Superfund

In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency declared the Gowanus Canal a Superfund Site. "Superfund" is the name of the program established by the EPA to address abandoned hazardous waste sites. The Gowanus Canal is a testament to New York City’s industrial history. The neglected but somehow beautiful landscape fills you with a sense of sadness of the nature that has been lost in the area.

When the Dutch settled by Gowanus Creek, it was surrounded by marshland teeming with fish and oysters. As Brooklyn grew, the canal served as a transportation hub and factories were built on its shores; it was not long before the Gowanus Canal became one of the most polluted waterways in the country.

In recent years, the Canal has been found to contain toxic pollutants, such as tar, heavy metals and PCBs. With the Superfund designation now in place, the Gowanus Canal now faces what could be decades of a lengthy litigation process before the cleanup can begin.