Citizens who mobilized to stop pollution at Erie Coke back authorities' plans for site
On Oct. 6, boards of the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority and the Erie County Redevelopment Authority met and voted to advance a plan seeking condemnation of the Erie Coke Corp. property located at the foot of East Avenue immediately adjacent to properties already owned by the Port Authority. The condemnation process would facilitate acquisition of the 194-acre site by the Port Authority through an exercise of its right of eminent domain. The Redevelopment Authority would partner with the Port Authority to manage remediation of the contaminated site and seek state and federal grants to support the work.
Several years before Erie Coke Corp. closed its gates permanently in December 2019, the environmental advocacy group Hold Erie Coke Accountable (HECA) began keeping watch on the manufacturing company's constant stream of violations of environmental laws that harmed the community of an Environmental Justice Area. HECA's spotlighting sought to induce the company to make improvements to its facilities and come into compliance with air and water pollution regulations. That never happened, and in the wake of shutting down, the corporation and some of its operators were indicted on federal criminal charges for actions that released contaminants known to be human health threats, including the carcinogen benzene. One of the indicted persons, a plant supervisor, pleaded guilty last summer to the charge that he faced. Not guilty pleas were filed for the plant superintendent and the corporation. Besides not accepting responsibility for the criminal charges, the company and its CEO appear to have abandoned the heavily contaminated property, paid zero in property taxes for several years, but hired expensive attorneys while handing over the multimillion-dollar cleanup bill to Pennsylvania taxpayers. In HECA's view, condemnation of the property left behind by Erie Coke Corp. is an appropriate judgment.
The first year of comprehensive assessment of contamination of soil, surface water, and groundwater on the property was completed in July 2023 by environmental consultants contracted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The level and extent of the contamination was so bad that the state agency has had to rehire their consultants to do an additional year of site investigation, including sampling more areas for soil contamination and drilling several additional wells to investigate polluted groundwater. After this expensive work is done, the DEP will hopefully be able to characterize the full severity of the pollution and know the directions of contaminant dispersion within (and potentially beyond) the site boundaries. What follows then is a reckoning of the necessary cleanup processes and evaluation of what future uses of the site are possible.
The prognosis for future site development is complicated by the threat of Erie Coke Corp. contaminants being released offsite to neighboring properties, including private residential and institutional areas located south and east of Erie Coke, and parcels owned and managed by the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority on east and west sides. To address the questions about offsite releases, DEP has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate contamination of neighboring areas relative to federal Superfund eligibility, and those studies will get underway in the coming year. HECA applauds this important new development in the environmental investigations, since we were advocating for this sort of inquiry beginning five years ago, when the coke plant was regularly spewing its contaminants into the surrounding neighborhood.
Since the Port Authority lands adjacent to Erie Coke include public recreational areas (Lampe Marina and campground), the move by the Port Authority to advance a condemnation process of the Erie Coke property is logical and prudent. HECA has had meetings with representatives of the Port Authority and Redevelopment Authority, and we are determined to ensure through advocacy that the public will have opportunities to weigh-in on decisions that may determine the fate of Erie Coke's lands and waters. HECA encourages anyone interested in learning more to read the full details of the Port Authority and Redevelopment Authority intentions using the link on the Port Authority website. This extensive Q&A document offers transparent disclosure of the intended relationship between the Port Authority and Redevelopment Authority, the rationale for condemnation, cost expectations and liability for cleanup, and alternatives considered. Most importantly, what follows the condemnation process will require public input and support, which is one major reason why HECA supports the proposed action (condemnation).
Context: Erie County Redevelopment Authority and port hope to condemn Erie Coke, launch cleanup
More from HECA: Hold Erie Coke Accountable: Engage the public now on the cleanup, future of Erie Coke site
HECA encourages all persons interested in the future of the Erie Coke property to express their view by submitting public comment in writing before Nov. 10, 2023, which may be submitted to the Port Authority by U.S. Mail (Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority, 1 Holland St., Erie, PA 16507) or to www.porterie.org/publiccomment/. Comments can also be provided orally at a public hearing to be held at 6 p.m. Oct. 23 at East Middle School, 1001 Atkins St.
Submitted by the members of Hold Erie Coke Accountable, Sr. Pat Lupo and Dr. Michael Campbell, co-chairs.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: HECA endorses ECRDA, Port Authority plans to clean Erie Coke site
