THE CITY OF NEW YORK
 

MICHAEL A. CARDOZO LAw DEPARTMENT 

Corporation Counsel 100 CHURCH STREET 

NEW YORK, N.Y. 10007-2601 

AMANDA C. GOAD 

phone: (212) 788-1145 

fax: (212)788-1619 

email: agoad@law.nyc.gov 

October 5, 2009 

VIA E-MAIL AND FIRST CLASS MAIL 

Ms. Terry Jeng 

NPL Rule Manager 

United States Environmental Protection Agency 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW 

Mail Code 5204P 

Washington, DC 20460 

jeng.terry@epa.gov 

Re:	 Request for Extension of Time to Comment 

EPA-HQ-SFUND-2009-0588 (Newtown Creek NPL Listing Proposal) 

Dear Ms. Jeng: 

On September 23,2009,1 EPA proposed to list Newtown Creek on the National 

Priorities List ("NPL") pursuant to 42 U.S.c. § 9601 et seq. and 40 CFR Part 300. EPA 

specified a deadline of November 23, 2009 for comments on this proposed listing. On behalf of 

the City of New York ("City"), I respectfully request a 30-day extension of time to submit 

comments regarding the proposed listing ofNewtown Creek. 

The City anticipates submitting detailed comments on the proposed listing of 

Newtown Creek (the "Creek"). The Creek's size and complex history and the potential impact 

of the listing on City capital projects planned within and around the Creek require an extension 

of time to ensure that these issues can be properly addressed. In its comments, the City will 

address EPA's Hazard Ranking Score for the Creek, and the potential impacts of a listing on 

1 National Priorities List, Proposed Rule, 74 Fed. Reg. 48511 (September 23, 2009). 

www.nyc.gov 
Goad (NYC) letter to Jeng (USEPA)
 

October 5, 2009
 

more than $500 million of work planned within and around the Creek. Accordingly, we 

respectfully request that you extend the comment period to December 23,2009. 

A) Newtown Creek 

The unique properties of Newtown Creek form part of the basis for the City's 

belief that preparation of fully informed comments on its proposed NPL listing will require more 

time than the standard 60-day period. As EPA is well aware, Newtown Creek stretches 

approximately 3.5 miles long, through a dense urban landscape, and has four distinct tributaries. 

The Creek forms part of the border between Brooklyn and Queens, and abuts several distinct 

neighborhoods within each borough. The Creek itself has served as a major industrial 

thoroughfare since before Brooklyn and Queens became parts of New York City in the 1890s. A 

wide variety of industrial land uses, as well as several municipal facilities, have existed along the 

Creek's banks and in the Creek's watershed over the last 150 years. Not surprisingly, given the 

Creek's large scale and storied history, the environmental contamination in the Creek is 

extensive and complex. 

As EPA also knows, various efforts to assess and address environmental 

contamination in the Creek have already been undertaken. These include currently pending 

litigation brought by private parties and the New York State Attorney General's Office against 

alleged petroleum spillers and other industrial polluters; consent orders entered into by the New 

York State Department of Environmental Conservation ("NYSDEC") and former operators of 

adjoining industrial facilities; and consent orders entered into by the City and NYSDEC 

regarding combined sewer overflow discharges into the Creek. All of these factors need to be 

reviewed as part of the City'S preparation of formal comments on the proposed listing. 

B) City Projects 

The proposed NPL listing of Newtown Creek is a matter of direct concern for the 

City of New York, not only because of the City's interest in seeing environmental contamination 

in the City remediated efficiently, but also because numerous projects funded, operated, and/or 

approved by the City could be impacted by NPL listing of the Creek. The Newtown Creek 

Wastewater Treatment Plant, located along the south side of the Creek, discharges treated 

wastewater into Whale Creek (one of Newtown Creek's tributaries), is the largest such facility in 

the City, and serves over one million residents. NYCDEP also holds permits for 23 combined 

sewer overflow outfalls and five storm sewer outfalls into the Creek. The following is a 

summary of the existing and proposed projects that could be impacted by the proposed listing: 

	 NYCDEP has planned several capital projects in and along the Creek, with 

a total anticipated construction cost of approximately $500 million. These 

projects include construction of a sludge dock along the south side of the 

Creek, installation of several aeration systems, the purchase of three new 

motorized sludge vessels, sewer and regulator modifications and dredging 

of the Creek for both environmental and navigational purposes. 

NYCDEP's plans implicate regulatory mandates imposed by both 

NYSDEC and EPA. 

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Goad (NYC) letter to Jeng (USEPA)
 

October 5, 2009
 

The City is in the midst of implementing a major development project at 

Hunter's Point South, located along the waterfront at the mouth of 

Newtown Creek. When completed, Hunter's Point South will include 

5,000 new residential units (60% of them reserved for moderate- or 

middle-income households), new commercial and community facility 

space, a new public intermediate and high school, and 11 acres of new, 

landscaped public parkland along the waterfront. The Hunter's Point 

South plan, approved by the New York City Council in November 2008, 

calls for the City to invest $175 million in infrastructure and park 

development so as to catalyze approximately $2 billion in private 

investment and create approximately 4,600 jobs. Portions of this phased 

development are scheduled to break ground this month. In June, the City 

spent $100 million to acquire the 30 acre site for this project from the Port 

Authority of New York and New Jersey and Empire State Development 

Corporation. Review of the proposed listing's potential impacts on this 

project alone will require the coordination and input of a number of City 

agencies and entities, including the New York City Economic 

Development Corporation, Department of Housing Preservation and 

Development, School Construction Authority, and the Department of 

Parks and Recreation. The goal of this review is to identify potential 

consequences of an NPL listing that could delay the Hunter's Point South 

development and bring them to EPA's attention for its consideration in 

making a listing decision. 

The City is also working to implement certain aspects of the GreenpointWilliamsburg Land Use and Waterfront Plan ("Plan"), approved by the 

City Council in 2005 and 2006. This Plan adjusted land use regulation in 

portions of the Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods, located just 

south of Newtown Creek, in response to reduced demand for 

manufacturing space and increased demand for housing in Brooklyn. 

Properties directly fronting the south side of Newtown Creek were among 

those rezoned for residential uses. Pursuant to the Plan, the City is 

currently working to develop new public open space along several 

waterfront parcels. One of these sites, known as Box Street Park, fronts 

the south side of Newtown Creek. Also in conjunction with the Plan, the 

City committed to relocate certain wastewater infrastructure owned and 

operated by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection 

("NYCDEP") from a Williamsburg site to a site adjoining Newtown 

Creek, so as to make space available for parkland and affordable housing. 

This infrastructure relocation project is still underway. 

The City's comments on the proposed listing of Creek must comprehensively address the 

potential impacts of listing on each of these City projects or facilities, including potential delays 

of or changes to the City's plans, the expected costs and/or legal penalties associated with such 

changes, and potential mitigations of or alternatives to an NPL listing (if any). To afford the 

City, and the technical experts it will likely need to retain, adequate time to provide 

comprehensive and constructive comments on the proposed listing, the City requests a modest 

extension of its time to submit comments. 

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Goad (NYC) letter to Jeng (USEPA) 

October 5, 2009 

Taken together, the City believes that the size and intricate history of the Creek, 

the complexity of its contamination and the number and estimated dollar value of City projects 

potentially impacted by the proposed listing all warrant an extension of the comment period 

regarding the proposed inclusion ofNewtown Creek on the NPL to at least December 23,2009. 

We hope that you will look favorably upon this request. Thank you for your 

consideration. 

Sincerely, 

Amanda C. Goad 

Assistant Corporation Counsel 

Environmental Law Division 

Cc (via e-mail): Walter Mugdan, USEPA Region 2 

Cas Holloway, Special Advisor to the Mayor 

Robin Levine, General Counsel, NYCDEP 

Angela Licata, Deputy Commissioner, NYCDEP 

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