March 25, 2025 Update from EPA Region 2 on the Status of Work In and Around the Gowanus Canal

The Environmental Protection Agency provided the following update on the status of the Superfund cleanup of the Gowanus Canal at our March 25 general meeting.

Red Hook (RH-034) Tank

As of today, excavation is 100% complete, pending final elevation surveying. This is a major milestone for the project. Furthermore, it was completed almost six months ahead of the originally anticipated 10-month schedule and over one month ahead of the accelerated schedule we presented during our December 2024 meeting.

Following completion of the soil excavation, there are several activities that will need to take place, including, most importantly, waterproofing of the tank walls. Once these activities are completed, tank construction will begin, likely in May or June 2025. In order to keep the excavation area dry, groundwater will continue to be pumped to and treated in the on-site water treatment plant until the bottom slab of the tank is poured. This should be complete by October or November 2025.

Owl’s Head (OH-007) Tank

Moving on to the Owl’s Head tank, work is continuing on the construction of the perimeter wall. As of today, 40 panels have been completed out of a total of 138 planned for the entire perimeter wall. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s contractor is averaging completion of four to five panels per week, and we expect this phase of the project to wrap up sometime around September or October of this year. Similar to the Red Hook tank, full-scale excavation will follow. 

Bulkheads

Bulkheads installation along Remedial Target Area 2 (mid-canal) is currently in progress.

Carroll Street Bridge

  • The Carroll Street Bridge design has been finalized and approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
  • Construction is scheduled to start in April 2025 and expected to take approximately nine months to complete.
  • The contractor has begun the preparatory work for the repairs and precast panels are being fabricated offsite. 
  • Reopening of the bridge is estimated to be possible in early 2026.

Turning Basin 1

As mentioned in previous CAG meetings, the Trust and EPA have been re-evaluating the design for the restoration of the former First Street Turning Basin. We are looking to deliver an end product to the community that better integrates with community interests while still meeting the needs of the cleanup.

EPA and the Trust are now moving forward with a design concept that better aligns with the Gowanus Lowlands Master Plan while maintaining equal protection to human health and the environment through an excavation and containment approach. Features of the new design concept include:

  • Uninterrupted canal access via shoreline walkway
  • Kayak launch access point
  • Communal/educational space
  • Diverse ecological habitat including larger wetland footprint
  • Integrated landscape with surrounding properties

The Trust is currently performing geotechnical surveying in Turning Basin 1 as part of the redesign.

Minutes of the March 17, 2025 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG’s Administrative Committee

Attendees

Katia Kelly
Joan Salome-Rodriguez
Louis Kleinman

The CAG’s Administrative Committee met on March 17 to review the CAG membership application of Oscar Fock.

The Committee unanimously voted to move the application on to the general membership for an interview and vote at the next CAG general meeting. The Committee recommends Oscar Fock’s application for the following reasons:

  • His application is complete.
  • Though he does not live in the immediate area, he works within the Gowanus Superfund community.
  • As a reporter, he may have a unique opportunity to reach out to a wider segment of the community to inform on CAG matters.

Minutes prepared by Katia Kelly.

Minutes of the March 3, 2025 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG Water Quality & Technical Committee

Attendees

Joan Salome-Rodriguez (Facilitator), Marlene Donnelly, Erica Eliason, Katia Kelly, Louis Kleinman, Margaret Maugenest, Susan Yung
Guests: Aaron Kaufman (Trust), Corinne Brenner, Li Chin-Drachman, Pratt SES – Sher Gallo Netto, Christopher Hauserman, Dhruvin Thakkar

1: Li reported and showed a Powerpoint she prepared. She is doing work on a community-led initiative for cleaner waterways and wishes to explore potential collaboration opportunities regarding a campaign to address sewage overflow and water pollution in the Gowanus Canal. She is seeking insights on how to deal with sewage overflow from New York City’s combined sewer system leading to increased water pollution, impacting both the environment and residents—particularly those in basement and first-floor apartments prone to sewage backflow. Her campaign focuses on a community-based solution: integrating rain barrels into schools, gardens, and homes to reduce the amount of rainwater entering the sewage system. This initiative would not only help mitigate overflow but also repurpose collected rainwater for gardening and cleaning, reducing unnecessary clean water use. If successful, she plans to advocate for policies that prevent real estate development in high-risk flood zones, which disproportionately impact lower-income residents.

Marlene indicated that the 8,000 new units will cause more issues and that the CSO tanks being built really do little for the Gowanus area since what they catch is runoff from Atlantic Yards and Park Slope.  The Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP) had given rain barrels out at one point. Katia called rain barrels a fine idea that Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon supported but, in our area, is ultimately a “drop on a hot rock,” though every drop counts.  Marlene suggested Li reach out to Eymund Diegel who had given this issue a hard look.

2: Joan reported – US Geological Survey work being done on behalf of the DEP – Michael Como got back to me.  The USGS is looking at Gowanus but, disappointingly, is still only looking at the Federal Monitoring Well on Sterling Place and 6th Avenue. Reminded him that the Sterling Place well was quite a ways from Gowanus and quite a ways uphill from Gowanus and we need them to come down to at least Nevins between Sackett and Union (I think there are City water caps there). Have not heard back about that – will follow up.

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Minutes of the February 3, 2025 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG Water Quality & Technical Committee

Attendees

Joan Salome-Rodriguez (Facilitator), Erica Eliason, Katia Kelly, Louis Kleinman, Margaret Maugenest, Susan Yung
Guests: Aaron Kaufman (Trust)

The Committee finalized the follow-up questions for EPA Remedial Project Manager Victoria Sacks: PDF here and already sent to her (thanks to Erica for the formatting cleanup!).

That item took up much of the meeting, but we also agreed that Erica would follow up with Mr. Fegal regarding the NYS DEC water quality standards review. She has already done so.

We also agreed that I would follow up on the NYC DEP-US Geological Survey groundwater survey (done).

Finally, we know that pen has been put to paper for designs at Turning Basin 1.  We do not know the deadline but have asked.  

Minutes of the February 3, 2025 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG Archaeology Committee

Attendees

Joan Salome-Rodriguez (Facilitator), Joseph Alexiou, Katia Kelly, Andrea Parker, Peter Reich
Guests: Aaron Kaufman (Trust), Mary Hedge (Archivist), Michael Killian, Margaret Maugenest.

We summarized the meeting Peter and I had with Kim Maier at The Old Stone House and her suggestions that we come up with:

  • a strategic business plan
  • conduct curated exhibition planning
  • explore grants
  • explore funding possibilities (can our City Council member fund a space like the Coignet Stone Building?)
  • explore walking tours with Johnny Thornton & Emily Chiavelli for spaces on the esplanades
  • reach out to Brooklyn College Museum Studies Program for help.
  • keep thinking about spaces for exhibits (temporary or permanent) including Arts Gowanus, new GCC space, Thomas Greene Park community center, Brooklyn Public Library
  • approach the Department of Cultural Affairs and/or Department of Arts
  • find a fiscal sponsor (OSH offered)

Introduced Mary Hedge, a local archivist of many talents.

  • She said we have good intellectual control because we have all the history of the objects that have been retrieved, but
  • We need to work on provenance, ownership and 
  • Safe storage (fundraiser?).  Some storage conditions currently are good, others need work.
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Photo of three EPA staff members on the TAGA (trace air gas analyzer) bus in February 2025.

What’s In The Air? A Community Open House with EPA Scientists

Thanks to everyone who came out on a cold Brooklyn evening to make the TAGA bus open house a huge success. We hope you learned as much as we did (even over the roar and hum of the pumps!) and had a chance to meet some of your neighbors. We’re hoping to organize a second event in March or April; stay tuned!

In case the pumps were too loud (or you weren’t able to attend), the TAGA Bus is in the neighborhood in order to monitor air quality related to excavation work for the Red Hook Facility, an underground tank that will keep up to 8 million gallons of combined sewage out of the Canal during rainstorms. The TAGA bus is looking for one chemical in particular: naphthalene. Its sensors are measuring how much of it is in the air approximately 2 times per second! We are looking forward to a presentation on the analyzed data in March.

  • EPA’s Dave Mickunas explains real-time naphthalene monitoring.
  • EPA’s Natalie Loney gives an overview of the Gowanus Superfund cleanup.
  • Thanks, EPA TAGA team!
  • A closer look at the lab equipment.

You can find copies of the printed materials we had on-site in this Google Drive folder, including an example of the data collected by the equipment on the bus from December. Feel free to print and share. You can also watch and share this nice piece from News12 about the event! 

All of these documents are available on websites hosted by the various agencies and organizations that are working on cleanup efforts in our neighborhood, along with many other resources. Below are some more details and links, as well as some ways to stay involved.

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Gowanus Canal Superfund Cleanup Community Update #7

Contractors working under the supervision of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are in the process of installing bulkhead support systems along the Gowanus Canal between 3rd Street and Hamilton Avenue, designated as Remedial Target Area 2. The bulkhead supports, which will take approximately two years to install, will prevent the collapse of existing canal-front structures when dredging of contaminated sediment begins. You can read about this work, and other news, in the EPA’s Community Update #7, embedded below and available as a PDF here.

Minutes of the January 7, 2025 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG’s Land Use Committee

Attendees: Steve Marcus – Facilitator, Louis Kleinman, Katia Kelly, Hildegaard Link, Andrea Parker, Erica Eliason, Linda Laviolette, Peter Reich, Lisa Bowstead, Diane Buxbaum, Susan Yung & Joan Salome-Rodriguez

Guests: Terri Thomson, Aaron Kaufman, Alex Gregor & Oscar Fock

We discussed the following:

1) Timeline of EPA’s remediation of Thomas Greene Park and DD Pool.

Andrea has volunteered to reach out to EPA on behalf of the Committee for more details.

2) Lisa’s draft letter to John Price.

It was decided to hold off until we have more information.

3) Follow up with Aaron Fischer regarding the committee’s 11/13/24 “follow up” questions.

It was suggested that Steve reach out to Aaron directly.

4) Discussion regarding a recent CB6 meeting 

It was suggested that Lisa share her work with the Nevins/Sackett Street neighbors with the folks at CB6.

5) NYSDEC proposed rules changes for the Brownfield Program

It was suggested that we reach out to DEC for more details and Steve will draft and circulate an email asking for more information.

6) Discussion regarding inviting Dr. Smith to our February Land Use Committee meeting.

It was agreed that we would like to extend an invitation to Dr. Smith for our next Committee meeting and, it was also agreed that we should submit questions to her in advance that the Committee would like addressed. Hildegaard sent out a google doc for all of us to submit questions. 

7) Hildegaard shared with the Committee the draft regarding “Wellness and Nuisance Odors.”
Please check your email for this draft and please give Erica and Hildegaard your feedback.

8) Hildegaard has kindly offered the help of her students for any Land Use Committee-related work. 

Please refer to Hildegaard’s email for more information.

Minutes of the January 7, 2025 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG’s Water Quality & Technical Committee

Attendees

Joan Salome-Rodriguez (Facilitator), Katia Kelly, Louis Kleinman, Susan Yung, Erica Eliason.
Guests:  Terri Thomson, Aaron Kaufman, Corinne Brenner

The Committee discussed the following questions and decided which answers from Victoria Sacks (EPA Remedial Project Manager) needed follow-up (I will be drafting a follow-up for Victoria, Erica will put it on a Google Doc for editing by the committee):

1)  What will go in the gap between the old and new bulkheads on the Whole Foods site?

A minimum one-foot layer of AquaBlok will be placed in the gap, followed by gravel to existing grade. For structural stability, the new bulkhead support system requires tieback anchors to be drilled through the face of the wall.

Per Aaron Kaufman:  AquaBlok goes down at the bottom of where the old bulkhead meets the new bulkhead.  The gravel goes up to the level of the parking lot.  The tieback attaches to the new bulkhead and through the old one and deep into the soil (up to 50 feet deep) and the soil holds it in place.  This type of tieback is an industry-accepted standard and has been used elsewhere (in answer to Louis’s question).

2)  Was the Whole Foods site footprint remediated when it was built?

The Whole Foods property is in NYSDEC’s Brownfield Cleanup Program and was remediated in approximately 2013. EPA was satisfied with the remedy at that time. Please refer to the NYSDEC Brownfield Cleanup Program website for further details.

 Although the answer to this question was yes, see the answer to # 3 below – not so reassuring.

3)  Can the new bulkhead be perforated?

Perforations have been made solely to extend existing outfalls. Otherwise, these bulkheads are typically required to be sealed without perforations as a backup cleanup measure in case there was undetected residual subsurface contamination present.

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