The EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) has opened an investigation into why officials at EPA Region 2 have failed to enforce the timely construction of sewage retention tanks in Gowanus. This issue is crucial because the EPA has the enforcement tools — including the full weight of the Justice Department — to impose remedies and restrictions on the City and State of New York but have nevertheless allowed the City to delay tank completion for at least a decade. 

By Registered Mail and Email

Mr. Sean W. O’Donnell
Inspector General
US Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Inspector General
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (2410T)
Washington, DC 20460
[email protected]

Mr. Breon Peace
US Attorney, Eastern Districtof New York
US Department of Justice
271 Cadman Plaza East
Brooklyn, NY 11201
[email protected]

June 14, 2022

Dear Sirs:

By letter dated May 16, 2022 (copy attached), Voice of Gowanus (VoG) requested the USEPA Inspector General open a full investigation of multiple compliance and enforcement failures affecting the Gowanus Canal under Federal and State laws and regulations, including but not limited the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or“Superfund”), and the Clean Water Act (CWA).

VoG is writing again to follow-up on that correspondence for three reasons:

1. To request USEPA IG acknowledgement of receipt of the May 16, 2022 investigation request;

2. To identify additional areas for investigation (including potential criminal activity) based on events transpiring since the prior request;

3. To provide additional information regarding regulatory failures noted in the previous investigation request.

By Registered Mail and Email

Mr. Sean W. O’Donnell, USEPA Inspector General
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Inspector General
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (2410T)
Washington, DC 20460
[email protected]

May 16, 2022

Given that the USEPA Inspector General is the relevant oversight official trusted to speak the truth, promote good governance, and contribute to improved human health and the environment in the United States, our group Voice of Gowanus (VoG), a coalition of long-standing community organizations in Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood, is contacting you to investigate extensive enforcement and compliance failures related to the Gowanus Canal and its environs.

The Gowanus Rezone is an Environmental Disaster In the Making

In November 2021, the City approved an 82 block rezone of Gowanus, sweeping major environmental issues under the rug.

The Rezone:

• Will Put People on Highly Poisonous Land
• Will Make Sewage Problems Worse
• Ignores the Realities of Climate Change
• Endangers the Clean Up

Last week, VOG's own legal counsel Maureen Koetz addressed the VOG lawsuit and the many political and environmental issues that surround the Gowanus rezone with host Michael G. Haskin's on WBAI's radio program, "Living for the City."  Below, you can listen to the entire show, or read the transcript of Maureen's conversation with Michael.