Trump's EPA Cuts Could Cripple Gowanus Canal Cleanup, Officials Say

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — Massive budget cuts proposed by the Donald Trump administration could cripple federal efforts to clean up the Gowanus Canal, local officials said Tuesday.

The budget blueprint, released last week by the White House, calls for a $2.6 billion slash in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, 31 percent of its current budget. That cut would include a 30 percent cut in funding for cleanup at so-called "Superfund" sites.

The Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn's toxic, sludge-filled waterway, is one of those sites.

"President Trump's budget threatens to unravel those gains and send us back to the bad old days of choking smog and rampant pollution," New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a press conference near the canal. "As we've made clear: If the Trump administration won't meet its legal obligations to ensure basic access to a clean, safe, and healthy environment, we won't hesitate to act to protect New Yorkers."

Schneiderman was making a point about the 85 federal Superfund sites across the state, all of which he said could be threatened by the proposed budget cuts.

The Gowanus Canal, though, may be the most famous of those sites, and its years-long cleanup effort could be in jeopardy.

"The cleanup of the Gowanus Canal could be slowed by these cutbacks," Schneiderman said. "The administration could further delay these proceedings. But it's not necessary, and it's something that we're going to fight against."

A report released earlier this year by the state called the canal "one of the nation's most extensively contaminated water bodies."

"The EPA’s Gowanus Superfund cleanup will dredge toxic sludge, reduce combined sewer overflows, and restore habitat in the Gowanus Canal," City Councilman Brad Lander, whose district includes the canal, said. "We have the opportunity to move from a tarnished legacy of two centuries of industrial pollution, to a community that reduces its impact on the planet. These proposed cuts might threaten our opportunity to do this — and beyond that, these cuts will affect our overall ability to protect clean water sources, clean air, and livable environments.

You can watch the full event, featuring Schneiderman and other local elected officials, below:

Image via YouTube