EPA Region 2 Presents Gowanus Canal Feasibility Study To Community

Walter Mugdan, EPA Region 2's, 
Director of the Division of Environmental Planning and Protection

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

Patty White, geologist for CH2MHill

Natalie Loney ,EPA Region 2 Community Involvement Coordinator

Brian Carr, EPA Region 2 lawyer

The Environmental Protection Agency's Region 2 team responsible for the Gowanus Canal Superfund clean-up hosted a public information meeting last night at PS 58 to present the Feasibility Study, which was released in late December 2011.

Walter Mugdan, Director of the Division of Environmental Planning and Protection, started the meeting by pointing out that his agency is on schedule. "This job is being done 2 or 3 times faster than it was plausible to expect, but the heavy lifting is yet to come, of course." he told the audience.

Mugdan praised the tremendous effort of the site's manager, Christos Tsiamis, who "is a stern task master. "  The audience gave Tsiamis a rousing round of applause.
Mugdan also acknowledged the very engaged members of the Community Advisory Group (CAG) for the Gowanus, the largest such group in the country.

Patricia White, geologist for CH2MHill, an independent contracting firm hired by the EPA, started off the presentation by reviewing background information about the site. She also explained the Feasibility Study process, which includes:
-Develop remedial action objectives
-develop preliminary remediation goals
-define remediation target areas
-identify and screen remedial technologies
-develop and screen remedial alternatives
-evaluate remedial alternatives in detail
White also pointed out that one of the key Feasibility Study consideration is re-contamination of the canal after the cl were source control from the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSOs) and storm water discharges, discharges from the three former MGP sites, contaminated groundwater discharge, street runoff and discharges from unpermitted pipes.
Christos Tsiamis took over the presentation to speak about the various technologies that were retained and combined into seven remedial alternatives and screened according to effectiveness, implementability and cost.
The sediment dredging and capping alternatives all include dredging of the highly polluted soft sediment at the bottom of the canal, but while some alternatives call for solidifying the top of the native sediment, and capping either with a two-layer cap or a three layer cap.
So far, alternatives 5 and 7 have been retained for further detailed evaluation.
The EPA is also currently evaluating the best treatment and disposal alternatives for the dredged sediment.
The alternatives include offsite disposal, offsite or onsite stabilization with beneficial use, thermal desorption, offsite cogeneration or offsite or onsite stabilization and disposal in a constructed Confined Disposal Facility (CDF)
Of course, Tsiamis pointed out, the Gowanus Canal cannot be cleaned effectively without eliminating the CSO discharges from New York City's sewer system as well as the coal tar oozing from the three National Grid MGP sites lining the canal. The CSO discharges "cannot go on from our perspective" Tsiamis stated.
New York City's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been given a schedule by DEP. Tsiamis will meet with the City to discuss this matter further in February.  ***It is important to note her that the City, one of the major Potentially Responsible Parties (PRP) has not yet signed a consent order to take responsibility of their part of the clean-up.
As for the former MGP sites, EPA is coordinating and prioritizing with National Grid, which is responsible for the clean-up and NYS Department Of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the agency in charge of overseeing the remediation of those sites. According to Walter Mugdan, DEC has been very aggressive in moving forward.

Walter Mugdan diplomatically added: "In due course, we hope that all the involved agencies will recognize what needs to be done."
The next step? A proposed remedy will be presented to the public in 6 to 8 months, and a remedy will be selected by the end of 2012.
Last night's EPA presentation can be viewed online here.


**In one final note, it was announced last night that the EPA Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) for the Gowanus Canal Superfund was awarded to Friends And Residents Of Greater Gowanus.Congratulations to Marlene Donnelly, Bette Stoltz, Linda Mariano, Margaret Maugenest and Diane Buxbaum and all the members of FROGG for their hard work on behalf of the community.

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EPA To Community At Last Night's Meeting: "Your Canal Is In Good Hands!"

EPA Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck

Walter Mugdan, EPA Region 2's

Director of the Division of Environmental Planning and Protection

Christos Tsiamis, EPA Region 2 Project Manager for the Gowanus Canal

Natalie Loney, EPA's Region 2 community involvement coordinator

Since the Environmental Protection Agency placed the Gowanus Canal on the National Priorities List in March 2010, Christos Tsiamis, EPA Region 2 Project Manager, and his team have been extremely busy conducting investigative field work. Ahead of schedule, they have released their Remedial Investigation Report (R.I.) and the Risk Assessment this last January.

"Your canal is in good hands" EPA Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck assured the community last night in P32's auditorium for a presentation of the findings. "You have the best and brightest EPA talent working on this." After introducing the team of engineers, scientists and lawyers, Enck noted the active involvement of the community, "which is a vitally important component" of the Superfund process. So far, according to Enck, there has been a good level of co-operation with the polluters as well.

Walter Mugdan, EPA's Director of the Superfund Program for Region 2, credited Christos Tsiamis for getting the Remedial Investigation Report done at an accelerated pace. "We considered this a high priority" he told the community. He noted that the Feasability Study will most likely be done by the end of this calendar year. Mugdan expects the remedial work on the canal to be completed by 2020-2022. "It took 150 years to get the canal to the contaminated state it is in now. Taking 10 to 12 years to clean it up does not seem unreasonable." The work would be done "as quickly as it can be done, properly."

Christos Tsiamis then presented the findings of the R.I. as well as the Risk Assessment. During the study, samplings were collected from:

-the top 6 inches of the canal's surface sediment

-deep sediment

-surface water

-fish and crab tissue

-air

-Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO's) and other outfalls

-soil and groundwater on adjacent properties.

The samples revealed just how polluted the Gowanus Canal is. The primary contaminants found were:

-Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

-Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

-Metals (barium, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, silver)

-Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylnes (BTEX)

-Non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL)

Concentrations of PAHs, PCB's, and eight metals were found to be significantly higher in the canal sediment than in the Gowanus Bay/Upper Harbor.

What does all of this mean as far as health risks to the community? Living, working and inhaling the air along the canal is within the acceptable carcinogen and non-carcinogen hazard range. However, re-creational use of the canal, which increases the risk of exposure to the polluted water and to the sediment, is not advisable. Neither is ingesting of fish and crabs from the canal.

During a question-and-answer period, two important issues were brought up again. The first issue involved the Combined Sewer Overflow. Though the Superfund clean-up only involves the bottom of the canal, the community has repeatedly asked the EPA to insist that New York City stop dumping raw sewage into the Gowanus. According to the NYC's Department Of Environmental Protection, 300 million gallons of Combined Sewer Owerflow (CSO's), made up of 30% storm water and 70% combined sewer waste, currently flows into the canal every year. Work currently done by DEP to upgrade the Gowanus flushing tunnel system will only reduce CSOs by 34 %. That means that a lot of raw sewage will find its way into the canal, even after the Superfund clean-up. Walter Mugdan acknowledged that fact. "It was always understood that this will not get us tothe finish line. In all likelihood, there will come a time when more work will have to be done.

The second issue was the toxicity of the uplands, specifically of Public Place, one of the most polluted sites along the Gowanus, which was once used by Brooklyn Union Gas for coal liquefication. The site has been slated by New York City for development. The Gowanus Green project, as it is ironically named, would bring 770 units of affordable housing to the shores of the Gowanus. Many in the community are sceptical that even after the NYS Department of Environmental Conservancy's remediation, the site will ever be safe for human habitation.

When asked about it, Christos Tsiamis stated: "As the engineer in charge of cleaning the Gowanus Canal, I am seriously concerned. This is something we have to look at closely." DEC's Engineering Geologist Gardiner Cross, who was on hand last night, did not seem worried, but acknowledged the fact that the site is continually leaking coal tar.

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EPA At Last Night's Meeting Regarding Gowanus Superfunding: " We Want To Do A Job That We Can Be Proud Of"

Last Night At PS 58

Just days after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it had placed the Gowanus Canal on its list of Superfund sites, Walter Mugdan, Christos Tsiamis, Brian Carr and Natalie Loney of the agency's Region 2 office, came before the Carroll Gardens/ Gowanus Area residents to speak about what it all means, to explain the clean-up schedule, and to answer questions.

Last night's meeting at PS58 started with a rousing round of applause from the audience. Clearly, the community was pleased by the recent announcement.
Walter Mugdan, EPA District 2 Director, expressed the hope that all parties will now move forward with common purpose.
" Our goal its to get the work done quickly and efficiently, while doing it carefully and thoughtfully."

Christos Tsiamis, the project manager for the Gowanus Canal clean-up, gave a brief outline of the work that lays ahead.

The EPA is currently continuing analytic field work that started in January. The Remedial Investigation includes surface sediment sampling, surface water and air sampling, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
All data will be used to do a feasibility study. By the end of 2011, the EPA will be proposing a clean-up plan. By 2012, another public process will commence, which will allow the community to comment formally on the proposal.
By the end of 2012, the EPA will make a final choice on the remedial plan. From then, it will take about 2 to 3 years to design a selected option. Dredging the bottom of the canal will most likely be required.
The actual work will take about 5 years.
The cost of the clean-up is estimated to cost from 300 to 500 million.

The cost for the clean-up will be recouped mostly from Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) Early in the clean-up process, the EPA looks for evidence to determine liability by matching wastes found at the site with parties that may have contributed to the pollution.
Nine such PRP's have already been identified by the agency, the City of New York being one of them.
In addition, another 20 companies have been sent informational request forms to determine if they are PRP's as well.
Orphan sites, or sites that have been abandoned by their owners will be cleaned up by the EPA and the cost absorbed by the agency.

The EPA will work closely with both the New York City Department Of Environmental Protection, as well as the the New York State Department Of Environmental Conservation.

This will, in my opinion, be a very exciting decade for this area. Decades of neglect are finally going to be addressed by experts, who clearly only have the best interest and health of the community in mind.

I also hope that, as a community, we will stay involved and will look towards the future. As residents of a soon to be clean Gowanus Canal area, we need to take the lead in shaping this future and not let developers decide for us.





For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

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Last Night, City Talked Gowanus Alternative Clean-Up Plan, But Didn't Seem To Convince Many

I

No, no, dear Reader, I was not at last night's meeting hosted by the City to once again tout their half-baked 'Alternative Plan' to clean the Gowanus Canal. I am still on a beach vacation in South Carolina, but you know that my Brooklyn neighborhood is never far from my mind.



This morning, I received a very thorough account of the meeting from area residents who attended the first of two meetings, one for home-owners, the other for business-owners along the canal. Last night's was for home-owners.



This is the report:

The city meeting was fairly interesting. Cas Holloway, Chief Of Staff to NYC Deputy Mayor Skyler. was the designated hitter for the city once again with Dan Walsh, Chief of the New York City Superfund and Brownfield Program, on deck for an occasional and ineffective pinch hit.



Walter Mugdan of the EPA was there and although he clearly tried to maintain his distance from the microphone, he was the voice of reason, calm and common sense.



There was a flyer distributed by the city which a local resident held up and contemptuously labeled, "spin"--others in the audience quickly and loudly agreed with this. There was a letter written by an unknown fifth generation Gowanus banks-grown person begging not to Superfund and a postcard from the cleangowanusnow.org folks printed up and ready to go for those who do not want Superfund.



There was an appearance and some questions from Josh Skaller, 39th City Council District candidate, and a surprise for me--a fellow named Doug Biviano, who is running for Councilman in the 33rd. He is a civil engineer, articulate and put the city right on the spot (one of Dan Walsh' moments were required here)



The city has no plan. They are trying to say that this can be done through the W.R.D.A. program, even though Walter Mugdan expressed doubts. Dan Wiley, of Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez's office, gave facts and the congresswoman's comments quoted in the June 11th article in the Downtown Star refuted the idea completely. They, the city, claim that they will kick in for some of the initial studies. The only thing they really seem to care about is saving certain parties money and getting the feds (basically, us) to foot a big part of the deep discount for the prps.



Walter Mugdan made it very clear that the timeline for the City's or EPA's plan will be the same. The City has no ability to move any faster than the EPA -- in fact starting with the City could actually cost more time because their plan is more complex. It is a matter of where the money comes from and how successfully all of the Potentially Reponsible Parties can agree to play nicely--all of it a very unlikely scenario.



When the city was asked why they are "expending a great amount of resources" (their words) in order to save a handful of PRP's money at the expense of a great deal of the community's wishes, they really did not have an answer.



They had a slide as part of their presentation that was widely criticized and will probably be excluded from future presentations. It was supposed to show how much better and faster the city plan is in comparison to EPA but it was a bust.



When the City was asked why two meetings, they said it was to accommodate everyone. When it was pointed out that notification was spotty and attendance not that great because of it, they apologized. They actually apologized a lot--and promised that there would be answers to some of tonight's questions tomorrow--like which developers they met with privately.

We asked them to bring the army corps of engineers with them tomorrow but no promises were made there--just an agreement to ask them to come.



Ellen was there from State Senator Daniel Squadron's office, but she said nothing. Tom Gray, of Councilman Bill De Blasio's office sent out a notice that no one from Bill's office would be there due to "scheduling conflicts", but he promised someone would be there tomorrow night and all meetings going forward. Did not see anyone from Joan Millman's office and Deanna Betteti of Yvette Clarke's office is in DC.

John Heyer Sr and Jr were there but I did not see Brad Lander, Bob Zuckerman or Buddy Scotto.

Part two of the city's Spinfest is tonight at PS32

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