VoG Files Lawsuit Against NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation Over Failures at Deeply Polluted Site

Parcel III of the former Citizens Gas Works (MGP site) is a continuing source of contamination for the Gowanus Canal and surrounding area. Ahead of residential redevelopment, NYS must place it in the State Superfund Program to ensure a strong cleanup.

Voice of Gowanus has filed an Article 78 petition against the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the utility giant National Grid, and the current owners of Parcel III of the Citizens former Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) Works site —aka Public Place, or Gowanus Green— which sits between Smith St. and the Gowanus Canal.

This site, according to DEC’s own findings “poses a significant threat to public health or the environment”.

The petition challenges the government’s approval of a remedial work plan that is not capable of effectively addressing the persistent contamination on and off-site of Parcel III of Citizens. The broader site —consisting of four parcels— has been historically unified and is heavily contaminated with MGP residual toxicants, including coal tar and petroleum products.

This site remains a continuing source of contamination of the Gowanus Canal and surrounding area.

Despite decades of documented contamination, DEC has repeatedly declined to remediate Parcel III through the appropriate program: the New York State Superfund, a mandatory remedial track under DEC’s direct control and oversight.

Instead, DEC has kept the site in the Brownfield Cleanup Program, a voluntary program intended for properties where contamination impedes redevelopment and no viable Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) exists—which is not the case here. Under this track, the developer drafts its own cleanup plan while receiving tax credits, meaning state taxpayers ultimately subsidize cleanup costs.

Parcel III should be placed in the State Superfund Program because there is a responsible party —National Grid, which should remediate it with DEC oversight at no cost to taxpayers.