BROOKLYN -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has committed to a new series of tests at Newtown Creek, considered one of the most polluted waterways on the East Coast, taking any additional necessary samples at four priority sites.

If the data demonstrates high levels of toxic chemicals, the entire Newtown Creek area could be designated a federal Superfund site and may be eligible for federal funding of up to 90 percent of the cleanup costs.

The Superfund program is the federal government's principal program to clean up the nation's hazardous waste sites. Despite containing an oil spill bigger than the Exxon Valdez spill, Newtown Creek, which separates Greenpoint from Long Island City, Queens, is not a part of the federal Superfund program.

Specifically, the EPA has agreed to examine existing data on the four sites and gather the data to fill in any gaps required to consider if the sites should enter the Superfund program.

Congresspersons Anthony Weiner and Nydia Velazquez, both Brooklyn Democrats, as well as Texas Rep. Gene Green and California Rep. Hilda Solis, released a letter to the EPA in July identifying four sites along Newtown Creek for priority federal review.

The banks of the creek are home to two former hazardous waste facilities, a former copper smelting plant, and a former coal gasification complex.

State tests have found the following toxic chemicals and heavy metals in the area: cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, and mercury, petroleum-related hydrocarbons, an underground plume and/or tanks containing polychlorinated biphenyls and petroleum waste, and up to 70,000 gallons of PCB-laden waste oil.

To date, an estimated 9.4 million gallons of oil have been cleaned at Newtown Creek. As a result of several industrial explosions in the 1950s, between 17 and 30 million gallons were spilled over an area that covers 55 to 60 acres.

“The resources of the EPA will prove indispensable in protecting the creek and its surrounding communities from a legacy of toxic dumping,� said Basil Seggos, chief investigator for the environmental group Riverkeeper.

© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2008 All materials posted on BrooklynEagle.com are protected by United States copyright law. Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues. So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net