News

Erie County Council members will likely join their counterparts in the city by condemning the Erie Coke Corp. for several recent environmental violations. Councilman Kyle Foust asked at a finance committee meeting on Thursday for support for a resolution that would mirror one approved unanimously by Erie City Council on April 3. “Erie Coke certainly needs to be held accountable,” Foust said. “We can’t have an employer creating environmental and therefore possibly a health hazard in our own backyard. The time has come that this company needs to be put on notice and have its feet held to the fire... Read More

Similar work by a citizen group in Tonawanda, NY helped to close a coke plant that was operated by the same owners as Erie Coke.   The citizen group called Hold Erie Coke Accountable plans to live up to its name.    It will be conducting its own soil sampling outside the Erie Coke plant. The citizen group has watched as the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection slapped violation after violation against Erie Coke. The company last week received orders to repair its wastewater treatment facility after polluted water spilled onto the ground last month on two occasions.  Erie Coke was... Read More

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) found contaminants and malodors outside the Erie Coke plant that are in violation of its operating permit, according to a notice of violation sent to the plant superintendent Monday. The letter cites eight violations from January to March 2019. One of the violations said the DEP collected samples of a contaminant, which it has identified as coke, at the East Ave. Boat Launch on Feb. 15. The notice also said malodors, or a very unpleasant smell, was detected from Erie Coke on March 9 and 27 outside its property. No pollution is permitted outside... Read More

For immediate release April 3, 2019 Contact: Hold Erie Coke Accountable For Information Contact: Sr. Pat Lupo 814-490-3108 plupo@neighborhoodarthouse.org 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