Tagged: EPA

Opponents of the Tonawanda Coke plant were outside of Department of Environmental Conservation offices in downtown Buffalo Tuesday pushing the department to act on pollution permits for the facility.

The plant is the subject of ongoing enforcement actions and a federal criminal case against the former environmental manager. The DEC says the existing permit will continue until that is concluded.

The Environmental Protection Agency says a fire in a glass and plastic recycling operation in Attica is out, after weeks of effort.

An estimated 49,000 cubic yards of glass and plastic had accumulated at the Hillcrest Industries recycling plant and started burning, emitting a foul stench across the village. State and federal officials moved in to move the burning material around and extinguish it.

Public Affairs Officer Elias Rodriguez says the next step is to make sure the fire doesn't re-start.

Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency say they are making progress in containing the foul-smelling, slow-burning industrial fire that has plagued the Village of Attica for several weeks.

In a written release, the EPA reports 5,200 cubic yards of smoldering waste have been extinguished and contained at the Hillcrest Industries facility.

Initial plans called for a round-the-clock cleanup effort, but steam and mist have forced officials to suspend work at night.

Residents in Attica should soon experience relief from a putrid odor that has fouled the air.

EPA officials have identified a number of organic materials, including elevated levels of benzene, near Hillcrest Industries as the source of the odor.

    State Senator Mark Grisanti is introducing legislation Saturday that would require prompt public alerts to sewage spills that enter local waterways. 

The "Sewage Pollution Right to Know Act" would be an amendment to the environmental conservation law, requiring sewage treatment plants to notify the public within twenty-four hours of a raw sewage overflow. Grisanti claims that these overflows leach dangerous bacteria, toxins, pathogens and chemicals into recreational and commercial waters and the public has a right to know about them.

The Buffalo Sewer Authority has been dumping billions of gallons of sewage and wastewater into the Niagara River and its tributaries for years. The Environmental Protection Agency says that has to end. So, to that end, EPA regional spokesman

Mike Basile says the Sewer Authority is being ordered to comply with federal Clean Water Act requirements for combined sewer systems.

Firefighters and other first responders to emergencies say more knowledge about the hazardous materials awaiting them at a fire scene will benefit not only their crews but also the nearby public.   Leaders from the first responder community  joined Senator Charles Schumer at Erie County's Emergency Services Training and Operations Center in Cheektowaga, where they called on the Environmental Protection Agency to streamline its system under which industries report the potentially dangerous materials they house.

The LeRoy School District is expected to release a public assessment today on tests that have been performed at the LeRoy High School. The testing was conducted after eighteen students all suffered ticks and Tourette's-like symptoms. The District hired Leader Professional Services. The company will examine the testing and issue recommendations.

The review will be presented to parents from 9 to 10:00 this morning at the high school auditorium.