Inch by inch, plan to clean up Gowanus proceeds
A review of studies that have been done so far on the polluted Gowanus Canal was produced this month by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Technical Assistance Services for Communities Unit.
The Gowanus has been named an EPA Superfund Site, mandating a heavy-duty cleanup. It is one of two Superfund sites in the borough – the other is the Newtown Creek, considered even more toxic than the Gowanus.
The Superfund process, stemming from the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, gets its name from the “super fund” of money that has been set aside to clean up hazardous waste sites.