National Grid Asks Court to Spread Blame for Gowanus Cleanup

One of the companies the EPA has identified as responsible for a heavily polluted Superfund site in Brooklyn is now asking a federal court to spread the financial responsibility across 40 other defendants.

The complaint filed Wednesday threatens to complicate the ongoing Gowanus Canal cleanup effort, which has dragged on for decades.

The Environmental Protection Agency has pinned responsibility for pollution in the canal on Brooklyn Union Gas Co., now doing business as National Grid New York.

But in its complaint in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Brooklyn Union said the 40 other ...