Important Issues Discussed And Voted On At Last Night's Gowanus Superfund CAG Meeting

EPA's Christos Tsiamis, seated, and Gowanus CAG facilitator Jeff Edelstein, standing

Christos Tsiamis, EPA Region 2 project manager for the Gowanus Canal 

Brian Carr, EPA Region 2 lawyer

Still from " Perfume vs. Miasma" on the Gowanus Canal by Rebecca Volinsky

Still from 'Gouwane' by Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris

The EPA Community Advisory Committee (CAG) for the Gowanus Canal Superfund gathered at the Brooklyn Historical Society for its monthly meeting last night.  Christos Tsiamis, EPA Region Two project manager and Brian Carr, a lawyer for Region 2, were both in attendance for a question and answer session.

Tsiamis  had brought along two short movies about the canal,  which had been screened at the "Canary Project"* art exhibit at Parsons School of Design, to which he had been invited. The movies offered visions for the Gowanus Canal post clean-up by various artists.  "It was a case of art informing science" Christos told the CAG.
Indeed, both 'Perfume vs. Miasma" by Rebecca Volinsky and 'Gouwani' by Suzanne Sailors and Ed Morris were well worth watching.
-Tsiamis also informed the CAG that the Feasibility Study (FS), which outlines the different options for a clean-up, will be released at the end of the year.  There will be a public meeting to discuss the FS in January 2012.
The discussion between members of the CAG and Tsiamis was broad and included such topics as bulkheads,  additional grants for technical assistance and plans for the First Street and Fourth Street canal basins, which were filled in decades ago.
-The CAG also voted on a resolution first discussed at a Water Quality/Technical Committees meeting on November 29th. It reads:
The Community Advisory Group requests that NYC DEP install real-time flow meters as soon as possible, but no later than February 15, 2012 on the Combined Sewer Overflows Identified as RH35, OH37, RH34 and OH05.
The goal is to collect data ahead of the re-activation of the Flushing Tunnel in the fall of 2012 and to determine whether the flow figures cited by the DEP are reasonable.  Local officials will be cc'd  on the request.  The resolution passed easily.
-Another important topic of the night was the Whole Foods site, located at the corner of Third Avenue and Third Street in Gowanus.  Whole Foods is scheduled to appear in front of  the Board Of Standards And Appeals (BSA) on December 13th, concerning their request for a variance to permit a food store contrary to use regulations in an M2-1 zoning district. Since the proposed 56,000 s.f. store will be built on a site that has the largest frontage of any property along the Gowanus Canal, some members of the CAG felt that the scale of the project, the proposed 12 foot grade change and bulkhead plan for the site could adversely affect the Superfund clean-up.
The following resolution was put forth buy the CAG:
1) The Gowanus CAG Requests that the NYC BSA postpone its decision on Whole Food's Variance Application until the EPA releases its Record of Decision for the clean-up plan. 2)The CAG requests that Whole Foods Market present to the CAG their general site work and bulkhead plan.
The resolution passed easily.
*The Canary Project at Parsons will run until December 15th.

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Gowanus Community Advisory Committee: A Few Dates For Upcoming Meetings

Please take note of some upcoming dates for the Environmental Protection Agency's sponsored Gowanus Canal's Community Advisory Committee (CAG).  The next  general meeting as well as some Committee meetings have been scheduled.  Below, please find the pertaining information from the CAG facilitator, Jeff Edelstein:

Dear CAG Interested Parties:
The presentations and meeting summary from the October 26 CAG meeting can be downloaded at: http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/gowanus/cag.html 

The schedule of upcoming CAG meetings is as follows:

Nov. 23, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Real Estate Committee

Nov. 29, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Water Quality Committee

Dec. 6, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Full CAG meeting, 
(Old American Can Factory, 232 3^rd Street.)

Dec. 14^th, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Outreach Committee

Members of the public are welcome to attend any CAG meetings, including committees, unless otherwise indicated.  Because space may be limited at committee meetings, please contact Jeff Edelstein at edelstein@psouth.net or 207-632-8440 to register and receive location information.

There will also be committees on 1) technical issues; 2) archeology; 3) jobs/workforce development; and 4) CAG operating procedures.  Dates for the first meetings of these committees will be announced once they have been determined.    

The agenda for the initial committee meetings will be as follows:

1. Discuss potential functions and goals of the committee.
2. What are the major issues and challenges that the committee should address?
3. Who else should/could be involved with the committee?  In what ways? 
4. What are the information needs?
5. Develop a work plan and operating procedures for the committee.
6. Next steps.

The draft agenda for the full CAG meeting on Dec. 6 includes: 1) reports from the real estate and water quality committees; 2) updates, if any, from EPA or other relevant agencies; 3) responses from EPA to any questions posed at the 10-26 meeting that have not already been addressed.  The EPA Project Manager, Christos Tsiamis, will be in attendance.

Related Reading:
Gowanus CAG Off To A Good Start After First Meeting Last Night
Reminder: Tonight, First Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group Meeting
Proposed List Of Members For The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group Released
Jeffrey Edelstein Chosen As Neutral Facilitator For Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group

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Reminder: Tonight, First Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group Meeting

Final Gowanus Canal CAG Organizational Members

Final Gowanus Canal CAG Members At-Large

Reminder!

The final member list for the first Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG) has just been released by Jeffrey Edelstein of Edelstein Associates who was chosen in May by the Carroll Gardens/ Gowanus Canal Area residents as a Neutral Facilitator. After meeting with neighborhood organizations and individuals who wished to be on the CAG and after addressing comments from the public, Edelstein has come up with a group that is representative of the community.

A Superfund Community Advisory Group is designed to serve as the focal point for the exchange of information among the local community and EPA, the State regulatory agency, and other pertinent Federal agencies involved in cleanup of the Superfund site. As its facilitator, Mr. Edelstein will serve as a representative for the CAG and will help its members understand the technical and scientific information put forth by the EPA.

A first meeting has been scheduled facilitator Edelstein for:

Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010

from 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. 

at the Old American Can Factory, 232 Third Street. 

The meeting is open to the public.

The meeting room will be open at 6:15 p.m. (with snacks and beverages) to provide the opportunity for informal discussion and to meet other CAG members. Please find the draft agenda below.

Draft agenda:

7:00 – 7:30           Welcome, opening remarks, and CAG member introductions

7:30 – 8:00           Superfund timeline, decision points, and CAG roles

8:00 – 8:30           Superfund site updates

8:30 – 8:45           Break

8:45 – 9:25           CAG structure – committees and operating procedures

9:25 – 9:40           Updates on Superfund-related community activities

9:40 – 9:55           Public comments

9:55 – 10:00        Next steps

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