Postponed January CAG Meeting Rescheduled for February 10th

The January meeting of the full Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group (CAG) that was postponed due to the effects of winter storm Juno has been rescheduled for Tuesday, February 10th, at 6:30 p.m.  It will take place at Mary Star of the Sea, 41 1st Street, in Carroll Gardens.

The agenda is likely to include updates from the CAG’s committees, consideration of applications from – and a vote on the candidacies of – several prospective new CAG members, and a discussion of strategic-planning topics in preparation for the regularly scheduled February meeting, which will focus on the CAG’s future direction.

POSTPONED: Tonight’s Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group Meeting

Due to the effects of the significant winter storm, the January meeting of the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Committee that had been scheduled for tonight (January 27, 6:30 p.m.) has been postponed.

 

We’ll post a new date here once the meeting has been rescheduled.  Thank you for your understanding.

Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group Demands that New York City Cooperate with Superfund Cleanup Plans

The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group, at its meeting of June 24, 2014, passed the following resolution:

The Gowanus CAG, established by the EPA, which represents a cross section of residents, businesses and civic organizations in and around the Gowanus Canal corridor, demand that New York City as one of the Responsible Parties, as defined by the EPA, actively and cooperatively work with the EPA on all aspects which they are accountable for as required by the Gowanus Record of Decision (ROD), but especially for the timely determining the number(s), size and location(s), and design engineering of the required sewage retention tanks.

To date, the City’s positions/policies concerning the Gowanus Canal and the ROD and their participation in the initial design phase and cooperation with the EPA has not produced the positive results that are required for the clean-up the Gowanus Canal to proceed within the proposed schedule. The Gowanus CAG was alarmed by the recent consent order issued by the EPA against the City of New York that would be an unnecessary expense for New York City tax payers. If New York City fails or refuses participate in the planning phase, the EPA under current law can and will charge the City three times (3X) the cost to plan and build the retention tanks.

EPA Orders New York City to Begin Gowanus Retention-Tank Work

EPA Consent Order
Click on the image to read the full text of the EPA’s Unilateral Order

On Wednesday, May 28, the US Environmental Protection Agency issued a Unilateral Order to the City of New York that compels the City to begin design work for the remedial actions described in the EPA’s Record of Decision (ROD) for the Gowanus Canal, which was signed last year.

Specifically, the EPA’s Order compels New York City to perform the design for siting and building the CSO retention tanks intended to reduce sewage overflows into the Canal, and for the excavation and restoration of the 1st Street Basin, as described in the ROD. The order also asks the City to cooperate and coordinate with the other responsible parties for the dredging and capping portion of the ROD remedy.