ooklyn, NY: An environmental lawsuit has been threatened against three Brooklyn companies accusing them of polluting the Gowanus Canal in the borough.

Riverkeeper, a nonprofit environmental group, reportedly filed notices of intent to sue the companies for allegedly dumping various materials into the canal, the Brooklyn Eagle reports.
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According to the group, Sixth Street Iron and Metal reportedly dumped metal and debris into the canal; the Ferrara Brothers Building Materials Corp allegedly discharged liquid cement and stone into the area; and the 107 Sixth Street LLC and 36-2nd-J Corp reportedly operates an open dump of various material.
"It's a shot across the bow," Joshua Verleun, Riverkeeper staff attorney and investigator, told the Eagle. "It's a way of saying we've been patrolling, we caught you doing this, now you need to do something about it."
This is the first step in filing a citizens' lawsuit under the federal Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The accused companies now have 60 days from the date of filing to change their alleged polluting.
