National Grid Files Suit Against 40+ Entities to Roadblock Gowanus Cleanup After Misusing State Program. And EPA Official Confirms Improper Use of NYS Brownfield Program in Corrupt Bid to Shift NatGrid Cleanup Costs onto Taxpayers & Ratepayers 

National Grid, the largest responsible polluter in the Gowanus Canal federal Superfund, filed a major lawsuit in federal court naming NYC, Con Edison, Kraft Heinz, Verizon, federal agencies and other parties (here), asserting that the company’s gas customers cannot afford the skyrocketing costs of cleaning up the historic pollution in Gowanus.

National Grid looks to blame other parties responsible for the pollution, stating: "By their intransigence, the recalcitrant, remaining responsible parties are threatening to undermine the entire effort to clean up the canal.” But despite attempting to be seen as advancing the cleanup, the practical effect of NatGrid’s lawsuit will actually be to endanger and delay the cleanup.

The lawsuit, along with recent public comments from Brian Carr, lead EPA attorney for the Gowanus Superfund reveals and confirms a litany of sins:

• The long list of EPA-identified polluters haven't been paying as required by law but instead are passing the cleanup costs to both ratepayers (their customers) and taxpayers;
• EPA knew that the main toxic source material in the Canal was coming from the uplands surrounding the Gowanus Canal but has tried to avoid federal Superfund responsibility for those sites despite a clear nexus; 
• EPA has not exercised full oversight over the Gowanus uplands and has allowed NYC, NYS and NatGrid to use the NYS Brownfield Program improperly in order to shift clean-up costs to taxpayers and ratepayers across the region;
• NatGrid has never had any intention of doing a comprehensive cleanup in Gowanus that is protective of human health and the environment despite being responsible for the vast majority of the pollution. 

We previously sent a letter to EPA (here), calling for federal takeover of the upland sites around the Canal. We outline the financial engineering by NYC and NYS that aims to shield National Grid from liability and maximize taxpayer subsidies flowing to developers while also limiting the cleanup. These upland issues are currently under investigation by the EPA Inspector General, who has already called out EPA Region 2 for its failure to properly exercise federal authority in Gowanus (here). 

National Grid is trying, in particular, to minimize the remediation of the most toxic site — the Citizens MGP site — which is slated for low income families and a school in a project called “Gowanus Green.” 

In comments to the Gowanus Community Advisory Group, EPA Assistant Regional Counsel Brian Carr has validated our positions and revealed new information, stating: 

“National Grid is doing everything it possibly can to stay in compliance while dragging everything out as long as they can to keep the money in the bank.”

“They have an incredible amount of liability for a lot of these Brownfield sites where there are coal tar cleanups.”

“Citizens [MGP site]…is the single biggest polluting site on the canal.” 

“New York City and National Grid have what should be a State Superfund site in a brownfields program… and have we gotten a cleanup?”

“[Citizens] should be a State Superfund site. It was mere political will by the City of New York, who was trying to avoid liability…together with National Grid to do that. That’s just a fact. It may be scandalous for me to say that, and I know you’re taping this, and I don’t care, but it is the truth.”

“[EPA] has always been able to take over” the Citizens site. 

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EPA’s Superfund cleanup is already failing the community. Carcinogenic coal tar from National Grid sites continues to present a health risk and a risk to the Superfund remedy. The lagging 100 block-wide investigation by NYS DEC into Soil Vapor Intrusion in Gowanus shows that toxic contamination continues to spread under homes, schools and businesses. 

EPA Map Showing Worst Contamination Sites in Gowanus (the Citizens, Fulton, & Metropolitan MGP sites), for which National Grid is Liable & Responsible:

Voice of Gowanus has sent an extensive and damning letter to EPA (here). It connects all the dots on the financial engineering by NYC and NYS that has allowed the Gowanus Superfund cleanup to be compromised, shielding the responsible polluter (PRP) National Grid from liability and maximizing developer profits

This cleanup is already failing as toxic contamination continues to spread under homes, schools and businesses, where more and more toxic vapor intrusion is being discovered in the lagging 100 block-wide investigation by NYS DEC                 

The letter shows how National Grid is actively trying to minimize the remediation of the most toxic site, slated for low income families and a school                                   

We'd be happy to help answer any questions and connect you with other community members

FIND LETTER HERE

The failure for the DEC to remediate toxic sites in strict compliance with NYS laws has caused the toxic hazards that now require a massive Soil Vapor Intrusion study.  This is unforgivable, irresponsible, unacceptable, and outrageous. 

Voice of Gowanus have continued to warn about this public health crisis and yet they continue to fall on deaf ears. We need you to show up tomorrow and use your voice! Here are some potential questions to consider asking:

SVI testing for toxic chemicals inside existing buildings

• Why isn't the entire SVI study area being investigated in one fell swoop?
• Why are you not investigating all of the homes, schools, and businesses within the entire SVI study area on a comprehensive and timely basis?
• Why is the apartment complex where the meeting is being held excluded from the SVI study area even though it is perilously close to the Gowanus Canal NPL site and numerous other toxic sites? 
• How many buildings have been tested?
• When will you share with the community the results?
• Will the results must be posted publicly?  Everything related to the SVI study must be open and transparent. 
• Since government has zero credibility when it comes to protecting public health and the environment, will you share where the pollution is and who is impacted?
• Why types of testing are they doing? 
• Are they testing just vapors in the buildings or are they taking core sampling from under foundations?
• What are the risks to health?

Tenant rights 

• Why are property owners allowed to avoid the investigation.  Access to all properties must be required in order to safeguard public health. 
• with regard to testing and results, what are tenant’s rights to that information? 
• who much transparency is there for tenants? 
• Isn’t it important on an Environmental Justice issue that not only are current tenants more protected but also future tenants who may be unknowingly living on polluted soil? 

Vapor intrusion barriers

• How do we know Vapor Intrusion barriers under buildings will be thoroughly effective? 
• Are there studies to support that they will last in a flood plain at sea level?
• What happens to off-gassing pollution under wet ground when it’s trapped?
• We demand that all the homes, schools, buildings, businesses within 1,000 feet of every Brownfield, Superfund, Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal site in the entire Gowanus Canal Community SVI study area must be investigated within one year.  If properties on the edge of that SVI investigation area are found to be contaminated, the study area must be extended another 1,000 feet.

Regarding Recent floods

we’ve had at least 2 significant floods in the last 6 months

• what should you do if you walk through flooded water?
• Have we tested flood water for TCE’s? 
• Are we also testing the water and ground inside and below the buildings after it floods? 
• Why has there been more CSO in the canal this past year ? 

Climate Change

• How high on your priority list are flood prevention? 
• Do you agree that Gowanus is on the front lines of Climate Change?
• How do we know increased flooding and the rising water table won't cause widespread and unforeseen migration of coal tar and other chemicals ? 
• Who is the biggest Primary Responsible Polluter (PRP) in Gowanus?
• Do you believe that they played in a role in Climate change?
• Since this was missing in the EIS, what are the risks of rising sea tides and toxic land combined?
• Should we review the EIS and make sure it covers all of the risks of climate change?

Remediation requirements

• Why are toxic polluters allowed to avoid cleaning up the Gowanus Canal? 
• Are all abutting brownfield developments being required to have coal tar collection tanks ?
• Why is it acceptable to leave 140 feet of cancer-causing coal tar at Public Place under future low-income housing and a school?
• This is scandalous, pure corruption. Children today and in the future must be protected.  The most vulnerable in the community must be protected. 

Where is it safe to live? 

• How do we know where is safe to live in Gowanus?
• What are the risks to current and future residents from increased CSO in the Canal?
• What about the rising water table and increased flooding? How does it move toxins around the neighborhood?
• When the Dredgers boathouse is under water like it was this week what are the health hazards?
• What rights do rental tenants have to have their indoor air tested ?
• What is the liability for New York State residents if the Gowanus Brownfield site remedies fail ?
• When there's street flooding, as there was this month at the Dredgers Boathouse is there a health hazard ?

We're still hard at work, fighting to protect the health and safety of our community. Apologies if we've been a little more quiet. Just trying to respect your inboxes. 

What a Fall season in Gowanus, amiright? This week VoG sent an official email to Congressman Dan Goldman urging his increased engagement, which we feel has been lacking. You can read it for yourself here.

Here's a quick recap of what's happened this last quarter. 

We ended a summer of multiple fishkills in the canal 😵, for reasons related to extremely low oxygen levels, but clear causes were never confirmed. We applaud the Gowanus Dredgers group for their near daily testing of the water to help better understand the sources of pollution. The EPA did confirm  a coal tar breach from land adjacent to the canal in an area that was already remediated at the canal head.  

Then in late September, we were hit with a heavy rain / super tide event that resulted in 7" of rain flooding the area. The event was so catastrophic for our area that  Gov. Hochul recently requested Federal relief aid for the damage done. As the extreme weather events continue to increase, this exemplifies how Gowanus is on the frontline of climate change 🌎. It's still a mystery to us that in some parts of the city, we're doing managed retreat or building 8 foot flood walls, but here, in a floodplain at sea level with poor infrastructure, we're building thousands of new units on top of toxic land. What could go wrong?

This past October, members of VoG attended another NY State community information session that was a smoke-and-mirrors science fair using crowd dispersion tactics to avoid having an open forum. Meanwhile, the State continues to promote the use of Soil Vapor Intrusion barriers to separate pollution from new construction, claiming it's an effective solution to protecting our current and future residents. Spoiler alert, it's not. Pollution can migrate and find ways out and these solutions have never been tested longterm on residential projects at sea level. The only real solution is to dig up all the pollution and get it out. Something that we’re entitled to under NYState law. The reason that's not happening is because of one thing, money 🖤. 

http://voiceofgowanus.org/donate

Meanwhile, NY Dept. of Health officials at this event claim that their data doesn't show any cancer clusters in Gowanus. No surprise to us, because the land was formally industrial - so very few people lived here! But when pressed on this fact, the DOH acknowledged that there are carcinogenic toxins under these future buildings.  Yet they seem to be incapable of connecting the dots between what they know causes cancer, and what will happen when dangerous vapors from the toxins find their way into these new structures over time, endangering people living above ☠️.

Also this lovely Fall 🍁, the State sent out letters to specific residents asking for their voluntary participation in taking air samples inside their buildings. If the State finds Volatile Organic Compounds above safe levels inside these homes, they will help install air mitigation systems. However many building owners are reluctant to participate out of fear that their property value will be affected. Which begs the question, what makes a property more valuable? One that exists on or near legacy pollution? Or one that exists on or near pollution that's been properly cleaned up pollution. 

✅ Action item: Support the EPA’s proposed ban of cancer-causing TCE by signing this petition on Earthjustice.com

What else happened this Fall? Oh yeah, our former Borough President, turn Mayor, Eric Adams, is under Federal investigation for allegedly accepting illegal donations from a foreign country. How did he allegedly do it? Through a straw donor scheme with developers. Developers who happened to build at least two projects here in Gowanus, our lovely lavender lake community 🪝. Coincidence? We'll let the courts decide.

And speaking of Eric Adams and the city, how's that new sewage infrastructure for Gowanus working out? The EPA just announced that it allowed the City to extend the start date of the smaller sewer retention tank by nine months. Go figure 👎. 

Also this fine Fall, the Gowanus Community Advisory Group (CAG), discovered that NY State and National Grid (the potentially responsible polluter) have been denied access to Parcel 4 at Public Place 🕵🏻🔒- the extremely polluted former Citizens Manufacturing Gas Site along Smith Street. This parcel is currently used as a parking lot for ice cream trucks and food vendors, and is private property. Parcel 4 is also where up until the mid-1900s a coal tar containment tank stood. Based on recent groundwater sample wells near parcel 4, we know it's extremely polluted, but our State environmental agency can't get on the site to officially test it. So now what? Apparently the State and National Grid are suing to gain entry. Nothing shady going on with the ice cream man, never! 🫠

If you've read this far, thank you. Stay tuned with more to come. And stay positive! We realize this information can be overwhelming and deeply concerning. Our goal is to be transparent and disseminate important information with the local community.  We're in for a long fight 🥊. Nothing will change overnight but we remain optimistic that our grassroots advocacy efforts will play an  important part in our local fight against corruption and climate change. We must think global and act local. 🕊️

Please consider a donation to Voice of Gowanus. It's tax deductible and will go a long way 🙏.

"where some see neglect, I see neighborhoods. Where some see blight, I see beauty... And where some see a hell hole I see homes." youtube link

And, by the way, thank you again to the 130 residents of our community who wrote Gov. Hochul demanding a full clean up of our toxic land to pre-disposal conditions. Please take a moment to read some of those letters here.

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. 

DEC Recap

When pressed on hard issues like "how do you make sure that nobody gets sick? Or Should we be building on toxic land, at sea level, in a climate crisis?..." Their strategy was to deflect and encourage you to talk to another table.

In response to a statement in the article made by Royal Palms co-owner, Jonathan Schnapp,

Do we appreciate being called "pseudoscientists peddling misinformation to the detriment of our community"?  No, no we do not. It's precisely why we hired experts like Walter Hang of Toxics Targeting.

With all due respect, Gov. Hochul, Sean doesn't cut it. We need better. We need smarter. And everyone in that room felt the same way.

We are thrilled to let you know that our Campaign to Clean Up the Gowanus Canal Community just received massive local, state, national and international news coverage by documenting cancer-causing toxic indoor air pollution concerns at a popular club located at 514 Union Street, Brooklyn.  Our powerful new campaign is a joint effort with Toxic Targeting, an environmental data firm.

Beginning in March 2021, State health and environmental authorities knew highly toxic trichloroethylene contamination was detected in indoor air at more than 20 times the Department of Health protection guideline of two micrograms/cubic meter.  State authorities never alerted the public about the problem for nearly two years until VOG and Toxics Targeting broke the scandalous story on March 9th.