Word: epa
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...several years Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration has lobbied to turn the borough's Gowanus Canal - a foul, PCB-laden channel that winds for nearly two miles (about 3 km) - into a destination spot for condo dwellers and upscale retail developers. On March 2, however, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offered the city a reality check when it designated the Gowanus a Superfund site. The distinction is reserved for the country's most hazardous waste sites and allows the federal government to direct cleanup and charge polluters for their share of the burden. (See 10 things...
...EPA's decision and the stigma that comes with it have deferred dreams of a Gowanus renaissance, if not quashed them altogether. During the past decade, as the real estate boom drove New York housing prices higher and higher, there seemed to be no land in the city that couldn't somehow be salvaged. The city joined local activists to zero in on the Gowanus Canal, hoping it could become the anchor for a neighborhood renewal. Several developers announced plans to construct new apartments; Whole Foods, a harbinger of upward mobility, purchased a nearby parcel. In recent years, sightings...
...were warned not to touch the water - and for good reason. Recent testing revealed the presence of heavy metals and pesticides, along with cancer-causing PCBs, concentrated in sediment at the bottom of the canal. The magnitude of the cleanup task seemed to call out for federal intervention. The EPA says its plan will take up to 12 years; the city's more modest plan was judged inadequate by federal officials...
Cheap and crumbling spaces, however, often attract a city's most creative people. A vibrant artist community has settled into the decrepit industrial landscape around the canal, and some of its members are breathing a sigh of relief in the wake of the EPA decision. High-end-condo development "presents a danger of a different sort," says Tamara Pittman, who works at the Proteus Gowanus art gallery. Pittman says she knows the canal needs to be cleaned up but still can't help admiring its "beautiful neglect." The artists who have been attracted to the area's preserved detritus...
...surface or underground mining are less environmentally destructive than mountaintop mining, they're also more expensive, so companies like Massey are reluctant to alter current practices. Going forward, however, Massey has pledged to monitor water quality; periodically it assembles a 30-member environmental review arm to do so. The EPA is also keeping tabs on mining's impact, while Obama has pledged to support the development of clean energy. Activists like Bonds say attention from the top levels of the current administration helps them continue fighting at this crucial time. But for the former residents of Lindytown...