Gowanus residents are cautiously optimistic about relief from noxious odors stinking up the area after officials on Tuesday vowed to tackle the stench coming from the latest Gowanus Canal clean-up project.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the city Department of Environmental Protection started to install the first of two combined sewer control tanks in March 2023 to help mitigate sewage overflow in the Gowanus Canal during rainstorms. The northern tank currently being constructed along Nevins Street, between Butler and Degraw Streets, will hold up to 8 million tons of sewage.
Shortly after construction began, residents noticed a pungent smell coming from the Superfund project, which they said was so overwhelming at times that they had to seek shelter indoors.
“The EPA and DEP knew right from the beginning how polluted with coal tar the site was,” Gowanus resident Katia Kelly told BK Reader. “Yet, neither agency took measures to protect the community.”
DEP representatives at a virtual community meeting on Tuesday said the agency would implement new odor-reducing measures including spraying the excavated soil with a non-toxic odor-blocking shell, tarping exposed soil overnight and installing a vapor vacuum over active excavation sites to capture and treat vapors.
Officials also said the project’s construction timeline for the second phase will be reduced to five months from the original ten months.
“The EPA is very clear about what our expectations are with regard to the DEP’s interactions with the community, not only in terms of the extended air monitoring but the reporting,” said EPA Community Involvement Coordinator Natalie Loney. “There were adjustments made in both the EPA and DEP’s approach to the second phase of work, particularly taking into consideration the concerns that were raised by the community.”
Gowanus resident Katherine Buckel said she has gotten headaches from the smell in the past.
“I cannot open windows or spend time in my backyard or on my roof. I cannot take my kids to the local playground or pool,” Buckel said via email.
Lisa Bowstead, a member of the Gowanus Canal Community Advocacy Group wondered why officials couldn’t come up with these solutions when residents flagged the problems a year ago.
“We’re cautiously optimistic, but we’re still mad about the past year,” said Bowstead, who described the smell as similar to freshly poured asphalt.
Residents said they felt their concerns were dismissed by EPA and city officials throughout the year.
“When we complain about the smells they minimize our complaints or blame others on the block, like the local auto body shop,” Buckel said. “I am disgusted with the way the EPA and the city have handled the situation. There has been no accountability or admission of the scale of the problem or the impact the noxious odors are having on residents and our quality of life.”
Celeste LeCompte, another member of the advocacy group, said the meeting was an overall win.
“A few months ago, it was posed to us as a zero-sum game,” LeCompte said. “They said well you could have the odors mitigated, or you could have the tanks built on schedule.”
But when the community pressed officials to come up with a different solution, the agencies presented them ahead of the second phase of construction, she added.
“The tone of the conversation was dramatically improved,” LeCompte said.
