Chuck Schumer Joins Fight Over Gowanus Canal Cleanup Funding

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — The fight over federal funding for the cleanup of our dear sludge-river is reaching some of the highest levels of government in Washington.

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer is now vowing to do "everything in my power" to stop President Trump's proposed EPA cuts, which could cripple the money that goes toward Gowanus Canal cleanup.

"Cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund budget could be detrimental to the cleanup efforts currently underway at the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn," Schumer said in a statement this week.

"President Trump’s proposal would take an axe to federal funds we need to keep our water clean to drink, our beaches safe to swim in and our air safe to breathe and that’s why I will do everything in my power to beat back this radical effort to slash the EPA’s budget."

Trump's proposed budget would cut EPA funding by $2.6 billion, including $330 million that go toward cleanup of uber-toxic "superfund" sites.

The Gowanus Canal — the 100-foot-wide, 1.8-mile waterway that's been called one of the dirtiest in the country — is one of those sites.

The EPA's local project manager for the canal sounded alarm bells last week at a community advisory meeting last week, saying the money had dried up and cleanup would stop by April 18 if no more could be found.

"There’s need of money and without that money nothing can be done, that is the truth," Christos Tsiamis said at the meeting, according to the Brooklyn Paper.

"We have made a request for additional funds to continue oversight and the silence has been deafening. We haven’t heard anything yet."

An EPA spokeswoman earlier this week, though, told Patch that isn't true.

"Work on the Gowanus is expected to continue using funding that the EPA already has and, as is the goal of the Superfund program, relying on the work being conducted by those parties responsible for pollution at the site," Mary Mears wrote in an email.

"The regional office has not requested additional funding from EPA’s national office."

U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, whose district includes the canal, is also speaking out.

"Time and again, this Administration has shown a determination to put polluters ahead of the public health and the environment," she said. "This extends to the White House’s proposal to slash funding for EPA and its Superfund program, hobbling cleanup efforts at sites like the Gowanus Canal. We must stand united in opposing these ill-conceived cuts, which will damage our communities."

Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls