10% of available impervious surfaces in the City's combined sewer areas by 2030."

Though Green Infrastructure is great, the New York City's plan is certainly a drop in the bucket and will not address the CSO problem in any meaningful way. It simply is not enough, unless the City commits to upgrading its gray infrastructure with forward thinking projects like the Thames Tunnel.

Just this Monday night, I was sitting at a Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory meeting with
representatives of NYC DEP pleading for more help from the agency to reduce the CSO's in the Gowanus Canal. Yes, New York City is currently in the process of implementing upgrades to the Gowanus Canal facilities, which it claims will reduce CSO discharges by about 34% and another 10% from newly installed High-Level Storm Sewers and green infrastructure, but the community is asking for more. Much more.
It is important for the community to remember that the green infrastructure plan is at the design bid phase and it will be some time until any goals are achieved. It has also vital for Gowanus residents to remember, as it has been pointed out, that the Flushing Tunnel work does not focus on actual CSO reductions but is simply doing what is needed to keep a 101-year old system running. While the pump station and force main improvements lead to actual CSO reductions, it should be noted that this 136 million gallon annual CSO reduction into the Canal is partly offset by a 41 million gallon annual CSO increase into the Atlantic Basin, Buttermilk Channel and East River from sewage being diverted outside the Canal. (2008 Gowanus Waterbody/Watershed Facility Plan, Table 7-9.)

So what is the difference between New York and London? Why is our City so resistant to solving a real problem that poses both a human health and environmental risk? Is it just political will? Is it disregard for its citizens?
If it is a question of money, New York City should talk to London. The Thames Tunnel is "expected to directly create over 4,000 jobs at the peak of its planned seven-year construction phase, and a further 5,000 indirectly. Generating the equivalent of 19,000 employment years, this would be a major stimulus for the wider economy of communities along the tunnel’s 15-mile route and beyond."
London sees it as vital for its economy.


Mayor Bloomberg, perhaps you can give Boris Johnson a call?

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Members Of Gowanus Canal CAG Sit Down With DEP Representatives And Ask Agency To Do More

Jim Mueller, Assistant Commissioner DEP,  Angela Licata, Deputy Commissioner,  Kevin Clarke,  environmental engineer.

Testimony of Carter Strickland,Commissioner, New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), March 27, 2012
"At the moment DEP is concerned that EPA is considering a complete cessation of CSOs into the Gowanus Canal as part of the Superfund cleanup, even though the site was put on the National Priorities List because of contaminated sediment from historic industrial processes unconnected to the sewer system. Under the Clean Water Act and the CSO program administered by the State, DEP has considered whether CSOs could be reduced to near zero and concluded that it would be infeasible and that tanks or tunnels could cost billions without a substantial increase in water quality. Needless to say, a billion-dollar construction project in this area of Brooklyn would also create daunting traffic and construction-related impacts for well over a decade. Accordingly, DEP selected our current $136 million Gowanus Facilities Plan, which will reduce CSOs by 34% plus another 10% from High-Level Storm Sewers and green infrastructure. We are in active discussions with the EPA right now, and strongly disagree with the position that an enormous City-funded construction project is a necessary prerequisite to an EPA-led Superfund cleanup."

Last night, members of the EPA Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group's Water Quality and Technical Committee met with representatives of the City's Department Of Environmental Protection to engage in a more meaningful dialog with the agency and to advocate for the elimination of Combined Sewer Overflow Discharges that result in the presence of pathogens in the waterway, including coliform and enterococci.

These pathogens present unacceptable health risks from contact with the water and sediments of the Canal.  As long as New York City, which has been named a Potencially Responsible Party (PRP) for its role in contributing to the toxins, allows CSOs to continue to discharge into the Gowanus, there will be ongoing environmental and potential human health risks, as well as a high chance of recontamination even after the Superfund clean-up.

Representing the DEP last night were Angela Licata, Deputy Commissioner, Jim Mueller, Assistant Commissioner, Planning and Capital Projects, Kevin Clarke and Julie Stein.   Members of the CAG did not lose any time to let DEP know that the Community expected the agency to work together with EPA to get the most comprehensive, effective clean-up within the timeframe of the Superfund. "This is great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone by investing the necessary money to have the water that goes into the canal be as clean as it can be," stated one CAG member. "Get it done right. Get it done once. Get it done now," another member told the DEP representatives. Yet another added: "We would like to see the same level of engagement from DEP as we see from EPA."
Yes, New York City is currently in the process of implementing upgrades to the Gowanus Canal facilities, which it claims will reduce CSO discharges by about 34% and another 10% from newly installed High-Level Storm Sewers and green infrastructure. That, however, simply is not good enough for many members in the community. "We have a pretty good understanding of what the City is proposing, but frankly, more needs to be done. We want more," member Steven Miller stated.

"We see this as a very opportune time for us to begin anew and to think of the long-term planning for the canal," Angela Licata told the CAG. She was quick to point out that the City's combined sewer system is a legacy system. "When it rains, you are not going to engineer your way out of that. If you never want to have sewer in the canal again, we will have to separate the system." Indeed, the gray infrastructure in the Gowanus area is underserving the community on all fronts even with the current upgrades. In addition, no real planning seems to have gone into providing new infrastructure for all the additional housing that is likely to be built along the canal in the near future.

Licata also spoke of the consent order just negotiated between NYC and Albany. "Our commitments and requirements persuent to that, require that we build out green infrastructure to a certain extend. We have to get 1" of rain over 10% of the impervious areas in the CSO watersheds of the City. And we need to develop these so-called long-term control plans. Those should envision a path forward that will carry us for the next 10 to 20 years."
(This sounds more impressive than it is. Basically, it means that New York State's Department Of Environmental Conservation has once again allowed the City to not meet the Federal clean water standards set decades ago.)

"We have to develop a plan for that waterbody," Licata continued. "We think it is quite appropriate that we start to envision this with you. What we will be looking at is a combination of solutions where we want to evaluate all the possible alternatives We need to do that in a way that achieves certain goals. We have to be able to move some of the dials on water quality and we also have to look at what is going to be cost effective."

CAG member Rita Miller mentioned that the EPA has suggested that a retention basin would solve the problem of toxins being emitted into the Gowanus.  Miller added "At the same time, it would do wonders for the pathogens flowing into the canal and perhaps satisfy some of the Clean Water Act requirements as well. Why does there seem to be resistance to that suggestion?" she asked Licata. "It seems perfectly reasonable to us. It seems like a perfectly do-able plan. You have done it in other places."

Licata's answered: "We have done retention tanks. Its a no-brainer. We have done it at Paerdegat Basin, Alley Creek and Flushing. So why not do it here? One of the things is that at those locations, you had a tremendous amount of volume that was all located at one point, so that the economy of scale was tremendous." She added: "I just want to be clear. Its not that we are discounting it here. I think it's a fair question. We should take another look at it. But I think the cost benefit on that is going to be really, really tough."

Rita Miller responded: "I would like to remind you that this is a very densely populated area. City Planning has a framework that makes it even denser. I don't see any reason why the kind of attention that has been given to other neighborhoods would not be given here, given the fact that this canal is so tiny, so narrow, that the concentration of toxins is just tremendous."

I can only speak for myself, but as a CAG member and a long time resident, I have the feeling that the City is trying to shirk its responsibility towards the Gowanus Canal Community for as long as it can. Rather than to work with the EPA to find a real solution that would address the CSOs in conjunction with the Superfund clean-up, it is trying to stall and kick the problem down the road.

Shame on Mayor Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Caswell Halloway and DEP Commissioner Carter Strickland for continuing to ignore the community and for proposing a sorely inadequate plan to deal with a real health problem.
Stop lobbying and do what's right, already!

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At Last Night's CB6 Meeting, National Grid Presents Remedial Design And Pilot Test For Carroll Gardens' Former Gas Works Site

Tracey Bell of National Grid

Andrew Prophete of National Grid

Gary Riley, Environmental Protection Chair

Community Board 6

Last night, at a special Community Board 6's Public Safety/Environmental Protection and Permits & Licenses Committee meeting, Tracey Bell, Andrew Prophete and Michael Zukauskas of National Grid, together with some of their colleagues, gave the community an update on the development of their remediation plan for the heavily contaminated former gas manufacturing site in Carroll Gardens.

NYS Department Of Environmental Conservation, which is overseeing the brownfield clean-up, was supposed to attend as well, but were unable to travel due to the recent hurricane.

The vast track of land, located between Smith Street and the Gowanus Canal, was once the site of a Citizens Gas Light Company's 12th Ward Gas Work plant where coal and petroleum products into flammable gas for surrounding neighborhoods. Citizen later sold to Brooklyn Union Gas, which became Keyspan, which is now National Grid.The plant was decommissioned in the early 1960's.

What was left behind was a heavily contaminated site. The results of the Remediation Investigation showed contaminants like coal tar in depths up to 150 feet in the ground.

The responsibility for the clean-up falls on National Grid under the supervision of NYS DEC.

To date, National Grid has completed 50% of their remediation design, which has been approved by DEC. Tracey Bell, Andrew Prophete and Michael Zukauskas, in their presentation, stressed that the site presents enormous challenges and that the clean-up is highly complex.

First, there are the enormous amounts of coal tar which saturates the ground. The remedial design calls for a number of recovery wells on the site, into which the tar will collect, so that it can be taken away. (Since December 2010 alone, 7,000 gallons of the tar have been pumped out of the ground.)

Second, the coal tar has been oozing into the Gowanus Canal for decades. To prevent the lateral movement of contaminants into the waterway, the remedial design will include an elaborate 50 foot sheet pile construction wall which will serve as a barrier. The fence will be 25 feet below the canal's mud line and 25 feet above. The joints will be heavily reinforced.

Thirdly, the 72" Bond Street sewer line traverses the site. A section of the mostly brick tunnel needs to be relocated because its current location will interfere with the construction of the barrier wall. Since the flushing tunnel is still in use, the work will need to be carefully coordinated.

The proposed remediation calls for the removal of the top 8 feet of soil throughout the site, which will be backfilled with clean soil to street level.

As part of storm water management and to prevent ground water from leaking into the canal, a High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) liner will be installed 2 feet below grade throughout.

The next step for National Grid is to perform pilot tests for feasibility and on all materials.

The company representatives made sure to mention that these tests will be loud and sometimes disruptive. "We will be moving lots of heavy machinery onto the site." Mr. Phrophete warned.

After the presentation, Gary Reilly, chair of CB6's Environmental Protection Committee, asked National Grid's representatives how the site's remediation plan has changed since the US Environmental Protection Agency declares the Gowanus Canal a Superfund site in 2010. The (EPA has named National Grid as a Potential Responsible Party for the company's role in polluting the canal.)

Andrew Prophete answered that the federal agency has concerns about the design for the barrier wall, the 8 foot cap and the safety of building on the site. "We want to convey that its a safe and constructible design" Mr. Prophete stated. "I am not sure the EPA is totally convinced yet."

He was also quick to mention that the DEC, not EPA is supervising this brownfield clean-up and that DEC has authorized National Grid to move ahead with the already approved remedial plan.

For further information or updates on the remedial work, go to National Grid's Citizen's website here.

Related Reading:

National Grid And DEC To Update Public On Remediation Plans For Heavily Polluted Public Place

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National Grid And DEC To Update Public On Remediation Plans For Heavily Polluted Public Place

This coming Monday, August 29th, representatives of National Grid and NYS Department Of Environmental Conservation will give an update on the development of remediation plans for the heavily polluted Public Place site at a Community Board 6's Public Safety/Environmental Protection and Permits & Licenses Committee meeting.

Public Place is the six acre brownfield tract bordered by the Gowanus Canal and Smith Street south of Fifth Street. It was once the site of the historic Citizens Gas Light Company's 12th Ward Gas Work. The company's plant used coal and petroleum products to create flammable gas for surrounding neighborhoods. Citizen later sold to Brooklyn Union Gas, which became Keyspan, which is now National Grid.

The plant was decommissioned in the early 1960's and the site was given to the city by condemnation in 1975 as public land. (Therefore the name "Public Place").

There has been talk of remediating the site for more than twenty years now. The responsibility for the clean-up falls on National Grid under the supervision of NYS DEC. The results of the Remediation Investigation showed contaminants like coal tar in depths up to 150 feet in the ground.

In addition, some of the coal tar has been found to ooze into the Gowanus Canal, which means that the US EPA has gotten involved as part of its own Superfund clean-up of the waterway. (National Grid has been named one of the Potential Responsible Parties [PRP] by the EPA and will have to contribute for the Gowanus Canal clean-up.)

Recently, Public Place has been slated by the city for public development. The Gowanus Green project, as it is ironically named, would bring 770 units of affordable housing to the shores of the Gowanus.

One has to wonder how prudent and realistic it is to build housing on such historically polluted land.

Many in the community are sceptical that the site will ever be safe for human habitation.

No matter the future of the site, I urge everyone in the neighborhood to attend Monday's meeting. The clean-up of Public Place is of concern to everyone and it is imperative that we make sure that it is done safely, thoroughly and permanently.

Update and presentation by representative for National Grid and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

on the development of remediation plans for the Public Place

CB6 PUBLIC SAFETY/ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION/PERMITS/LICENSES

DATE: MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2011

TIME: 6:30 PM

PLACE:

ST. MARY'S STAR OF THE SEA

41 FIRST STREET

(BETWEEN HOYT/BOND STS)

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Gowanus Canal News: EPA And City Contractors Busy At Work

EPA Sub-Contractors Busy Sampling The Sediment At The Bottom Of The Canal




NYC Department Of Environmental Protection Sub-Contractors On The Canal



Workers from DEP Sub-Contractor Northeast Remsco



Northeast Remsco worker flashing a smile

The day after the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it had placed the Gowanus Canal on its list of Superfund sites was a busy one. On Wednesday afternoon, both EPA and NYC Department of Environmental Protection sub-contractors were working side-by-side on the waterway.

The EPA sub-contractors were sampling the sediment at the bottom of the canal to characterize the contamination.
At the same time, workers for NYC DEP's sub-contractor Northeast Remsco were beginning to sink the aeration pipes that will pump oxygenated water into the canal while the flushing tunnel undergoes repair.

The Gowanus Canal hasn't seen so much action in a very, very long time.

And what does the public say about the Superfund designation? When asked, an area resident, who was driving over the Carroll Street Bridge, seemed very pleased about the recent announcement.

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

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