Tonawanda Coke just won’t stop.

Today I got a call that an ally over at the Wastewater treatment plant could see flames coming from the plant.

So I hopped in my car. Sure enough, I could see the dark smoke from Riverside.

I sat there for about 20 minutes. Even with the wind blowing away from Kaufman Ave, it stunk.

I met up with Kathy Ryan and together we discovered the flames coming from the plant.

Apparently, the plant had an exhaust failure. That’s a fancy way of saying the gases didn’t make it to the right places to be taken care of safely. Instead, the ovens were opened and the gas was set on fire and vent right into the atmosphere.

I spoke with the DEC, they say the problem will be fixed by 1:00PM.

Did you see this? Did you smell it? Report it to the DEC by calling 851-7200. The more people that call, the stronger our case. Enough is enough!

The Clean Air Coalition is growing every day in influence and numbers. We need your help to spread the word about the good work we’re doing!

We’ve signed up to participate in a number of community fairs. Can you help us by spending a few hours at the booth talking to people about our community’s challenges and victories? We need help:

April 10th from 10:00 – 2:00 PM
April 17th from 11 – 6:00 PM
May 31st at the Ken-Ton Memorial Day Parade
The first week of July at Kenmore Days.

We ask that our volunteers commit to two-hour chunks of time. If you can help, please fill out our volunteer form. Be sure to include the dates and times you are available to help.

Volunteering with the Clean Air Coalition is an easy way to help us grow. The more people we engage, the more powerful we become. Please sign up today!

The past few weeks we’ve noticed the smoke has been darker and the odors have been stronger at Tonawanda Coke. Whatever is going on in there isn’t good for us to breathe.

And it looks like there is also trouble at Erie Coke, our “sister plant”, in Erie, PA that is also owned by Don Crane.

Our friends in Erie sent along a few articles explaining the incident. According to reports, the plant lost power and when employees tried to turn on the boilers the system overloaded. That’s when the “coke-smell” was released into the air. The Erie Times covered the story and a blogger put up pictures of the smoke. The emissions covered downtown Erie the entire day.

Crane now had two companies under investigation and has been ordered to clean up at both sites. What’s it going to take to get this guy to clean up his act?

Incidents like these demonstrate why the state must continue to monitor the air in Tonawanda. Relying on companies like Tonawanda Coke to honestly self-report their emissions is foolish. Unfortunately, the funding for the air monitors in Tonawanda runs out April 1. We’ve started a petition here to let DEC Commissioner know we need air monitoring. Funding the monitors will allow us to track our progress and sends an important message to polluters that we are watching. Help us out by signing the petition and letting your friends know.

Ever wondered what coke is? How they make it? What is released in the air when it’s produced? What it looks like inside Tonawanda Coke? If so, this presentation is for you!

Join us on Wednesday, March 17th at 7:00PM to hear from Nellie Brown about what happens inside a coke facility. As usual, we’ll be at the Sheridan Parkside Community Center at 169 Sheridan Parkside Drive.

Nellie Brown is CIH, is a biologist, and chemist and certified industrial hygienist, specializing in occupational safety and health in her role as Director of Workplace Health and Safety Programs for ILR Extension.

It’s been a busy week! We’ve rounded up all the good stuff we’ve dug up. Enjoy!

In a recent blog post we described some of the EPA’s most appalling findings at Tonawanda Coke. If you’re interested in more, check out the summaries we’ve created. We’ve gone through the two Notices of Violation and the Compliance Order and pulled out the nuts and bolts. Here you’ll find a more comprehensive overview of the violations and the time line Tonawanda Coke has to comply with if they are to avoid fines.

Our new intern Matt has been following the money in Tonawanda. Want to know who takes money from industrial polluters? Check out the list he’s been compiling at LittleSis. Hint – the list includes folks like Chris Collins and Robin Schimminger. He’s adding more every day – so check back often!

And we just posted the pictures from last night’s community meeting. Over 40 folks came out to brainstorm ideas for a comprehensive plan to reduce air pollution in Tonawanda. We came up with some great ideas! Next meeting we’ll be voting to decide what we will advocate for this year.

We couldn’t be more pleased with the EPA’s latest action at Tonawanda Coke. Yesterday, Judith Enck, the new EPA Region 2 Administrator announced her agency is requiring serious changes at the coke plant. The EPA has put Tonawanda Coke on notice for violating several environmental laws. The notices detail the current environmental violations at the plant and outline a mandatory time line for their correction. And if Tonawanda Coke doesn’t comply, they face fines of up to $35,000 per day out of compliance. The EPA is not messing around.

The Buffalo News and Tonawanda News both did a good job summarizing the new enforcement action. You can find complete coverage of the announcement here.

The EPA’s announcement was accompanied by the release of the documents sent to Tonawanda Coke — and we spent last night reading through them. In our opinion, these documents are where the real story is. When read together, they paint a vivid picture of what it must look like inside Tonawanda Coke, and it’s terrifying. Here are a few findings that stuck out:

–“weak liquor storage tank was highly corroded with large holes in the top half of the tank. There were stains indicating that the tank had overflowed throughout the holes.”
— “tar decantor sludge can fall on the roadway, be exposed to stormwater…the beam used for the tar decanter hopper/collection is in need of replacement/repair.”
— “…TCC was operating two unenclosed and unsealed weak ammonia-liquor storage tanks at the Facility, and was beginning to operate one additional unenclosed and unsealed weak ammonia-liquor storage tank due to repairs being made at the Facility’s ammonia stripper.”
— “TCC stated that records of monitoring and visual inspections of the control equipment for the Facility’s process vessels, tar storage tanks, and tar-incepting sumps for control equipment did not exist.”
— “… a TCC representative stated that only initial training had been provided to coke plant personnel and that refresher training has not been provided.”
–“During the inspection, EPA requested to review TCC records that indicate that the leaks identified at the collecting main were timely repaired. TCC indicated that it has not kept any records of such leak repairs.”

If you think this is bad, check out the original documents. They provide dozens more descriptions of the things they found inside the plant.

While the picture is bleak, the future is brighter. Enck has given Crane a chance to clean up without being fined. It’s time for Crane to bite the bullet and make improvements at his plant – it’s the best outcome for everyone. It will be less expensive than appealing it court and it will immediately improve the safety of his workers and give relief to residents in Tonawanda

For more details and to join the fight, come to our next community meeting – Thursday, February 11th at 7:00 pm at the Sheridan Parkside Community Center (169 Sheridan Parkside Drive in Tonawanda). The more people that stand with us, the stronger we are!

Thanks to everyone who was able to make it out to our membership meeting last night.

We packed a lot into just an hour! First, celebration was in order. We debriefed and celebrated the raid and arrest at Tonawanda Coke. But our work at the plant isn’t done yet! We have a strategy session February 17th at 3:00 pm. If you’re interested in helping us shape our campaign against Tonawanda Coke this year let us know by sending Erin an email at erin@cacwny.org.

Big thanks to Steve for giving our members an update on our meeting with our new Erie County Legislator Kevin Hardwick!

We spent the last part of the night brainstorming ideas for a new campaign to reduce air pollution in WNY. We came up with some great ideas including reducing self-reporting, investing in a computerized matrix to improve traffic flow and reduce idling, and implementing a cap and trade for hazardous air pollutants. If you have more ideas please share them by posting to our blog, facebook or shooting Erin an email.

Thanks to everyone who joined us! Our next meeting is February 11th at 7 pm at the Sheridan Parkside Community Center.
Steve gave us an update on our meeting with our new Erie County Legislator Kevin Hardwick

We’re not wasting anytime this year! Our first member meeting is this Thursday and we have lots to do. We’ll be discussing the recent events at Tonawanda Coke and then beginning to look to the future. We’re closer than ever to cleaning up Tonawanda Coke, but we know they are only a small piece of the air pollution in our neighborhood. That’s why we are going to create an “air pollution platform”: a list of actions we want taken by elected officials and regulatory agencies to reduce pollution and improve our quality of life. Come with your ideas – people know best what they need in their neighborhood!

If you want a little bit of light reading before the meeting, you can check out our summary of the Tonawanda Air Quality Study released by the DEC in October.

As usual, the meeting at at the Sheridan Parkside Community Center, 169 Sheridan Parkside Drive, at 7:00 pm. We’ll be there an hour!

On Monday, January 25th we are hosting two folks who know a lot about how government, companies and citizens can work together to keep communities safe. Join us to hear from Joe Gardella, Professor and Larkin Chair of Chemistry at the University at Buffalo and Walter Garrow, Safety Director at Quality Inspection Services and Industrial round table and EJ panel. The two will speak about companies that have done a good job protecting their neighbors and workers, successful strategies for engaging companies and government and answer questions from residents. The event is at 7 pm at the Ken-Ton Chamber of Commerce: 3411 Delaware Ave.

On February 17th we are hosting a panel Beyond Love Canal: Environmental Justice in Western New York. Our community has a rich history of environmental organizing and we’re bringing the region’s most impressive advocates together to share it. We’ll hear how West Side residents are struggling with asthma, the multi-faceted approach to environmental issues on the East Side, from veterans who worked on the Seneca Babcock and Hickory Woods campaign, and of course tell our story. The event is at Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center 340 Delaware Ave. in Buffalo at 7 pm.

It’s a new day for the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York – and we have proof! Today we’ve launched our brand new website. It’s designed to connect our community with the resources we need to be our own advocates. You can find great information on how to take action in your community, keep up-to-date with the Coalition’s meetings and events and educate yourself. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to sign up for our mailing list and to become a member! (jimmy — please link to both those pages when they are finished).

The site is a work in progress, so please be patient as we add the finishing touches. Check back frequently for new and exciting updates.

But the fun doesn’t stop with the website. You can also follow us on twitter – our name is “cleanairwny”. And finally, don’t forget to become a fan of the “Clean Air Coalition of WNY” on facebook.

Big thanks to James Heaney at Splash Publishing (full disclose – he’s my brother!) for pulling this site together quickly and professionally!