Gowanus Canal Getting Some Toxic Recognition
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A baby minke whale surfaces while swimming in the Gowanus Bay in April 2007. The 15-foot whale, who was nicknamed "Sludgy", died after losing its way in the waterway.
The Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn's own aquatic Chernobyl, is so filthy, infested and full of gonorhorrea that the Environmental Protection Agency is close to finally giving it the toxic recognition it deserves.
The EPA is proposing that Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal be placed on its Superfund National Priorities List.
It will now open up its environmentally-friendly ears to the public during a 60-day comment period before officially "expand[ing] its investigations to further define the nature and extent of contamination."
This is great news!
Now the government will try and bring the 100-foot wide canal back to its natural chemical balance before years of "untreated industrial wastes, raw sewage and runoff" mutated its fish.
We recommend you invest in a fishing pole for the grandkids, as it'll take years to find fish in those waters that won't make your teeth glow-in-the-dark.
The 1.8-mile canal was once dubbed "Lavender Lake" for its purplish chemical hue.
In 1776, its swampy waters helped delay British redcoats long enough for Gen. George Washington to escape to Manhattan after his defeat in the Battle of Long Island.To submit comments, visit the EPA's public comments site. For a Google Earth aerial view of the Gowanus Canal, make sure you have Google Earth installed and click here.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC New York
