Mapping Gowanus

AREA 3LOWER CANAL2021-2022 AREA 2MID CANAL2019-2020 AREA 1UPPER CANAL2017-2018 3 2 1

Gowanus Canal Superfund Timeline

Prepared By The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group (CAG)

Remedial Target Area #1 - 2017 - 2018 - Clean the upper canal area - From Butler Street to 3rd Street

Remedial Target Area #2 - 2019 - 2020 - Clean the middle canal area - From 3rd Street to 9th Street

Remedial Target Area #3 - 2021 - 2022 - Clean the lower canal area - From 9th Street to the Erie Basin at 21st Street

Tasks Completed

2008 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) requests the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nominate the Gowanus Canal to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).
2009 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region II proposes the Gowanus Canal for the National Priorities List (NPL).
2010 Superfund Designation: EPA places the Gowanus Canal on the National Priorities List.
2010 The Gowanus Community Advisory Group (CAG) is formed, comprised of residents and stakeholders to improve public participation and provide a forum for interests and concerns related to the cleanup.
2010 Remedial Investigation (RI): Data collection and analyses of the site that determines the nature and extent of contamination.
2011 Feasibility Study (FS): Identifies feasible alternative remedies to the contamination.
2012 Proposed Remediation Action Plan (PRAP): EPAs proposed recommendation plan to address contamination in the canal.
2013 Record of Decision (ROD): A public document that explains the cleanup alternatives that will be used to clean up the site.

Tasks Remaining

2013 - 2016 Remedial Design (RD): Preparation of technical plans and specifications to implement the remedy for the canal. 
2017 - 2022

Remedial Action (RA): Construction of the remedy; Dredging the canal.

Remedial Target Area #1 - 2017 - 2018 - Clean the upper canal area - From Butler Street to 3rd Street

Remedial Target Area #2 - 2019 - 2020 - Clean the middle canal area - From 3rd Street to 9th Street

Remedial Target Area #3 - 2021 - 2022 - Clean the lower canal area - From 9th Street to the Erie Basin at 21st Street
2021 Construction Completion: Completion of physical cleanup
Next Steps Operation and Maintenance (O and M): Activities to ensure cleanup methods are working properly and remedy continues to be effective.
  Post Construction: Actions to provide long-term protection of human health and the environment.  Five-year reviews will take place to ensure that the cleanup plan is acting as designed.

Gowanus Canal History

The Gowanus Canal was one of the nation’s busiest and most polluted industrial waterways. A high level of contamination still exists in the water, the sediment at the bottom of the canal and the adjacent upland areas.

Originally, the Gowanus was a tidal creek within a saltwater marsh inhabited by the Lenape Indians and then Dutch settlers. In 1776 the Gowanus played a major role in the first major battle of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Brooklyn. In the first half of the 19th century, farms and watermills still existed but by 1867 the City of Brooklyn, third largest city in America, bulk-headed the canal and dredged it for industrial uses.