Tonawanda Coke closed less than a week after filing for bankruptcy.
Erie Coke is not closing, even though its sister plant outside Buffalo has ceased operations.
Tonawanda Coke completed its shutdown process, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced Tuesday. The facility’s gas lines have been purged and all coke ovens are empty.
Meanwhile, Erie Coke continues to operate.
Company officials declined to comment, but a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman said DEP has not been notified about any changes at the bayfront plant, which is located at the foot of East Avenue.
“Erie Coke has not contacted us about any type of closure,” DEP spokeswoman Melanie Williams said. Plant officials would be required to notify the DEP within 90 days of the cessation of operations or discharge.
Tonawanda Coke closed less than a week after it filed for bankruptcy protection. Company officials said in court documents that the company had $7 million in liabilities but the figure could increase because of outstanding lawsuits, the Buffalo News reported.
Twenty lawsuits have been filed against Tonawanda Coke. It also still owes $2 million of the $25 million in fines the company was ordered to pay in 2013 for violating the federal Clean Air Act.
Erie Coke is not mentioned in Tonawanda Coke’s bankruptcy listing, except as a creditor, and the Erie plant has not filed for bankruptcy protection. Erie Coke and Tonawanda Coke are separate companies but have the same owners.
“Erie Coke’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit requires them to notify the department in writing of its intent to cease operations 90 days prior to the cessation of operations or the cessation of discharge,” Williams said in a follow-up email.
The DEP is reviewing Erie Coke’s applications for new NPDES and Title V Air permits. The company must do additional public outreach to receive a new Title V permit.
Erie Coke’s last permit expired in February but it is allowed to continue operating because it applied for a new one before the expiration date. DEP officials have not said when the review will be completed.
“But it will be followed by a 60-day public review period that will include a public meeting and a public hearing,” Williams said.
Environmental activists who have been monitoring Erie Coke’s emissions said this has been a unique permit renewal process for Erie Coke.
“I don’t think there has been a permit renewal that has had so much close scrutiny from Erie County,” said Mike Campbell, a spokesman for the community organization Hold Erie Coke Accountable. “I hope the DEP takes a long, hard look that considers the number of violations they have had and how Erie Coke can stop them.”
The DEP has issued two notices of violation against Erie Coke in the past two months. One notice was issued Oct. 1 for two violations:
- The percent of door leaks was greater than 10 percent.
- The percent of offtake leaks was greater than 5 percent.
The other notice was issued Sept. 7 for a single violation:
- The percent of offtake leaks was greater than 5 percent.
No fines or other actions about these violations has been taken by the DEP, Williams said. Erie Coke’s emissions have caused the company to pay more than $4.8 million in penalties since 2010.
Article By: David Bruce
