Minutes of the December 8, 2020 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG Land Use Committee

The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group’s Land Use Committee met via Zoom conference on Tuesday, December 8, 2020, at 7 p.m.

Open Items:

Item 1

Draft resolution for bulkhead encroachments into canal.

Action

In lieu of a resolution, Brad will draft a letter to EPA with Peter’s assistance that states the following CAG requests: a) a navigable waterway be maintained, and b) if the lost canal surface area due to the new bulkhead encroachments exceeds the new surface area of the restored 1st Street turning basin, then additional canal surface area must be created elsewhere to offset the lost area.

New Items:

Item 1

Steve’s draft resolution summarizing Christos Tsiamis’ summary of Public Place’s cleanup history at the December 1st CAG meeting, which expresses appreciation and support for Christos’ contributions.

Action

After discussion on whether a resolution is an appropriate format for expressing support, most of the committee voted in favor of the resolution with two abstentions.

Item 2

Steve’s resolution to support EPA’s November 6, 2020 letter to DEP, which addresses the agency’s request for a schedule extension due to the city’s budget constraints.

Action

After reviewing the wording of EPA’s letter and considering whether a schedule extension is reasonable, most of the committee voted in favor of the resolution with one vote against.

Item 3

Conversation regarding the recent DEP community presentation regarding the new Unified Storm Water Rule.

Action

All agreed there are many questions, and a joint resolution should be prepared by the Water Quality and Land Use Committees. There is potential increase in contamination levels of the CSOs due to new development since building waste lines will be connected to the sewer system while storm water is retained onsite, thus lessening the dilution effect.