MAY 11, 2015
New York, N.Y.
Under a $12 million
settlement with the United States and the state of New York, Tonawanda Coke
Corporation will pay $2.75 million in civil penalties, spend approximately $7.9
million to reduce air pollution and enhance air and water quality, and spend an
additional $1.3 million for environmental projects in the area of Tonawanda,
New York. The agreement was announced jointly by U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck, U.S. Assistant Attorney General
John C. Cruden, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
(NYSDEC) Commissioner Joseph Martens and New York State Attorney General Eric
T. Schneiderman.
Under the consent decree lodged today in federal court in
the Western District of New York, Tonawanda Coke must improve its processes,
operations and monitoring for coke oven gas leaks, assess key equipment, repair
or replace equipment, install new pollution controls, and take many additional
measures under a prescribed schedule.
This work, estimated to cost approximately $7.9 million, will secure
significant reductions of benzene, ammonia and particulate matter emissions
from the plant, improving air quality in Tonawanda and protecting public
health. Benzene is a carcinogen.
The settlement also requires Tonawanda Coke to pay a
$1.75 million civil penalty to the United States to resolve violations of the
Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Emergency Planning and Community
Right-to-know Act, and pay a $1 million civil penalty to the State of New York,
which is a co-plaintiff with the United States.
In addition to the state penalty, Tonawanda Coke will pay another $1
million to fund projects that will benefit the environment and the residents of
Tonawanda. Additionally, $357,000 will
be provided to Ducks Unlimited, a not for profit organization, to acquire and
preserve wetlands. In addition to protecting and enhancing water quality,
wetlands reduce flooding, filter pollutants, and provide habitat for fish and
wildlife.
“Tonawanda Coke has been an environmental outlaw for too
long, “said Judith Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “Today’s legal settlement
will provide greater public health protections for the people of Western New
York. I particularly want to thank the residents of Tonawanda, their elected
officials, the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York and the Citizen Science
Community Resources who all shined a spotlight on these pollution problems. The
community did their own air toxic monitoring, which revealed high levels of
pollution. This fine example of citizen science spurred government action to
protect the community.”
“The community that is home to the Tonawanda facility is
finally receiving the protections it deserves from its neighbor,” said John C.
Cruden, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources
Division. “This settlement holds
Tonawanda accountable for its numerous violations of federal and state
environmental laws, and requires measures to achieve significant reductions in air
and water pollution that will benefit Tonawanda residents for years to come.”
“I would like to acknowledge the good work done by
everyone involved in this joint state and federal enforcement action that has
resulted in significant operational changes at the Tonawanda Coke facility, and
will continue to improve the air quality in the Tonawanda community,” said DEC
Commissioner Joe Martens. “Importantly, a portion of the civil penalty assessed
under the Consent Decree will be used to fund environmental benefit projects
that will further improve public health and the environment in Tonawanda.”
“For years, Tonawanda Coke recklessly ignored clean air,
clean water, and community right-to-know laws,” Attorney General Schneiderman
said. “In doing so, the company ignored both its legal responsibilities, and
its responsibilities to the health and safety of the residents of the
surrounding communities. With this settlement – which requires the company to
clean up its operations, and pay New York $2 million for penalties and local
environment improvement projects – we are holding Tonawanda Coke accountable
for its actions.”
Clean Air Act Violations
The company’s violations of the Clean Air Act resulted in
releases of coke oven gas, which contains benzene and other harmful
chemicals. Tonawanda failed to install
air pollution controls on its coke ovens, failed to properly monitor equipment
for coke oven gas leaks, failed to conduct required annual maintenance
inspections of emission controls and proper operations and maintenance, and
failed to complete multiple required reports among other violations. Exposure
to benzene and other hazardous air pollutants found in coke oven gas can
significantly harm human health, and excessive exposure to benzene is a known
cause of cancer.
Under the terms of the settlement, Tonawanda Coke is
currently installing coke oven battery pollution controls to limit coke oven
gas emissions from the battery. These
controls are known as “pushing controls,” and are estimated to reduce particulate
matter by up to 162 tons per year once fully operational.
Among the other actions that Tonawanda Coke is required
to take are:
• Repair
or replace equipment in the by-products area
• Install
and operate pushing controls at the coke oven battery by the end of 2015
• Install
a continuous monitoring system on the battery stack
• Comply
with the particulate emission limits at the bag house stack
• Improve
coke battery work practices, operations and maintenance
• Expand
and improve the facility’s leak detection and repair program
• Adopt
a plan to control dust that is generated by its operations at the facility and
reduce particulate emissions.
• Undergo
a comprehensive evaluation by a third-party to assess its furnace coke
production, coke oven walls and other key elements.
In addition, TCC will conduct additional auditing of its
operations to implement necessary and appropriate changes that may arise from
the third party audit.
Clean Water Act Violations
Tonawanda Coke’s Clean Water Act violations include
discharging wastewater and other prohibited pollutants in its stormwater
discharges to the Niagara River, discharging excessive amounts of cyanide,
ammonia and naphthalene in its process wastewater, and allowing process water
holding tanks to decay, pipes to leak, and spill containment structures to
become ineffective. Tonawanda Coke’s illegal discharges and other Clean Water
Act violations threatened human health and the ecology and economy of the
Niagara River and Lake Ontario.
While Tonawanda Coke has largely resolved the Clean Water
Act violations identified in the complaint, under the settlement, Tonawanda
Coke’s facility will be subject to an independent, third-party audit of its
Clean Water Act compliance and will be required to implement all necessary
recommendations for improving facility operations. EPA’s oversight of the facility’s Clean Water
Act compliance will be ongoing.
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know Act
Violations Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act,
Tonawanda failed to report that it manufactured benzene and ammonia in
quantities that exceeded the 25,000 pound per year reporting threshold. Companies that manufacture, process, import or
otherwise use chemicals above a certain amount must annually submit chemical
inventory information to local authorities and to the state, giving detailed
information about the chemicals they have on location. Tonawanda Coke has
agreed to submit several years’ worth of information about its use and
emissions of ammonia and benzene under this law.
The proposed consent decree was filed in federal court in
the Western District of New York and will be subject to a 30 day public comment
period following its publication in the federal registry. The consent decree will be available at http://www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html
For more information about EPA’s actions at Tonawanda
Coke and related legal documents, visit http://www.epa.gov/region02/capp/tonawanda.html