Residents Near Brooklyn Enviro Cleanup Fear 'Cure Is Worse Than the Disease'

Residents living near Brooklyn's toxic Gowanus Canal are fighting the E.P.A.'s $500 million environmental cleanup effort over disagreement with the methods proposed by the agency. Will their opposition thwart the long-sought remediation.

1 minute read

May 7, 2013, 10:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj

Most residents who live in proximity to Brooklyn's heavily polluted Gowanus can agree on one fundamental thing: "They want the canal purged of pollutants like PCBs, lead, mercury and raw sewage..." But, as Joseph Berger reports, two neighborhood groups are fighting the Environmental Protection Agency's plans for how to accomplish that task.

"One neighborhood fears that the sludge taken out from the canal would poison the air over their ball fields, and others worry that the location of a sewage-processing site needed for the cleanup would destroy a beloved swimming pool."

"The disputes illustrate a predicament that often crops up in environmental remediation: those affected see the cure as worse than the disease."

FULL STORY: Neighbors Resist a Plan to Clean a Toxic Canal

Sunday, May 5, 2013 in The New York Times

Environment New York Gowanus Canal EPA Superfund Site Environmental Cleanup View More

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Learn More

Advertise with us

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.