Barge Full Of Gowanus Canal's Sediment Sinks: EPA

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — A barge full of sediment dredged from the Gowanus Canal sunk into the Gowanus Bay this week, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Contractor Cashman Dredging told the federal agency on Monday that the barge, which was moored in the Gowanus Bay after dredging muck from the canal, had sunk, according to the agency's statement.

The incident comes several months into the federal clean-up of the Gowanus Canal, which will remove 32,000 cubic yards of toxic muck from the polluted waterway. The dredging was suspended while crews tried to secure the barge, the agency said.

"EPA's goals are to do all that we can do to ensure that this type of mishap does not happen again and that any impacts from yesterday's incident are appropriately and promptly addressed," the EPA wrote.

Cashman had mobilized pumps, booms and silt curtains to pump water from the sunken barge into a separate, empty barge during low tide, according to the EPA. They continued to stabilize the barge on Tuesday.

The EPA is working with the contractors to investigate the incident's cause, find out whether any of the contaminated sediment was released into the water and determine appropriate next steps.

Dredging officially started on the Gowanus Canal in November.