Stormwater issues and ineffective absorbent boom at Pratt Oil seep

Newtown Creek today during our May water quality patrol, which began this morning.

Raining. We see several sites with very turbid discharges – we assume storm water. No sheens. No SPDES signs (pollution discharge permits).

Also, at Pratt oil seep on Queens side the absorbent boom is hung up on rip rap. It needs better rigging to be effective.

Boom at Pratt seep, Queens side.

Discharge just east of Queens side Waste Management – very close/west of Pratt seep.

Strong, turbid discharge at Waste Management on Brooklyn side under Kosciusko. We’ve seen this before. It’s only visible in rain and at low tide.

Turbid stormwater discharge next to  Exxon groundwater well discharge at Meeker Av (right hand of two)

Discharge at Empire Transit Mix. This is a storm drain, I think. It is right next to the pipe where we saw cement waste discharged years ago which led to EPA enforcement.

And just for fun, the Gowanus Canal, the lower intestine of Brooklyn

Patrolling Pays Off

Today was our first patrol of Newtown Creek for our 2012 season.  Over the years, we've dealt with a number of businesses which have seen fit to dump waste material into the creek.  This afternoon we came across a bunch of Styrofoam sheets discarded on the bank in front of a glass company.  

Phillip Musegaas, head of the Hudson River Program at Riverkeeper who was aboard today called the business and before we left, management was outside. 

"This stuff doesn't belong to us but we're going to take care of it right away."

Patrolling pays off.