NEW YORK—The Environmental Protection Agency has granted the city’s request to extend the amount of time the public can comment on the agency’s proposal to make Newtown Creek a federal superfund site, an EPA spokesman said last week.

The city said it needed more time to review the data before commenting on the proposal, said Elizabeth Totman, spokesman for the Superfund program. She said the EPA granted the request because of its technical nature.

The mayor’s office has opposed adding Gowanas Canal to Superfund, saying it would hurt planned economic development along the canal.

The city said earlier this month that it was still reviewing the proposal to add the small creek that separates Brooklyn and Queens to the federal government’s program to clean-up the nation’s most polluted sites.

Under federal law, the public has 60 days to comment on such an action from its original proposal date. With this 30-day extension, comments will now be accepted until December 23.

Totman also said the EPA was planning a public meeting with Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez’s office, although a date has not yet been set.

Citizens can make comment online at http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/pubcom.htm.