EPA, DEP reach preliminary agreement on locations for Gowanus CSO retention tanks
Riverkeeper Is Not Pleased
The cleanup of the notorious Gowanus Canal — referred to by some as arguably the dirtiest waterway in America — took a small step in the right direction this month.
The plan to clean the Gowanus Canal — which is estimated to cost $506 million — includes dredging contaminated deposit at the bottom of the canal that has accumulated as a result of industrial and sewer discharges, as well as installing two 8 million-gallon sewage and storm water retention tanks to prevent combined sewer overflow, or CSO.
The latter part of the plan progressed on April 14 as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) preliminarily agreed on two locations for the tanks along the canal.