Not too long ago a shady group put out an expensive, glossy and HIGHLY misleading propoganda piece about the EPA's plan to clean up the Gowanus Canal using the Superfund. This glossy piece basically was put out by developers to further their own agenda for the Gowanus. Just as a reminder of what we are talking about, here is a picture of what the canal gets like (picture taken by my wife as we walked past the canal last summer):

City Council candidate Josh Skaller, who was one of the first to endorse Obama's EPA plan to Superfund the Gowanus, is co-hosting a forum on the issue to try and clear up some of the misinformation that developers have been putting out on the issue.

This comes from the Josh Skaller campaign.

"End the Propaganda": Neighborhood Groups Join Josh Skaller in Fight Against Gowanus Misinformation Campaign

Two leading Carroll Gardens organizations and the Josh Skaller for City Council campaign will take a stand for the Gowanus Canal and against developers looking to make a buck at the expense of the community.

Toll Brothers, the developer which plans to build 460 condos and townhouses along the banks of the canal, has launched a well-funded misinformation campaign, replete with a press barrage and paid canvassers going door-to-door in an attempt to sway the public from its support of the EPA cleanup.

The Carroll Gardens Coalition for Respectful Development (C.G. CORD) and the Friends and Residents of the Gowanus Canal (FROGG), two neighborhood groups that advocate a thorough and federalized cleanup of the Canal, will clear up misperceptions and make the case for the Superfund. Josh Skaller, a candidate for City Council who was among the first to call for an EPA Superfund cleanup, will speak out against the misinformation campaign and in favor of responsible development along the Canal.

The Skaller campaign will also display a "Periodic Table of Gowanus Toxins," designed to illustrate the array of contaminants in the Canal.

The Skaller campaign was an early champion of the EPA Superfund. Josh Skaller has already been endorsed by progressive environmental leaders such as former Congressman Major Owens and New York State Assemblymember Jim Brennan. Skaller is the first candidate ever endorsed by CORD.

Josh Skaller is running in Brooklyn's 39th Council District, which includes all of parts of Park Slope, Kensington, Borough Park, Windsor Terrace and Carroll Gardens.

HOSTED BY: Carroll Gardens Coalition for Respectful Development (C.G. CORD); Friends and Residents of the Gowanus Canal (FROGG); Josh Skaller for City Council

SPEAKERS: Triada Samaras, member, CORD; Marlene Donnelly, member, FROGG; Josh Skaller, candidate for City Council

VISUALS: Local activists/leaders; Gowanus Canal; "Periodic Table of Gowanus Toxins"

DATE/TIME: Friday, June 19, 2009, 10:00 a.m.

LOCATION: Carroll Street Bridge, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

I should add that the plan that Josh Skaller is supporting for the Gowanus is also supported by:

United States Environmental Protection Agency
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
The Army Corps of Engineers
Riverkeeper
The Sierra Club
Columbia University’s Urban Design Lab
Friends of Greater Gowanus (FROGG)
Carroll Gardens Coalition for Respectful Development (CG CORD)
Friends of Bond
Park Slope Neighbors
The Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats
New York State Senator Velmanette Montgomery
New York State Senator Daniel Squadron
Park Slope Civic Council
The Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy
Democracy for NYC

Yes...that list included experts like Columbia University’s Urban Design Lab and the Army Corps of Engineers, so the EPA's plan has some real hard core support.

You can read more about the canal cleanup here.

More pictures of how bad the canal can get can be found here.