In March 2009, the EPA proposed that the canal be listed as a Superfund cleanup site. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) supported this action. It had requested help from the EPA to address the canal's environmental problems. In May 2009, the city stepped forward to oppose the Superfund listing. For the first time it offered to produce a Gowanus cleanup plan that would match the work of a Superfund cleanup, but with a promise to accomplish it faster. The city said it could now achieve a faster cleanup than the EPA. It would fund the cleanup through taxpayer dollars from the state and city levels, while the EPA would seek its funding from the polluters. The nonprofit Gowanus Canal Conservancy was also founded in 2009, creating partnerships with the EPA, the NYCDEP, groups such as Riverkeeper, and universities such as Cornell and Rutgers. On March 4, 2010, the EPA announced that it had placed the Gowanus Canal on its Superfund National Priorities List. Following this, the USACE halted their study immediately, giving all their research to the EPA.