A big part of the EPA Superfund plan for the Gowanus Canal is preventing future pollution. One of the biggest polluters is the City of NY, due to the fact that when local sewers can’t handle a big rainstorm, raw sewage is pumped into the Canal. This has been happening for years and is a big part of what is being dredged. The 2012 EPA Record of Decision required the City to deal with it by building two big tanks to store most of the sewage until the storm ends, when it can be sent on its way.
The EPA suggested that the bigger tank be placed under a public swimming pool at Thomas Greene Park, since the pool had to be dug up anyway for toxic pollutant remediation, but the City insisted that that $70 million dollar proposal was inadequate and instead opted for a much larger facility adjacent to the Canal, across from the pool, at a cost of at least $1.5 billion. Ironically, one of their reasons was to capture smell and keep it out of the neighborhood.
Construction on the tank finally began and it’s not been pretty. The following email thread shows the growing frustration, confusion and desperation that Gowanus homeowners are going through. Some names and addresses have been redacted and emails have been edited.
Dear Ms. Simon,
As our Assembly Member District 52 we are writing to you regarding an ongoing problem with noxious odors emanating from the CSO tank construction on Nevins Street.
As homeowners and business owners located on Nevins and Sackett Streets we have repeatedly complained about the extremely strong odor outside our streets and entering our homes day and night. Repeated emails to those noted below have gotten us nothing but promises to take care of the problem while trying to reassure us that the odor is “not a health risk.” The neighbors involved range in age from young children to seniors.
On the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 16, a neighbor of the combined sewer overflow (CSO) tank construction site in Gowanus, sent this email to the office of New York State Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon. At this point, at least two months had passed since the odors began to seep out of the construction site where the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is building one of the two underground storage tanks designed to capture all the sewage that now ends up in the canal when rainwater overwhelms the city’s drainage system.
The city broke ground on the site on March 15, 2023, which is part of the Superfund cleanup of the Gowanus Canal. The tanks, once finished, will play a key role in keeping the canal clean: currently, over 300 million gallons of raw sewage is discharged into the canal. But to build the tank, the DEP had to dig into soil contaminated with coal tar and other toxic pollutants.
Once excavated, the soil waiting to be shipped of for disposal began emitting noxious odors into the neighborhood. The Jan. 16 email is the first in a thread spanning eight months, showing residents along and near Nevins Street growing increasingly desperate, frustrated and confused as odors kept blanketing the neighborhood, questions went unanswered and responsibility unclaimed.
On Jan. 23, Talia Hoch from Assembly Member Simon’s office, wrote:
DEP and EPA have heard your concerns and have directed the contractor to increase the use of odor-suppressing foam while excavating soil, as well as in areas where excavated material is staged in preparation for off-site disposal. They also set up a misting system around the soil handling area to mask odors and reduce dust and particulates in the air. They believe that the odors may also be from a piece of equipment designed to remove rocks or other debris from the slurry before it is used for the construction of the below-ground wall. EPA has asked NYCDEP to expedite the construction of a tent around this equipment, which should mitigate any odors emanating therefrom. They hope this tent will be completed by the end of the week.
Nearly a month later, on Feb. 14, a neighbor shared an update on the DEP’s tent:
We still haven’t received a response from the EPA. Also the odors are still present. We’ve been getting the same recycled response for about two months now. The tent is still not completed and the excavation is still continuing.
Another update came on March 5.
Hi Assembly Member Simon,
I’m writing to you with great concern that our questions still have not been answered.
We’ve all followed up on this matter multiple times.
And from another neighbor, on March 8.
The smell was very strong last night all down Sackett Street to 3rd Avenue. We tried to open our back door for some fresh air and had to close it because the smell was so strong. Please help us resolve this issue, especially with spring coming soon.
No response came from the Assembly Member or the involved agencies for over a month. During this time, the odors persisted, the emails show. Then, on April 18, a day after two neighbors had complained that the odors were so bad they couldn’t keep their windows open, The DEP’s Community Construction Liaison, Valentina Mascaro, responded.
In response to the odor complaints received yesterday and Tuesday, the DEP project team conducted additional perimeter odor inspection walks to try to identify the source.
4/16 5pm-5:32pm
Petroleum odors detected directly adjacent to the Nevins Street sewer pump station at Nevins Street between Douglass and Degraw Streets.
Strong petroleum odor at the open door of the Oil Garage on Nevins between Sackett and Union. PID Readers also picked up high carbon monoxide outside this garage at the time of the inspection.
Inspection appeared to confirm the observations made by complainant, but the source is believed to be the Oil Garage.
No other significant odors observed.
4/16 8:45pm-9:00pm :
Faint petroleum odor over the Nevins St pump station at Nevins Street between Douglass and Degraw Streets.
Faint petroleum odor at Oil Garage on Nevins Between Sacket and Union.
No odors otherwise noted.
4/17 8:55am-9:45am:
Faint/intermittent petroleum odors observed from approximately 554 Sackett to 556 Sackett.
This confused some neighbors, who said they’d lived in the area for many years and never felt that kind of smell from the garage. One wrote:
Thanks Valentina. These odors are not “faint.” These are strong odors that everyone on the block is smelling such that we cannot open our windows or enjoy time outside.
What is the oil garage on Nevins between Sackett and Union? Is that something that is involved with the two sites or is that something that pre-existed the sites/construction? I have lived on this block for 12 years and I have never had any problems with these petroleum smells before the work began at the two sites.
I’m getting tired of you guys blaming other sites for these odors and minimizing them as “faint.” These orders are having negative impacts on our lives and the use and enjoyment of our properties.
Is there anything more that you all can be doing that you’re not doing now? What at the next steps on your end to further mitigate these odors?
Her questions went unanswered.
The smells came back. Later on April 18 and again on April 22. On April 24, some neighbors started to complain about shaking. (According to one neighbor, she had had issues vid shaking since February.)
Is anyone else experiencing their home shaking? Mine is on and off right now and it was Monday afternoon. I was’’t home yesterday for much of the day so not sure if it was then as well.
In response to that came:
Yes, my apt shakes pretty much daily at this point, not sure how specific that issue is to this site (or what can be done about it considering the amount of sites currently working/surrounding Nevins). Seems like that would be difficult to track/pinpoint.
On the final day of April, the odors were still present.
The noxious odor is present and very strong.
What are we smelling and where is it coming from?
Please advise.
Or were they? Thomas Mongelli with the EPA, wrote:
NYCDEP and EPA’s oversight staff are currently investigating your complaint, and I have asked NYSDEC oversight staff to join them if available. I received a routine update on odors from our oversight staff just a few minutes before your complaint which only noted intermittent mild to no odors in the neighborhood. If you see the staff investigating, it would be helpful to point out where you’re smelling odors and perhaps provide any additional details.
A response came a few minutes later.
The odors are present.
With all do respect it’s not our job as residents and taxpayers to figure out where these noxious odors are coming from. We’ve been complaining and it has been on going for four plus months now.
We’ve been receiving is same recycled information from all city, state and federal government agencies, also the belittling of our complaints and basically telling us our complaint are null and void because the noxious odors are faint.
The noxious odors are present we all have been complaining.
Please let us know where can we see all the data that’s been collected from the perimeter walls and the monitoring of all the sewer drains.
The odors and vibrations continued to disturb everyday-life in the neighborhood, and while Mongelli assured community members their complaints were being taken seriously, frustration was growing. One neighbor wrote on May 7:
What is extremely frustrating to me is that you and your team continue to minimize the strength of the odors we are smelling. You note that when the community complains about the odors, your team notes only intermittent “mild” odors or “no odors at all.” Why would so many people on the block be complaining about “mild” or nonexistent odors? These odors are permeating through some peoples’ windows and doors. Some are experiencing headaches. I have been in situations where I have wanted to spend time outside on my roof or in my backyard but I’ve had to go back inside because the odors have been so strong. Some days I can’t open my windows. There have been occasions where I’ve planned to go to the playground with my kids on Degraw and Third Avenue and have had to change those plans because the odors have been so bad. I understand that these odors may not pose any long term health risks, and I hope the science is right on that. But your continued minimizing of these odors as mild or nonexistent is extremely frustrating because these odors are regularly impacting the quality of our lives.
My question is, is there anything MORE that you can be doing that you’re not already doing to further eliminate these odors when community members complain about them? If you and your team are viewing these odors as only “mild” or nonexistent, to me this implies that you are not taking our complaints seriously, and therefore, might not be doing everything you can to eliminate these odors, which creates a further lack of trust. I understand all of the steps you have already taken that you outline above. But they are clearly not effective given the continued complaints from our community members. So, what MORE can you be doing, given that the odors continue to persist?
The vibrations also started to cause damage in people’s homes, according to three emails, the first sent at 3 a.m. on May 17.
We have had our kitchen backsplash crack several weeks ago due to the shaking. This is very nerve wracking and concerning.
The second came later that morning:
Our house is shaking this morning, again. I would like to know how we can get vibration monitoring. We did incur damages from all of the vibration to our property. We’ve made multiple complaints with DOB. They were jack hammering away inside the tent the other day.
The shaking wreaked havoc in a third neighbor’s kitchen.
I’m at … Sackett Street and my house is shaking really bad. My kitchen cabinets just opened up and dishes came crashing down. Is anyone else experiencing this right now?
The same day, another neighbor complained of “mothball odor,” a smell caused by the chemical naphthalene, which has been associated with cancer and developmental effects on infants.
It was so potent that it almost felt like you could taste it in the air. I quickly changed paths.
Could you please address the specific question regarding the frequency of surpassing “safe” thresholds since the commencement of these projects?
Additionally, I’ve filed over 30 311 complaints since January and contacted Jo Anne Simon’s office numerous times. While I’ve been informed that environmental engineers are monitoring the situation, I’m keen on accessing the corresponding data. Each time I inquire, I receive the same automated response. Please respond with the data on the odor thresholds.
Complaints of odors and vibrations continued to come in as May turned into June, including between June 10 and 12, when emails show how both problems persisted over all three days. One community member wrote on Tuesday, June 11:
The odor is STILL present. Where is the sense of urgency? Another beautiful day stuck indoors with my children to escape these odors where I cannot even open my windows. I am absolutely livid. I have completely run out of patience. This is unacceptable and I am waiting on a response from those who are responsible to provide actionable and lasting solutions to help drastically improve our quality of life here to what it once was before this nightmare construction began. Why is the work continuing if I cannot live my life with my family safely and normally? Please help me understand. Help me understand why our safety, health, physical and mental well being is not of a real priority and concern here. If it was, the work would pause until you all could get to the bottom of this in a real way. Continuing the work without meeting our very reasonable requests is a slap in the face and is negligent at best.
Heidi Dudek of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation wanted to make it clear the DEC, which had been working on another site, was not to blame.
As provided by DEC to the group yesterday, remedial excavation activities within the tented structure at 545 Sackett Street have been completed and the base of the excavation has been backfilled with clean material. Because there is no exposed contamination within the tented structure, DEC has approved the tent doors remain open during the remaining backfilling operations. It is anticipated that the tented structure will be moved to its new location onsite over the next five weeks.
The DEP claimed odors were faint.
Our team conducted odor surveys in response to your alerts on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Our findings can be found below.
Tuesday, 6/11:
An odor complaint was received at 11:58 AM. An odor survey was conducted from 11:05 to 11:50 AM, then resumed at approximately 12:00 PM in response to the odor complaint.
DEP reported a faint petroleum odor at around 12:00 PM on Nevins and Sackett, observed intermittently with gusting wind.
All offsite VOC readings were 0.0 ppm.
Odor suppressing foam has been used throughout the day and was refreshed following this complaint.
No exceedances were detected by the community air monitoring program.
Wednesday, 6/12:
An odor complaint was received at 9:49. An odor survey was conducted from 9:55 to 10:45 in response to the odor complaint.
Faint petroleum odor was observed on Sackett and on Degraw, briefly with wind gusts.
Prevailing wind has been NW to SE; still with gusts up to 6 mph.
Odor suppressing foam has been used throughout the day and was refreshed following this complaint.
All offsite VOC readings were 0.0 ppm.
No exceedances were detected by the community air monitoring program.
While some within the DEP, namely construction manager Marlon King, according to multiple neighbors, occasionally acknowledged the odors, others, did not. On the night of June 27, multiple people complained, including one resident who wrote:
I’m struggling to sleep, it’s like there’s a bucket of gasoline next to my pillow (even with no A/C running and windows closed). So strong I can taste it in the back of my throat. This is highly concerning. With very young children in our apartment, I also wonder how the suggested airborne safety limits of these substances are likely related to an adult sized body and how this could be affecting our children.
Odors remained strong into the afternoon of June 28, according to several emails, but the DEP didn’t agree. Mascaro wrote:
Odor surveys were conducted prior to and subsequently after the initial 9:51 odor complaint last night. During both odor surveys, all off-site VOCs were 0.0ppm and the team did not observe any odors during this time.
One neighbor responded on July 2, following another email from the DEP calling the odors “faint”:
Hi Valentina and team,
These canned responses from your team as a response to the community’s very real and very serious concerns and complaints continue to be incredibly condescending, insufficient and infuriating.
This is feedback you’ve received before, yet you still continue to operate in the exact same way since you began corresponding with this group. Using the word faint when many community members have stated that the odors are strong is ridiculous. If you are not detecting odors upon the times of the complaints when the odors are clearly evident, then you may want to reconsider the systems / tools you all are using to detect said odors. Something is clearly off here. Furthermore, if in fact there is no odor coming from your site at the time of a complaint (which we all know is likely not the case), you should be working in partnership with the liaisons from neighboring sites to get to the bottom of these issues. We are all very scared for our health and safety and for the health and safety of our children, if I haven’t made that clear already.
Odor complaints seemed to slow down in July, but people still experienced heavy vibrations in their homes. Yet, six months in, none of the agencies operating in Gowanus could identify the source. And as for the smells, no one was willing to take responsibility for them, either.
On Aug. 1, the DEP announced that the first phase of the CSO tank construction had been completed. In October, the next phase — digging the hole in which the tank will sit — will begin, which, according to the environmental protection department, won’t extend as deep as the previous work. The DEP, therefore, expects to encounter less contaminated soil during this process.
But based on emails to the involved agencies and the area’s elected officials, neighbors are still worried for what this next phase will bring.
