E2PM was retained to provide support of excavation monitoring and condition assessments for thirteen (13) properties within a 200-foot buffer of the Gowanus Canal TB4 Sediment Removal and Capping Pilot Study project in Brooklyn, New York.
This effort was part of an ongoing Superfund remediation efforts of the Gowanus Canal, particularly at the 4th Street Turning Basin. Completed in 1869, the Gowanus Canal was once a major transportation route for the then separate cities of Brooklyn and New York City. Manufactured gas plants, mills, tanneries, and chemical plants are among the many facilities that operated along the canal. As a result of years of discharges, storm water runoff, sewer outflows and industrial pollutants, the Gowanus Canal has become one of the nation’s most extensively contaminated water bodies. Contaminants include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), coal tar wastes, heavy metals and volatile organics. The contamination posed a threat to the nearby residents who use the canal for fishing and recreation.
Under EPA oversight, approximately 17,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment was dredged from the Gowanus Canal’s 4th Street turning basin during the course of this project. Under the pilot project, steel sheet piles walls were installed along the sides of the canal to allow dredging work to be performed safely and sediment was removed and taken off-site for treatment and disposal.
E2PM was hired to support this project with the preparation of a work plan, pre-condition inspections and Baseline Building Condition Assessments of all surrounding thirteen (13) properties within 200 feet of the project site. Overall tasks included preparing work plans; visual assessments; collecting all available building documentation; reviewing all available information from the NY City Building Department Data Base; performing baseline pre-construction surveys; conducting baseline and post-construction surveys; worked with the project team to document any issues that arose during the construction process; provided additional monitoring guidance and building support evaluation.
