The JANUARY 2013
Red Hook StarªRevue SOUTH BROOKLYN’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
FREE
EPA PRESENTS: THE SUPERFUND PLAN by Nic Cavell
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t a January 24 meeting in the Miccio Center, there was little of the fanfare that met the same EPA team when it placed the Gowanus Canal on its National Priorities List for toxic remediation more than three years ago. This time, the organization delivered their proposed plan for cleanup of Brooklyn’s densely polluted canal to a skeptical audience of Red Hook residents and activists. The plan calls for the dredging of over 500,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the bottom of the canal, most of which would be towed away by barges for processing off-site. Using high-powered machines, EPA contractors will excavate and entirely remove the top layer of soft sediment that lies at the canal-bottom. By doing so, the EPA will remove the This photo was taken in front of Fire Department facilities on Union Street where old fire call boxes are stored (photo by George Fiala)
From Red Hook to Kilimanjaro
by Nic Cavell t is 7 am, it is freezing, and Fran- There, even ces Medina, 23, is up. She’s sit- now, Franting at the computer in her moth- ces is busy er’s apartment in the Red Hook carrying out Houses, and she’s connecting herself an immense to the pipeline of information about workload left Red Hook. She looks at the Twitter by the hurrifeeds of local activists, friends and the cane. In her kids she mentors with Red Hook Initia- o f f i c e — o r tive (RHI). Then she reaches her hand any office, out—questioning others, posting her as offices in own informational column and follow- RHI are mixed domains, and tend to ing up with donors lined up in the wake be shared—she answers calls. “Her of Hurricane Sandy. people,” or those in the community of At 10:45 am, Frances disconnects, but Red Hook, ask about how to put on a only from her online vector. She steps benefit for RHI, or how to get involved into the cold, locks the door and goes in the organization’s volunteer corps. to Baked for iced coffee—her prefer- They call about donations they want to ences don’t change with the seasons. It make, and Frances applies a dampener looks like an indulgence for someone to suggestions of items no longer needwho “likes to take her sweet time in the ed—“No, we don’t need more hats and morning,” as she says. By 11 am, she’s scarves, thanks!”—even while she culls (continued on page 13) reported to work at RHI.
The Red Hook Star-Revue 101 Union Street Brooklyn, NY 11231
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“Despite reassurances by Tsiamos and his team, residents weren’t convinced the CDF wouldn’t pose health risks in the event of another storm like Hurricane Sandy.”
canal’s most contaminated material; and although deeper layers of sediment hold pollutants of their own, they are neither as numerous nor as mobile as those in the soft sediment. And by the EPA’s calculation, these lower layers lie at impractical-to-dredge depths. Instead dredging all layers of polluted sediment—at depths which reach more than 50 feet in some places along the canal—the EPA proposes to “cap” the freshly tilled canal basin. In the areas of most contamination, the EPA will treat and stabilize the contaminants in the deeper sediment before replacing them in the basin as the cap’s base layer. All areas, including those relatively less polluted, will employ a layer a new, clean soil as well as multiple layers of “armor,” composed of rock and gravel. Atop these layers, the canal bottom’s function as a habitat will be restored. The plan is estimated to cost the EPA half a billion dollars, and about the same for the city and state to maintain. Another core component is holding the city accountable for reducing the influx
Christos Tsiamos answers questions at Red Hook meeting (photo by Fiala)
of new pollutants and combined sewage overflows (CSOs). By cleaning the canal basin and choking off toxins leaking into the Gowanus’ waters, as well as allowing the natural flow of tides to cycle canal water into the Gowanus Bay and greater New York Harbor, the water’s own toxicity will be remediated.
A Polluted Grindstone Delivered in these broad strokes, the plan was met with little resistance. What failed to pass muster with the Red Hook audience was the EPA’s suggestion that less densely polluted material dredged from the area adjacent to Red Hook be stored and processed within the neighborhood itself. The EPA’s rationale was two-fold: by keeping the treatment process on-site, the EPA can ostensibly provide local jobs at the waste’s confined disposal facility (CDF); and by cutting out transportation to an off-site facility, the EPA can save an additional $37 million. The community’s questions came in volleys, filtered through the prism of disaster and Hurricane Sandy. Wasn’t the proposed site for the CDF in a flood zone? What kind of health risk does a facility like this pose, placed right next (continued on page 3)
Dolphin dies in canal day after meeting
Story and more photos page 7
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