By Samuel Newhouse
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

GOWANUS — A nonprofit environmental watchdog group, Riverkeeper, is going to court with claims that three Brooklyn companies are polluting the Gowanus Canal, and will face charges via citizens’ lawsuit if they don’t fix the problem.

This move comes as part of Riverkeeper’s enforcement campaign to protect the canal, well known for its heavy pollution.

Riverkeeper filed notices of intent to sue to the following companies, all of which are located along the canal:

•Sixth Street Iron and Metal, a scrap yard, for allegedly dumping metal, and debris into the canal. •Ferrara Brothers Building Materials Corp, a cement plant allegedly discharging liquid cement and stone into the canal.

•107 Sixth Street LLC and 36-2nd-J Corp., for allegedly operating an open dump and filling the canal from a parking lot on their property.

Riverkeeper also issued a warning letter to the NYC Department of Transportation after reportedly documenting a turbid plume of water coming from a stone barge at the DOT Asphalt Plant on Gowanus Bay.

“It’s a shot across the bow,� explained Joshua Verleun, Riverkeeper staff attorney and investigator. “It’s a way of saying we’ve been patrolling, we caught you doing this, now you need to do something about it.�

Filing the notices is the first step in filing a citizens’ lawsuit under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and Resource Conserv-ation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which were violated by these three companies, according to Riverkeeper.

For 60 days after the date of filing, the accused companies have a chance to either change their polluting practices, or the state’s Environmental Protection Agency to step in and file charges as well.

“This opens up a 60-day waiting period where the polluters can come to us and say we’re going to correct this,� Verleun said. “Our hope is to never have to go and actually file a case in court.�

Riverkeeper patrols rivers from New York City to Albany regularly. It has recently been performing regular tests on the quality of water and levels of pollution in the Gowanus Canal, and investigating sites along the canal that are contributing to the pollution.

Verleun said that staff from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office’s Environmental Crimes Unit have supported Riverkee-per’s efforts, although the D.A.’s Office is not filing any charges.

“The actions taken today represent a new chapter in Riverkeeper’s historic battle to bring polluters to justice and clean up the Hudson River and New York Harbor for current and future generations,� said Phillip Musegaas, Hudson River program director at Riverkeeper. “For too long, the Gowanus has been abused as an open sewer and dumping ground for polluters, resulting in a blight on local communities and a water pollution nightmare.�

The Gowanus Canal has suffered from over 150 years of virtually unregulated industrial use, and as a result is one of the most heavily contaminated waterbodies in the nation, according to Riverkeeper. Cleaning efforts started over 10 years ago with the reopening of the canal’s flushing tunnel and pump.

Riverkeeper supports designation of the Gowanus Canal as a federal Superfund site to clean up the aftereffects of its years as a dumping site for industrial waste, raw sewage, and other pollution.

Questions? Comments? Sound off to the Editor

© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2009 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