In The Heart of Brooklyn
By Basil Seggos, Chief Investigator, Hudson Riverkeeper

Five minutes past noon on October 5, 1950, Greenpoint, Brooklyn shook with a blast from a huge underground explosion. The explosion ripped out a 10-foot section of pavement, shot 25 manhole covers into the air and shattered windowpanes on more than 500 buildings in this densely packed industrial and working class neighborhood. Fire department officials blamed the explosion on underground leaks of gasoline from the Standard Oil refinery a quarter-mile away. The explosion generated attention, but newspaper records show no further investigation of the gasoline leaks or the likelihood of a serious underground spill. The matter fell from public consciousness for nearly three decades.

Twenty eight years later, the spill was “rediscovered” when the Coast Guard spotted an oil slick on Newtown Creek during a routine patrol. The spill is colossal. A 1979 report by the Coast Guard found that 17 million gallons had spilled and spread over 55 acres. The “product” lies mostly on top of the water table, in a layer ranging in thickness from a few inches to almost 20 feet. It contains a mixture of degraded gasoline, fuel oil and naphtha. The spill dates back to 1948, right before the massive underground explosion. The Coast Guard attributed responsibility for the spill primarily to the Newtown Creek refinery of the Standard Oil Company now owned by Mobil.

No enforcement action was taken by the state or federal government, despite the damning conclusions of the Coast Guard report. Except for the tireless advocacy of a small band of dedicated activists, the matter again fell from the public consciousness for another decade.

We are often asked why one of the biggest oil spills in North America, in the heart of its biggest city, could have festered for so long without meaningful attention. The answer is as unfortunate as it is simple: few people cared about working class Greenpoint or the polluted Newtown Creek. The Greenpoint Oil Spill is a story of environmental injustice.

The Greenpoint Oil Spill is also a story of fighting back. It’s a story of how ordinary citizens can use our precious environmental laws to bring massive, hostile companies to justice and force intractable government agencies to operate in the public interest.

In the wake of the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Mobil finally signed a legal agreement requiring basic remediation. But the agreement failed to define any minimum standard for cleanup, allowing Mobil to use its own discretion on how to cleanup the creek. The agreement also made no provisions for cleaning the contaminated soils and sands beneath the surface. Mobil was not required to pay a single penny in penalties for the spill or compensation to the community for its devastated natural resources.

In 2004, Hudson Riverkeeper and six community activists filed a lawsuit to force ExxonMobil to fully and aggressively clean up the spill. Two City Council members, the Brooklyn Borough President and, more recently, two state assemblymen and a state senator, joined us in the case. The case is still in the discovery phase of litigation.
Based in part on Riverkeeper’s investigations, several hundred homeowners above the spill, aided by activist Erin Brockovich, filed private lawsuits to force a cleanup. Riverkeeper’s advocacy then helped convince Congress to require an intensive EPA study of the spill.

In 2006, New York State, which for many years had been shielding ExxonMobil, changed its tune dramatically. State environmental officials referred the case to the Office of the Attorney General for enforcement. Attorney General Cuomo filed his notice of intent to sue ExxonMobil and other companies almost immediately after taking office this January.

The spill continues to threaten the environment and the communities around Newtown Creek. For over half a century, petroleum has poisoned the water and earth beneath Brooklyn. The spill has stolen the community’s natural resources, fouled its drinking water and endangered its health. None of the oil companies have taken responsible action. The story is still being written on this catastrophe, and Riverkeeper will not stop until the last chapter rewrites the over 50 years of pollution, corruption and environmental injustice impinged upon this tiny creek in the heart of one of America’s finest working class neighborhoods.