"It's disappointing," a spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloombergsays in a statement. "We had an innovative and comprehensiveapproach that was a faster route to a Superfund-level cleanup andwould have avoided the issues associated with a Superfund listing.The project will now move on a Superfund timeline, but we are goingto work closely with the EPA because we share the same goal: aclean canal."

Built in the 1860s to allow access into Gowanus Bay, the canalhas remained contaminated decades after nearby industrial activitylargely came to an end. According to a release from the EPA, thecanal, which is surrounded by residential neighborhoods along withcommercial and industrial properties, is contaminated with avariety of pollutants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,heavy metals, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, metals andvolatile organic contaminants. The waterway is still used forcommercial as well as recreational purposes.

Last October, the city launched its $150-million GowanusFacilities Upgrade Project, scheduled for completion in 2013. "Bycontinuing our partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers—insteadof risking years of delay through the Superfund process—we can getthe canal cleaned up as thoroughly as Superfund, but more quicklyand efficiently so that this neighborhood continues to grow andthrive," Bloomberg said at the time. A plan to rezone 25 blocksnear the canal is still in the works, although redevelopment couldbe held up indefinitely as the EPA goes after entities responsiblefor the pollution.