Officials Want Newtown Creek Designated As Superfund Site

Newtown Creek on the Queens-Brooklyn border, a victim of "the largest coastal oil spill in American history", should be designated a Superfund site to make it eligible for $15 million in federal cleanup funding, Congressmember Anthony Weiner declared on Monday.

Weiner and Congressmember Nydia Velázquez said in a letter to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that preliminary tests should be conducted on the creek to determine whether it contains high levels of toxic chemicals.

If so, the lawmakers said, the entire Newtown Creek area could be included on the federal Superfund list and be eligible for federal funds.

Weiner and Velázquez said that to date, an estimated 9.4 million gallons of oil have been cleaned from the creek. Between 17 and 30 million gallons were spilled over an area which covers 55 to 60 acres. They said estimates indicate it will take until at least 2020 to finish the remediation.

The spill allegedly came in part from an oil company facility in Williamsburg on the Brooklyn side of the creek. The letter to the EPA identified four hazardous waste facilities, a copper smelting plant and a coal gasification complex, all now inoperative.

The officials, who were joined by Assemblymember Joseph Lentol (D- Williamsburg) said the Superfund designation would trigger a lengthy four-point process, the initial one of which would be an immediate stabilization, including a oneyear cleanup to stop any immediate threats to the community if necessary. This might include erection of a security fence or repairing a hazardous waste storage unit.

Weiner, who has been trying to get the creek cleaned up for many years, said, "While the oil companies lag in their cleanup responsibilities the health and safety of Newtown Creek's residents hang in the balance. Testing these four sites will help us find answers to basic questions about the spill's health risks and give this national environmental disaster national attention."- John Toscano