EPA delays cleanup of Brooklyn’s toxic Newtown Creek Superfund site until 2032

The Newtown Creek is one of the most polluted bodies of water in the nation, fouled by more than a century of sewage overflows, oil spills and industrial waste. The coastline of this 3.8-mile waterway, located along the border of Brooklyn and Queens, is lined with wastewater facilities, factories, warehouses and oil storage tanks. Coming up with a plan to clean this toxic estuary may now take five years longer than expected, according to a new timeline released by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA added the creek to the Superfund National Priorities List in 2010, initiating an investigation into its sources of pollution. This autumn, the EPA shared an updated timeline on its work toward creating a comprehensive plan to clean the entire creek. That cleanup plan, known as a Record of Decision, was initially expected to be completed in 2023 — but now it isn't due to be complete until 2028.

The EPA’s new timeline also estimates that the larger cleanup of the entire creek would not begin until 2032 at the earliest — 22 years after it was declared a Superfund site for its unsafe levels of copper, lead, dioxins, pesticides, carcinogenic chemicals, petroleum byproducts and other contaminants.

WNYC host Janae Pierre spoke with environmental photojournalist Nathan Kensinger about the delay and how Brooklynites are responding to it. Click "listen" in the player to hear their conversation, and visit Gothamist for more details.