Tonawanda Coke’s Probation Case Continues
Esta mañana, Tonawanda Coke compareció en el Tribunal de Distrito de los EE. UU. Frente al Honorable Juez William Skretny con respecto a posibles violaciones de la libertad condicional de la empresa de su 2013 caso judicial y 2014 criminal sentence.
At the hearing, US Attorney Aaron Mango referred to many instances where the company violated the probation order, including numerous compliance issues brought forth by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the US Environmental Protection Agency; specifically citing daily opacity violations, an inspection revealing a giant hole in the company’s ammonia tank resulting in a chemical leak, y daños estructurales en la instalación. The US Government requested an immediate hearing, y si Tonawanda Coke es declarado culpable de violaciones a la libertad condicional, solicite que el tribunal emita un cese y desista. Mango continuó diciendo “What the Government wants is for the community to stop breathing hazardous air.”
Attorney’s for Tonawanda Coke stated that the company has hired a expert to deal with the repairs to their coke oven battery and opacity, y que este consultor habrá completado un análisis de la causa raíz antes del 14 de septiembre..
Judge Skretny issued the following:
- By close of business today, Tonawanda Coke’s attorneys must submit a response to the US Government’s petition.
- By close of business tomorrow (Wednesday the 5th) the US Government must submit a response to the company’s papers.
- By close of business on Thursday the 6th, the company must respond to the US Government.
- Both parties will meet back in court on Monday the 10th at 2pm.
Clean Air will be holding a public meeting to discuss what happened in court, and generate community demands as this case continues.
The meeting will take place this Thursday, September 6th at the Broundshidle Post (3354 Delaware Ave.. in Kenmore) at 6pm.
Tonawanda Coke to Appear in US District Court on Tuesday
El martes, September 4th at 10:30al Se ordena a Tonawanda Coke y al director ejecutivo Paul Saffrin que comparezcan nuevamente en el Tribunal de Distrito de los EE. UU. Frente al Honorable Juez William Skretny con respecto a posibles violaciones de la libertad condicional de la empresa de su 2013 criminal sentence.
Los funcionarios federales de libertad condicional sostienen que las emisiones de la empresa son una amenaza para la salud humana y el medio ambiente y que la empresa violó su compromiso de no cometer ningún otro delito después de su sentencia en 2013. El Departamento de Conservación Ambiental del Estado de Nueva York ha emitido 176 violations to the facility since January.
Tonawanda Coke’s collapse of their heat waste tunnel earlier this year does not bear well for the future of the facility to remain in operation. In addition to the equipment failure, the Department of Environmental Conservation issued a Cease and Desist of the company’s coking operations this July. A pesar del orden, Tonawanda Coke has continued to operate.
Clean Air calls on the courts, the Department of Environmental Conservation and the US Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that Tonawanda Coke is accountable to workers and the community if the company is allowed to remain in operation, or if CEO Paul Saffrin decides to shut it down.
Clean Air’s requests include:
- The US District Court, the Environmental Protection Agency and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation require the company to submit and make public an emergency shut down plan, which includes how the company will contain fugitive air emissions in case of further collapse.
- Clean Air no cree que dejar a la gente sin trabajo sea la respuesta. Si el director ejecutivo Paul Saffrin decide quitarles la capacidad a sus trabajadores de mantener a sus familias, instead of investing the protections to run a clean sustainable business, we request that a portion of fines are used to help workers gain skills for gainful employment elsewhere. In addition, Clean Air is calling on Judge Skrenty to require Tonawanda Coke to fund continued health monitoring of all employees, including temporary workers, to guard against any potential occupational health issues.
- Clean Air is calling on Judge Skrently and the New York State Department of Conservation to require Tonawanda Coke and CEO Paul Saffrin commit and set aside funding for future site remediation in case of closure. Tonawanda Coke sits on river front property, in a neighborhood with families and children. Paul Saffrin should commit the appropriate funds to ensure site remediation to redevelop the site in a way that is consistent with the Plan de desarrollo económico de Tonawanda Tomorrow.
Clean Air members who live in neighborhoods adjacent to the company’s property have experienced the egregious behavior of Tonawanda Coke for over a decade. Resident organizing resulted in a 2009 raid of the facility by 50 federal and state agents for ongoing environmental health violations. En 2013, un jurado federal encontró la empresa y Mark Kamholz, environmental manager, guilty of 14 criminal charges, including violations of the federal Clean Air Act as well as violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, in regard to the improper disposal of benzene, a known human carcinogen.
Tonawanda Coke has also had a long history of endangering workers at their plant, en al menos un caso que resulta en la muerte. En 2014, U.S. La Administración de Salud y Seguridad Ocupacional del Departamento de Trabajo citó a la planta y a Kirchner LLC, which provides Tonawanda Coke temporary workers, with 17 serious violations. The violations included putting employees at risk of falls, amputaciones y lesiones por aplastamiento, according to the agency’s press release. OSHA define una infracción grave como “cuando la muerte o un daño físico grave podrían resultar de peligros que el empleador sabía o debería haber sabido. Dos años después de la OSHA citó a la empresa con estas violaciónes, a 60-year-old employee, Richard Wade, died after he was pulled into the rotating shaft of a coal elevator. In a statement to the Buffalo News, OSHA stated the death could have been prevented if Tonawanda Coke followed federal standards.
Tonawanda Coke has been able to operate in this way because we exist in a economic system that allowed them to. We elect politicians that have enacted laws that have allowed them to. Participamos de una cultura que les ha permitido. Esta empresa no es un actor aislado, and until we shift the types of businesses we have in our economy, and ensure that people are put first over shareholders and CEO’s wealth, the Tonawanda Coke’s of the world will continue to exist, and working class people and people of color will continue to bear the burden, and have to clean up the mess.
Alentamos a nuestros miembros a asistir a esta audiencia de historia.. Para obtener más información, comuníquese con Brian o Rebecca en 716-852-3813.
Tonawanda Coke Corporation Issued Shutdown Order!
- Improperly placing hazardous waste into battery ovens,
- Insufficient labeling of hazardous waste and record keeping violations,
- Falling to perform required testing at a wastewater outfall earlier this year,
- Twenty-nine violations related to chemical storage, including record keeping, labeling and maintenance violations and an unreported spill,
- Unreported petroleum spills and unregistered tanks.
Tonawanda Coke Confirms Waste Tunnel Collapse
In May, Tonawanda Coke Corporation confirmó nuestras acusaciones de que el túnel de calor residual en sus instalaciones se había derrumbado, posiblemente causando emisiones tóxicas a la comunidad circundante.
The waste heat tunnel is a concrete tunnel that runs underground the length of the battery, todas 60 hornos de fabricación de coque. The main purpose of the waste heat tunnel is to collect the waste combustible heat from the ovens. Now that the tunnel has collapsed, los gases normalmente no pueden fluir hacia las chimeneas de las instalaciones, and the company can’t draw enough fresh air into the manufacturing process. Without enough fresh air drawn into the process, the coking process will possibly create toxic releases into the ambient air, and into the surrounding community.
Puede ver la cobertura de prensa aquí desde Buffalo News, Canal WIVB 4,y WGRZ, Canal 2.
We call on the Environmental Protection Agency, la Oficina del Fiscal General de los Estados Unidos y el Departamento de Conservación Ambiental del Estado de Nueva York para realizar una investigación completa del incidente. Hacemos un llamado a las agencias estatales y federales para determinar la causa del colapso del túnel, risks posed to workers, and risks posed to the surrounding community.
If you live or work in the area and are noticing dark smoke or odors coming from the facility, submit a complaint to the New York Department of Conservation by calling 851-7000 or completing and mailing in este formulario de queja.
We will keep you posted as this situation progresses.
Final City of Budget Public Hearing!
This past January, hundreds of residents went to City Hall for City Budget Public Engagement day to tell the Common Council how Buffalo should spend its $500 million dollar City Budget.
Los residentes de Buffalo tendrán una audiencia pública final para responsabilizar al Consejo Común de las demandas de los residentes de la ciudad.. Common Council can approve, deny, or re-assign funds for the 2018 City Budget.
To hold Common Council accountable to your community needs, we need you to be at the final public hearing!
Thank You to This Year’s Annual Dinner Sponsors!
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!
We are excited to announce Clean Air’s 9ª Annual Dinner Sponsorship Partners. We are grateful to have the support of so many incredible businesses and organizations. Together, we will ensure that Western New York continues to strive for healthy, just and equitable communities.
PREMIER SPONSOR
Eagle Hawk
PLATINUM SPONSOR
Collins & Collins Attorneys, LLC
GOLD SPONSORS
Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO
Roswell Park Cancer Institute – Tobacco Free Erie Niagara
The Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies
David Feuerstein & Family
M&T Bank
Austin Air
Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC – Attorneys at Law
Gallagher Printing, Inc.
SILVER SPONSORS
Western New York Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
Dolce Panepinto Attorneys at Law
Heart of the City Neighborhoods Incorporated
Allen Street Consulting
Geico
Roswell Park Department of Diversity
Coalition for Economic Justice
BRONZE SPONSORS
Buffalo Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Hip Gypsy
Western New York Council for Occupational Safety and Health
Kenmore Teacher’s Association, NYSUT, AFL-CIO
Block Club
Congressman Brian Higgins
Make Communities
Buffalo Teachers Federation, Inc.
Citizen Action of New York
Hover Networks
Teamsters Local No.264
Communications Workers of America Local 1122 AFL-CIO
University at Buffalo Department of English
Communications Workers of America Local 1168, AFL-CIO
Clean Air Board of Directors
Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Towne Auto
Civil Service Employees Association Western Region 6
PUSH Green
CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS
Comprehensive Rehabilitation Consultants, Inc.
Kenmore Garden Club
Delta Sonic
Lexington Co-operative Market
Try-It Distributing
Anderson’s Frozen Custard
Congratulations to our 2018 Golden Gas Mask Award Winners!
Mary Blue
Mary Blue resides in the Kensington neighborhood and has extensive ties to the Delavan Grider community. A friend introduced Ms. Blue to Clean Air in early 2017, and she has been a member of the American Axle Steering Committee ever since. Ms. Blue has been a valuable and tireless advocate for cleanup of American Axle, a site that has been leaking toxic PCBs and hazardous waste for over 20 años. Most of her family has lived near the site, including herself at one time, spurring her dedication to working with the community to find out what is going on with the site and demand action. As a member of the campaign, she has collected petition signatures, attended community meetings and steering committee meetings, made phone calls, y se reunió con tomadores de decisiones clave en el gobierno estatal. Ms. Blue is also a member of the Masten Block Club Coalition and the University District Block Club Coalition, where she has worked with teenagers, many of whom are grown up and still visit her. She is a graduate of the University at Buffalo’s Nursing School. Ms. Blue is a proud grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother. In her free time, she enjoys bowling and line dancing.
Maria Tisby
Maria Tisby is a resident of the Town of Tonawanda. She was introduced to Clean Air Coalition in 2013, and has been a member ever since. Maria is a leader on Clean Air’s Tonawanda Tomorrow and Huntley Just Transition Campaign Teams. Through the opportunity to be involved in this work, she has led community actions that supported Clean Air’s various campaigns. Maria views justice as a critical element of public health and safety issues. That’s why she’s dedicated to working with Clean Air as they successfully fight for health, justice, and equity across the Western New York region.
Maria believes that one of the most important things a person can do is utilize the skills they have to be an advocate for other people. She spends much of her time educating herself about contemporaneous social justice issues that affect her neighbors, whether it’s housing, public funds, or quality of life.
Maria holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from D’Youville College. She is a Parish Council Member and Lector at Saint Stanislaus Church in Buffalo, Nueva York. She also serves as a Lector at Saint Amelia Church in Tonawanda. In her free time, Maria enjoys swimming as well as bicycling on the Tonawanda bike trails.
Dellla Miller
Della Miller has extensive hands on experience working with various community development projects such as, establishing food cooperatives, directing regional educational programs, and operating, consulting and managing commercial kitchens. After retiring, Ms. Della became involved in many exciting new avenues of work. She applied for and was accepted in 2014 & 2015 as a Champion of Change with One Region Forward and the UB School of Architecture and Planning. After attending their Citizen Planning School, she was inspired to find a way to share this beneficial information with others. En 2016, she was introduced to Participatory Budgeting (PB) and Clean Air Coalition, when she participated in the PB process as a community resident. The experience was so powerful, al año siguiente se unió al equipo de campaña de PB de Clean Air y se involucró en todos los aspectos del proceso de planificación de PB. Ms. Della is a dedicated and active member in PB and is committed to promoting and educating citizens. She believes PB is a positive way for community residents to improve the quality of their neighborhoods and city. Ms. Della volunteers with several projects: St. John United Credit Union and community entrepreneurship and food service operations. Ms. Della is a graduate of Empire State College.
Join us to celebrate these fierce leaders at our Annual Dinner on May 3rd! Consigue tus entradas aquí.
Reserva! 9th Cena Anual 3 de mayo!
Nominaciones abiertas para el 2018 Entrega anual!
Cada año nuestra organización reconoce el trabajo de nuestros miembros y partidarios a nuestra Cena Anual. Nuestro trabajo se basa en el principio de que nadie puede lograr cualquier cosa sola. Trabajamos con mucha gente en muchos barrios que merecen el reconocimiento. A quién debemos brillar la luz en este año? Hacer que su candidatura hoy!
Plan estratégico (Casi) Terminado!
Después de más de un año de discusiones., lecturas, y debatimos que finalmente nos estamos acercando a terminar nuestro Plan Estratégico de 5 años para presentarlo ante nuestra Junta Directiva. Nuestro borrador del plan fue creado a través de:
- numerosas discusiones y evaluaciones de nuestro comité de planificación estratégica,
- una encuesta de membresía para evaluar las fortalezas de la organización, bordes en crecimiento, y potencial 5 metas del año,
- entrevistas con el personal, miembros, miembros actuales y anteriores de la junta directiva para saber qué han estado pensando las personas sobre la dirección de la organización, Desafíos actuales y fortalezas tanto de nuestro trabajo de primera línea como del trabajo detrás de escena.,
- Entrevistas con varias organizaciones locales que comparten objetivos similares y resultados deseados.,
- 2 retiros de planificación estratégica con líderes de campaña, El personal y los miembros de la junta directiva sobre cómo responder algunas de las preguntas clave que han surgido., y cómo podemos garantizar que la organización esté a la altura de sus valores,
- Horas de conversación entre el personal y el comité ejecutivo de la junta directiva para redactar y revisar nuestro borrador del documento de planificación..
Y ahora casi hemos terminado!
Antes de llegar allí, sin embargo, Nos gustaría abrir otra oportunidad para que los miembros se reúnan y ofrezcan información antes de finalizar nuestro plan.. Realizaremos una conferencia telefónica el lunes, 19 de marzo desde 5:30-6:30pm discutir cómo la dirección de nuestro plan estratégico se alinea con la visión de los miembros de la organización y el trabajo que debe realizarse para lograr un mundo donde nuestro entorno promueva la salud y la equidad y donde los sistemas coloquen a las comunidades a la vanguardia de la toma de decisiones..
Para confirmar su asistencia a esta llamada, envía un correo electrónico a Rebecca@cacwny.org con el asunto “Confirmar asistencia al plan estratégico” antes del 16 de marzo para recibir la información de la llamada. Si confirma su asistencia y es un miembro acreditado, Se le enviará un borrador CONFIDENCIAL del Plan Estratégico para que lo revise antes de la llamada y pueda unirse con respuestas bien pensadas.. También puede llamar para confirmar su asistencia al 716-852-3813 (pregunta por rebeca).
LECTURAS SUGERIDAS PARA PENSAR A LARGO PLAZO….
(Las siguientes lecturas pueden ayudar a dar forma a la idea de cómo el aire limpio puede avanzar a largo plazo.)
Una breve historia de la justicia ambiental (video)
Exige todo: Lecciones del modelo organizativo transformador
Organización transformadora: Hacia la liberación del yo y de la sociedad