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

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Attendees

Joan Salome-Rodriguez, (Facilitator), Corinne Brenner (Gowanus Dredgers), Katia Kelly, Susan Yung, Celeste LeCompte, Mark Yarish

Guests: Panos Adonyadis (Gowanus Remediation Trust Engineering), Aaron Kaufman (GRT), David Himmelheber (GRT Engineering), Irene Baker (National Grid), Russell Hyatt (GRT Engineering, Geologists), Emily Bachman (Department of City Planning), Victoria Sacks (EPA), Brad Vogel (Gowanus Dredgers)

You can watch a recording of the meeting here. Enter passcode E!psg51D.

Presentation by Russell and Panos (has been the Senior Principal Engineer since 2013 and is leading the design team for 1st Street Turning Basin) regarding the draft design at Turning Basin 1 (near Power House). Addressed my personal issue: legal concept of “attractive nuisance” and why properties abutting the canal would be opposed to a soft entry to the turning basins. You don’t want to make it easy for kids to step into the brackish waters. Insurance becomes an issue. Attached the presentation below.

Also linking here to Victoria’s RTA 2 presentation though we did not discuss it.

Lively discussion followed as so much has changed since the 2019 draft plan. This plan has more wetland than the original plan. The presentation is attached to this email so I will not go into detail in these minutes as to what it looks like, but suffice it to say the team has revisited the entire concept in part in light of input from the Gowanus Canal Conservancy and Gowanus Dredgers and, it appears, because of the Gowanus rezoning. They now have a wetland shelf concept. They took rising water levels into account. We looked at the 2018 CAG resolution to see if this plan was consistent with it. I think that requires a bit more discussion. Panos says this design gives water access, marine access and wetland access, but Katia is concerned it gives less water as the EPA’s Record of Decision is very precise about how much water restoration the community is entitled to as an offset for the loss of canal water due to bulkheads. Per the ROD:

“The remedy will also include the excavation and restoration of approximately 475 feet of the filled-in former 1st Street turning basin.” 

Here is the link:

https://semspub.epa.gov/work/02/692106.pdf (page 81)

Gary was very pleased with this design because of the marsh. Corinne was curious to see info on the water surface area. Panos states the water area is 30 feet wide.  

I asked DCP what agency would own the turning basin. They did not know.

The presentation and discussion took up most of the meeting so I quickly reposted the items below: 

  1. Victoria got back to us and will be presenting at either the July or September General CAG meeting to explain answers to the questions we have been asking about mounding and groundwater contamination. Thus, I will not be covering this ongoing item at the next meeting. Please refer to the last few posted minutes to refresh your recollection.
  2. Followed up with Heidi Dudek at DEC about the unremediated section of the Whole Foods parking lot on 6/29. Awaiting response.  
  3. Last month we said we should ask again for a hydrology study for the entire neighborhood. As it turns out, for RTA 2 it appears the Trust did one. Aaron will follow up as to whether the Trust also did one for RTA 1. As for a toxic plume study, I suggest we work with the Land Use committee for that.
  4. IRIS Act: I asked Victoria if EPA was using IRIS data in the Canal and if they would still have access to the data if the act passes. She says yes.
  5. Can DEC test groundwater pooling in basements or on properties for contaminants? This was not addressed.
  6. Water Quality needs a Mission Statement. Erica and I have started drafts. This is where we left off: “The mission of the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group (CAG) Water Quality Committee is to advocate for: a cleanup of the canal that addresses historical and ongoing pollution in both the Canal and the surrounding community; propose changes to improve the health of the canal; and call for actions by agency partners to address toxins that continue to threaten both the effectiveness of the remedy remediation efforts and the community’s ability to safely recreate in, on, and around the canal.”
  7. Came across this interesting DEC item: More than $78 Million in Grant Funding Now Available for Water Quality Protection Projects Across the State: Funding Supports Updating Water Infrastructure, Combatting Harmful Algal Blooms, Protecting Drinking Water, Increasing Flood Resilience, and Preventing Potential Contamination. Applications Due July 31. DEC Acting Commissioner Amanda Lefton today announced the availability of funds for water quality improvement and protection projects. The funding is part of the millions of dollars now available through the Consolidated Funding Application recently announced by Governor Kathy Hochul for a wide range of programs. This year, at least $75 million is available through DEC’s Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) program and up to $3 million is available through DEC’s Non-Agriculture Nonpoint Source Planning and Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Mapping Grant (NPG) program. Applications for these grants are available through the New York State’s Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) through July 31, 2025, at 4 p.m. Find information on the application deadline and more in the full DEC press release.
  8. Finally, followed up on the dewatering Spdes permit at 3rd Street and 3rd Avenue. We decided to pose the following questions to DEC contact and Heidi: https://dec.ny.gov/news/environmental-notice-bulletin/2025-06-25/completed-application/brooklyn-third-street-owner-llc-prop-redevelopment

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