11/9/2012: Coal tar in the Gowanus Canal

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Coal tar is a contaminant we have at numerous locations throughout the valley – from Nyack and Tarrytown to Hudson to Catskill. It’s a nasty legacy from retired manufactured gas plants where coal was processed to yield a burnable gas. The state is slowly requiring cleanups at retired manufactured gas plants throughout the state. We still see see coal tar bubbling up at Poughkeepsie under the Walkway Bridge but nothing comes close to the Gowanus – the worst of the worst. Thank you EPA for finally stepping in and enforcing a cleanup – NY City can’t seem to get it done.