Spotlight on Superfund: How Are New York’s Most Toxic Waste Sites Doing Under Trump’s E.P.A?

Author

Sarah Stein Kerr, CUNY Graduate School of JournalismFollow

Graduation Date

Fall 12-15-2017

Grading Professor

Tom Robbins

Subject Concentration

Urban Reporting

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Abstract

No matter where you venture in New York City, you are never far from toxic pollution. And if you are in Brooklyn or Queens, you may be a stone’s throw from a federal Superfund, our nation’s most polluted sites.

For New York City’s Superfunds– Newtown Creek, the Gowanus Canal and the Wolff-Alport Chemical Company in Ridgewood, Queens – change is underfoot.

In February, President Donald J. Trump appointed former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

Pruitt, who made a career for himself suing and attacking the E.P.A, has already instituted sweeping changes as part of his “back-to-basics” agenda for the agency. Programs have been cut, enforcement mechanisms weakened and staff morale is said to be low.

So, what does Pruitt believe the E.P.A. should do?

Superfund cleanups.

In this three-part series, we explore how New York City’s Superfund sites are faring under Trump and E.P.A’s new direction.

http://nycsuperfund45.com/

Recommended Citation

Stein Kerr, Sarah, "Spotlight on Superfund: How Are New York’s Most Toxic Waste Sites Doing Under Trump’s E.P.A?" (2017). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gj_etds/263