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.
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
NYC Unveils Plans for Cleaning Up One of Its Most Polluted Waterways
The EPA has released plans for how it intends to clean up Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal Superfund site. Branden Klayko reports on the $500 million, two pronged approach.
EPA Launches Long-Awaited Cleanup of Gowanus Canal
Gowanus Creek was channelized in the 1800s and has been accumulating sludge ever since.
New York Tries to Dodge Superfund Status for Canal
New York City's Gowanus Canal has been heavily polluted for years. Mayor Bloomberg said the cleanup would happen, but it never did. Now the EPA is calling the troubled waterway a Superfund site and the city is kickstarting action.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Has President Trump Met His Match?
Doug Ford, the no-nonsense premier of Canada's most populous province, Ontario, is taking on Trump where it hurts — making American energy more expensive.
Study: London ULEZ Rapidly Cleaning up Air Pollution
Expanding the city’s ultra low-emission zone has resulted in dramatic drops in particle emissions in inner and outer London.
San Jose Mayor Takes Dual Approach to Unsheltered Homeless Population
In a commentary published in The Mercury News, Mayor Matt Mahan describes a shelter and law enforcement approach to ending targeted homeless encampments within Northern California's largest city.
Atlanta Changes Beltline Rail Plan
City officials say they are committed to building rail connections, but are nixing a prior plan to extend the streetcar network.
Are Black Mayors Being Pushed Out of Office?
The mayors of New York, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh all stand to lose their seats in the coming weeks. They also all happen to be Black.
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