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Sources of Contamination​

Decades of industrial and municipal use contributed to the contamination of the Gowanus Canal. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)‘s Remedial Investigation (RI) identified waste from tanneries, factories, and chemical plants that freely flowed into the canal. A key feature of the USEPA’s Superfund process is the “enforcement first” policy, which identifies Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) for contamination. The map shown below identifies the parties that have received general notice letters from the USEPA informing them that they are a responsible party and that they share responsibility for the entire canal.

For more information on the land these organizations own along the canal, click on the corresponding color on the map below. For the latest information on the search for PRPs, visit the USEPA’s Gowanus Superfund website.

CSO/Stormwater Outfalls

Bayside Fuel Oil Corp.

Beazer Inc, East

Brink's Inc.

Chemtura Corp.

Chevron USA, Inc.

Cibro Petroleum Products, Inc. & Bayside Fuel Oil Corp.

Citigroup, Inc./MRC Holdings

City of New York

ConocoPhillips Co. & H.J. Baker & Bro., Inc.

Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, Inc.

Daniel Tinneny

Dun & Bradstreet Corp. & Cooper Standard Automotive, Inc.

ExxonMobil Corp.

Hess (Amerada Hess Corp.)

Honeywell International, Inc.

Kraft Foods Global, Inc. & Stauffer Management Company, LLC

MCIZ Corp.

National Grid USA

NIC Holding Corp.

NL Industries, Inc.

Northeastern Plastics, Inc., TDA Industries

Patterson Fuel Oil Company

Rapid American Oil*

Rapid American Corp.

Rexam Beverage Can Co. & Beam, Inc.

U.S. Navy & U.S. Maritime Commission

U.S. Postal Service & U.S. General Service Administration

Verizon New York, Inc.