Newtown Creek is up for Superfund status, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced September 23.

The EPA is proposing to place the creek, which runs between Brooklyn and Queens, on its National Priorities List (NPL) of contaminated sites. An NPL listing would pave the way for a so-called “Superfund” cleanup.

“Newtown Creek is one of the most grossly-contaminated waterways in the country,” said George Pavlou, the EPA’s acting regional administrator, in a statement announcing the proposed listing.

“By listing the creek,” Pavlou continued, “EPA can focus on doing the extensive sampling needed to figure out the best way to address the contamination and see the work through.”

Prodded by members of Congress to investigate the 3.8-mile creek, which is part of the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary, the EPA conducted a 2007 report which found high levels of metals, pesticides, PCBs and other pollutants.

The following year, at the behest of Representatives Nydia Velazquez and Anthony Weiner, the EPA agreed to a new round of tests on the creek.

The creek served as a major industrial waterway in the 19th century, along with the Gowanus Canal, which is also up for Superfund status. The creek is also home to one of the world’s largest underground oil spills.

Today, the surrounding neighborhoods of Greenpoint, Maspeth, Williamsburg, and Long Island City are home to over 400,000 residents and over 50 schools.

In a statement supporting the proposed listing, Weiner and Velazquez said it represented the first step in a long fight to clean the waterway.

“The contamination in and around Newtown Creek is of catastrophic proportions and Greenpoint residents have suffered the consequences for too long,” said Velazquez.  “Inclusion in EPA’s National Priorities List may help determine the best approach for cleaning up the creek.

Weiner said, “I am pleased to see that while the oil companies lag in their cleanup responsibilities and put the health and safety of Newtown Creek's residents at further risk, the EPA has decide to take action and hold these companies responsible for their negligence.”

Not everyone was thrilled with the announcement.

At an environmental press conference the day after the EPA proposal, Mayor Bloomberg reacted negatively to the news, saying the federal government was once again impinging on the city’s right to clean its own polluted waterways.

“What we’re trying to do is do some of these things ourselves,” said the Mayor, in response to a question on Newtown Creek posed by this paper.

He said the Gowanus Canal “was the one we particularly think we can [clean] ourselves,” but that the Newtown Creek could fall in the same category.

The mayor said public-private partnerships could revitalize neglected areas far faster and more efficiently than the federal government.

“When you think about the Superfund, it’s kind of a misnomer,” said the mayor. “There is no fund. That’s the dirty little secret.”

According to Velazquez’s office, this year Congress has approved $1.89 billion for Superfund sites.

The proposed listing opens a 60-day public comment period.