The Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday a $100 million agreement with National Grid to clean up the Gowanus Canal Superfund site.
The agreement is aimed at supporting cleanup near the head of the Gowanus Canal, including the cleanup of Thomas Greene Park and the Douglas and DeGraw Pool.
The canal water is contaminated with coal tar and industrial and sewage runoff, and it has high levels of lead and mercury. Debris and metals are also in the water.
"The settlement agreement between the EPA and National Grid is critical to moving the Superfund cleanup forward for the Gowanus Canal," Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said in a statement. "This is a matter of neighborhood health and safety, as well as environmental justice, and it's our collective job to get this right while preserving the values of open space and community character."
Officials said that under the agreement, National Grid will support dredging and build a barrier wall on the east side of the canal, between Butler and Union Streets, to try and prevent the tar from spreading to the rest of the water.
RECENT TRIPS INTO THE GOWANUS CANAL
- NY1's Michael Scotto takes a canoe trip in the Gowanus Canal
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The agreement is also expected to address contamination at Thomas Greene Park through excavation, and mixing cement into contaminated soil in an attempt to lock up contaminants.