News

For immediate release April 3, 2019 Contact: Hold Erie Coke Accountable For Information Contact: Sr. Pat Lupo 814-490-3108 [email protected] Erie, PA – Hold Erie Coke Accountable (HECA) is partnering with the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) to update the public on Erie Coke’s ongoing violations and the high stakes impact for Erie’s quality of life and prosperity. A free and open to the public event, “Erie Coke Plant Community Impact Update” will occur on Tuesday, April 16, 2019, 6:30 to 8:00 pm at the East Middle School Auditorium, 1001 Atkins St. Erie, PA. A panel of environmental scientists will... Read More

Janice Etchison wanted to make one thing clear to Erie City Council members as she stepped to the microphone. The concerns that she and others share about how Erie Coke Corp. operates are “not just an eastside issue,” Etchison told council members at City Hall on Wednesday morning. “This is a serious concern for the whole city.” Etchison, who lives on East Ninth Street, is a member of an Erie community organization, Hold Erie Coke Accountable, that has been closely monitoring environmental regulation issues at Erie Coke, located at the foot of East Avenue. The group also applauded Erie City... Read More

This reported chemical spill has gotten the attention of Erie City Councilwoman Kathy Shaff who has proposed a resolution to send a formal letter to state officials about “toxic pollution” at the Erie Coke plant. This is footage sent to us of of a reported chemical spill that happened inside of a tank in the Erie Coke plant. Investigators from the Department of Environmental Protection spent around a day and a half investigating what caused the alleged leak. “It smells terrible and everything,” said Erie resident Anabil Colon. Anabil Colon spends a lot of time fishing down at the bay... Read More

Erie City Councilwoman Kathy Schaaf wants to send a formal letter to state officials about “toxic pollution” at the eastside plant. Erie City Councilwoman Kathy Schaaf wants Erie Coke Corp. to clean up its act. A Schaaf-sponsored resolution on City Council’s Wednesday meeting agenda requests that council send a formal letter to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection “regarding the toxic pollution emerging from” Erie Coke’s plant at the foot of East Avenue. The DEP, in a 16-page administrative order issued on Feb. 4, said it found several ongoing air-quality violations at the Erie Coke plant, including the release of... Read More

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued its findings Monday after an investigation of a chemical spill at the Erie Coke plant late Sunday afternoon. The spill occurred at a wastewater treatment plant the company operates on site. According to the DEP, a hole developed in a large, above-ground storage tank March 18. Erie Coke personnel repaired the hole by welding a large metal plate to the tank. The tank failed Sunday, causing a large volume of wastewater to be released onto the ground and into surrounding structures at the facility. The wastewater contains, among other regulated substances, benzene, naphthalene, ammonia,... Read More