This picture of the Gowanus Canal Flooding During Hurricane Sandy was taken on Second and Bonds Streets the night of the storm by Triada Samaras.Hello from CORD!
Below is the
Summary for the General Gowanus Canal CAG Meeting on Tuesday June 25, 2013:
Tuesday night's general meeting was the first opportunity the group had to meet and work with our new facilitator, Doug Sarno. Both he and Pat Tallarico will be working together with the CAG as we move along in this Superfund process.
Natalie Loney, EPA's Community Coordinator reminded us that EPA is diligently sorting through all of the public comments submitted regarding the PRAP and that the Record of Decision (ROD) was on track for sometime in September 2013. Once the ROD is in place remedial design phase begins.
There was some housekeeping and catching up issues as we all began to get to know one another. Outreach informed us that they received a good response to their survey and are working to get the CAG website into shape as a tool to announce CAG meetings provide links to EPA produced material regarding the Superfund and perhaps at some point serve as a CAG meeting summary repository.
Eymund Diegel informed the group that the oxygen pumping pipeline in the canal has been inoperative since Sandy but that the flushing tunnel would be ready to go within the next four months.It was suggested that the cost to repair the pump would far outweigh its benefits given the relatively short wait for the tunnel to get into service. Not everyone agreed. There even seemed to be conflicting information regarding the working condition of the pipe.
Nevertheless, The canal HAS been particularly, shall we say, aromatic, of late. Plus with all of the rain,the amount of visible raw sewage has been remarkable as well. We can't even imagine how high the pathogen levels must be right about now.
Some talk of design ensued. There are clearly strong feelings about the proposed plan regarding the retention tanks and their locations. A retention tank at the head of the canal where the solids and the toxic compounds which attach themselves to those solids can be captured at their source is imperative to not only the success of the canal's remediation and its ongoing future health, but the only way to replace what is now the open sewer that runs and cuts through all of our neighborhood and negatively affects each and every one of us on a daily basis.
A safe, clean newly remediated canal and Thomas Greene Park are a benefit to every single person in our community.
Our community has certainly shown that when we stick together we can get good things done. CORD is committed to pursuing a clean canal, remediated upland sites, respectful development and maintaining, no, IMPROVING, our existing community amenities and maybe adding a few more.
Lets keep moving forward. Lets keep talking. We love hearing from you so please continue to send your comments, thoughts, questions and ideas to us at, CGCORD@gmail.com
Yours,
