The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that it is issuing an administrative order requiring the start of the Superfund cleanup of the Gowanus Canal.
The EPA cited the order as a major milestone in the cleanup of the site. It covers the cleanup of roughly the upper third of the canal, designated as Remediation Target Area, or RTA, 1, as well as the 1st Street turning basin.
The work required by the administrative order includes the full-scale dredging and capping of RTA 1, as well as full restoration of the 1st Street turning basin, which is currently filled in.
According to the press release issued today by the EPA, the work will cost an estimated $125 million, and should take about two-and-a-half years to complete. Work is projected to begin in September of this year, contingent upon the completion of necessary upgrades to canal bulkheads.
You can read the complete EPA press release here.
To see the EPA’s Administrative Order in its entirety, please click here.