EPA Superfund Site

NEWTOWN CREEK

NY | EPA ID NYN000206282

About this site’s exposure pathways: As of January 2025, the site-wide Human Exposure Control Status at the Newtown Creek site is Human Exposure Not Under Control. The Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) at the site entered into an administrative order-on-consent (AOC) with EPA to conduct the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS). Sampling events have shown the creek and its tributaries to be contaminated with a variety of pollutants, including metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs). A Baseline Ecological Risk Assessment (BERA) was finalized in September 2018 and indicated that sediments are toxic to benthic macroinvertebrates in the study area in the Turning Basin and the tributaries. A Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) was finalized in 2017 and indicated unacceptable risks to human health from eating contaminated fish and shellfish from the creek. There is a New York State Fish Advisory for Newtown Creek. A revised draft of the RI report was submitted in October 2021, and EPA approved the RI report in March 2023. Development of a focused feasibility study for an early action on the East Branch portion of the site was completed and a Proposed Plan for the early action was released in August 2024. A Record of Decision selecting an early, interim action for this portion of the site was signed on January 16, 2025. Concurrently, development of the feasibility study for the entire Creek is also underway.

EPA currently anticipates that human exposure will be under control by September 2049, when clean up goals are met and the Final Closeout Report (FCOR) is complete.

EPA ensures community participation throughout the remedial process by meeting with residents and affected stakeholders, issuing public notices and updating fact sheets. A site profile has been established on the EPA website to keep the community informed of recent progress at the site. Additionally, an EPA Community Involvement Coordinator is assigned to the site and can address specific community concerns as they arise. A Community Advisory Group (CAG) comprised of members representing diverse interests in the community has been established to disseminate site information and solicit public comments on project activities.