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The Gowanus Canal, one of the U.S.' most polluted waterways, is be cleaned-up after a century's worth of industrial contaminants and combined sewage overflows. Dredging, remediation, and neighborhood revitalization projects are underway.

The Gowanus Canal is located in New York City in the Borough of Brooklyn (Kings County). It measures 1.8 miles long and 100 feet wide and is bounded by several neighborhoods including Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, and Red Hook.

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Type of conflict. 1st level:

Waste Management

Type of conflict. 2nd level:

Landfills, toxic waste treatment, uncontrolled dump sites
Manufacturing activities
Water treatment and access to sanitation (access to sewage)

Project Details and Actors

Project details

It has been found that the Gowanus Canal contains a dangerous amount of toxic and hazardous contaminants. Three former manufactured gas plants, the former Fulton, Citizens Gas Works, and Metropolitan Gas Light Company MGP sites, are believed to be the main sources of much of the PAH contamination in the canal [4]. National Grid is the PRP for these former sites. Other major PRPs are the City of New York, Consolidated Edison Co. of New York Inc., Hess Corp., Honeywell International, and the Brooklyn Improvement Co [7]. There are also 30 other private and federal government entities that have "significantly smaller shares of responsibility" and they are: Beazer East, Inc., Chemtura Corp., U.S. Navy, Cibro Petroleum Products, Inc., Kraft Foods Global, Inc., Stauffer Management Company, LLC, Daniel Tinneny, H.J. Baker & Bro., Inc., MCIZ Corp., Fifteen Second Avenue LLC, Brink's Inc., Rapid American Corp., Bayside Fuel Oil Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., ExxonMobil Oil Corp., Citigroup, Inc./MRC Holdings, Inc., NL Industries, Inc., Patterson Fuel Oil Company, Inc., Chevron Corp., Verizon New York Inc., SPX Corporation, U.S. Postal Service, Dun and Bradstreet Corp., Cooper Standard Automotive, Inc., Rexam Beverage Can Co., NIC Holding Corporation, Hauck Manufacturing Co., CBS Corp., Beam Inc., TDA Industries, Inc., Northeastern Plastics, Inc., and U.S. Maritime Administration [17]. The list of PRPs may change based on further developments.

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Level of Investment for the conflictive project

506,000,000.00

Type of population

Urban

Affected Population:

~21,000

Start of the conflict:

1910

Relevant government actors:

Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)
New York City
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
the New York State Department of Health
New York City Department of Environmental Protection

International and Finance Institutions

National Grid from United Kingdom
Honeywell International

Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available:

Gowanus Canal Conservancy - https://gowanuscanalconservancy.org/
Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice - https://www.gncj.org/
Our Lady of Peace - https://ourladyofpeace-brooklyn.org/
Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club

Intensity

MEDIUM (street protests, visible mobilization)

Reaction stage

In REACTION to the implementation (during construction or operation)

Groups mobilizing:

Local ejos
Neighbours/citizens/communities
Women
Ethnically/racially discriminated groups
Recreational users

Forms of mobilization:

Development of alternative proposals
Media based activism/alternative media
Official complaint letters and petitions
Public campaigns
Street protest/marches

Environmental Impacts

Visible: Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Floods (river, coastal, mudflow), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Waste overflow, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Reduced ecological / hydrological connectivity, Oil spills
Potential: Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems

Health Impacts

Visible: Exposure to unknown or uncertain complex risks (radiation, etc...)

Socio-economical Impacts

Visible: Displacement

Other socio-economic impacts

Gentrification

Project Status

Under construction

Conflict outcome / response:

Environmental improvements, rehabilitation/restoration of area
Project temporarily suspended

Proposal and development of alternatives:

The Gowanus Canal Conservancy and the Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice are demanding additions to the rezoning proposal which would further protect the tenants of New York City Housing Authority developments, specifically the Warren Street, Wyckoff Gardens, and Gowanus Houses. They demand funding and representation to pay for improvements of the buildings by following HUD Section 3 hiring policies to ensure that local and low-income residents are hired to complete the work. The Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice also wants the City to support an Environmental Justice and Racial Equity Assessment as well as ensuring all CD6 residents are included in a Community Health Needs Assessment and Emergency Preparedness Plan to address local health disparities and disaster risks. Most parts of the proposals by environmental justice organizations are in agreement with the EPA and city plans.

Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?:

Not Sure

Briefly explain:

The remediation process is not complete and the Gowanus Canal remains an unsafe resource for the community. The effects of the cleanup, restoration, and beautification will further the threats of gentrification against BIPOC residents. The propsed Gowanus neighborhood rezoning is part of this concern. Access to the plannes green spaces and infrastructure may still be unequal.

References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries

[3] The significance of polycyclic aromatic

hydrocarbons as environmental carcinogens
[click to view]

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Gowanus Canal Cleanup, New York state, USA | EJAtlas

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The Gowanus Canal, one of the U.S.' most polluted waterways, is be cleaned-up after a century's worth of industrial contaminants and combined sewage overflows. Dredging, remediation, and neighborhood revitalization projects are underway.

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My statement that I say through the visuals is that we are all equal on one planet, so we should work together to stop climate change. I said "one earth, one species" because we only have one chance at saving this planet.

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Tradebe-owned Norlite Plant burning chemical foam for US Department of Defense in Cohoes, New York, affecting residents of a nearby neighborhood. EJ mobilization managed to stop the plant, for now, awaiting for scientific tests of contaminants

This environmental justice conflict stems from the industrial rotary kiln "Norlite" in Cohoes, NY, burning Aqueous Fire Fighting Foam/Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) in 2018 and 2019 [1]. Norlite has been operating on South Saratoga Street in Cohoes, NY -- a city of 16,500 people eight miles North of Albany -- since the 1950's [13]. However, Norlite is now a subsidiary of "Tradebe," which is a waste management company based in Barcelona, Spain. Tradebe operates in Spain, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Oman [12]. Generally, Norlite acts as an (aforementioned) industrial rotary kiln to produce aggregate shale, mainly used in construction. The mining for this shale occurs in an on-site quarry, in Cohoes, NY, and Norlite's aggregate shale has been used in projects ranging from the TWA terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York to the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore Maryland [17].

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Project Details and Actors

Project details

-Aside from AFFF, Norlite also burns over 475 chemical descriptions. Of the toxic waste that contains these chemical descriptions, 38% of the waste shipped is from within New York State, 37% is from Connecticut, 9% is from Pennsylvania, and 16% is from other states.

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Level of Investment:

Unclear.

Type of population

Urban

Start of the conflict:

2020

Relevant government actors:

The United States Department of Defense, The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, The New York State Assembly and Senate, The Environmental Protection Agency, the Mayor and City Council of Cohoes, NY

Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available:

Lights Out Norlite
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LightsOutNorlite
Saratoga Sites Against Norlite Incineration
Hudson Mohawk Environmental Action Network:
http://hmean.org/
The Sanctuary for Independent Media https://www.mediasanctuary.org/

Intensity

LOW (some local organising)

Reaction stage

In REACTION to the implementation (during construction or operation)

Groups mobilizing:

Local ejos
Local government/political parties
Neighbours/citizens/communities
Local scientists/professionals

Forms of mobilization:

Community-based participative research (popular epidemiology studies, etc..)
Development of a network/collective action
Involvement of national and international NGOs
Lawsuits, court cases, judicial activism
Media based activism/alternative media
Official complaint letters and petitions
Public campaigns

Environmental Impacts

Visible: Air pollution, Noise pollution, Soil contamination, Groundwater pollution or depletion
Potential: Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality

Health Impacts

Visible: Mental problems including stress, depression and suicide
Potential: Exposure to unknown or uncertain complex risks (radiation, etc...)

Other Health impacts

The inhalation of the dust from the mining of the shale, by the local residents of the community, can lead to respiratory problems. The main/major concern from residents around Norlite are the long-term, detrimental health impacts of the inhalation and consumption of perfluorinated chemicals from the AFFF.

Socio-economical Impacts

Potential: Violations of human rights

Project Status

Stopped

Conflict outcome / response:

Court decision (undecided)
New legislation
Under negotiation
Moratoria
Project temporarily suspended

Proposal and development of alternatives:

The residents of Saratoga Sites Public Housing Complex, and the broader residents of Cohoes and the Capital Region, would like to see Norlite closed forever. However, there are no clear "alternatives" being proposed for Norlite, seeing that Norlite is a non-necessary privately-owned aggregate shale manufacturer. Norlite is not providing any sort of publicly-shared good (such as electricity, gas/oil, etc), so there need not be an "alternative" to Norlite.

Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?:

Not Sure

Briefly explain:

As of now (early November of 2020), Norlite has "stopped burning the chemicals in its kilns which are undergoing scrubber upgrades. But the company will likely start the burning again in an experimental fashion to see if it can safely and efficiently get rid of the compounds" {6}.
Also, as of November 2020, a bill which bans the burning of AFFF in the state of New York has passed both the New York State Legislature and Senate. This bill (S7880B/A9952) is awaiting the signature of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo [7}].
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is continuing with the routine re-permitting process of Norlite (Norlite's permit expires in 2021) [11], much to the distress of local activists. However, the New York DEC will be taking around 50 soil and water samples from around 30 different sites, both upstream and downstream from the Norlite plant, to test for prevalence of PFAS compounds and heavy metals [8].

Juridical relevant texts related to the conflict (laws, legislations, EIAs, etc)

[13] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry: "Public Health Assessment for Norlite Corporation," astdr.cdc.gov. 12/02/2005.

The "Public Health Assessment was prepared by ATSDR pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, Liability Act."
[click to view]

References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries

[18] Kieran Yater: "Department of Defense Burning PFAS in Cohoes, NY." 05/01/2020.

Related media links to videos, campaigns, social network

Contributor:

Gabe Feldman-Schwartz, Skidmore College, [email protected]; Andrew J. Schneller, Skidmore College

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Norlite Plant burning PFOA's for Department of Defense, Cohoes, NY, USA | EJAtlas

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Tradebe-owned Norlite Plant burning chemical foam for US Department of Defense in Cohoes, New York, affecting residents of a nearby neighborhood. EJ mobilization managed to stop the plant, for now, awaiting for scientific tests of contaminants This environmental justice conflict stems from the industrial rotary kiln "Norlite" in Cohoes, NY, burning Aqueous Fire Fighting Foam/Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) in 2018 and 2019 [1].