Categories for Co-produced with WGRZ

Oct 1

2014

Schumer calls for end to Buffalo’s dust bowl

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Federal, state and local authorities are intensifying their efforts to force an embattled construction and demolition debris plant in South Buffalo to clean up its operation. Senator Chuck Schumer visited the Seneca Babcock neighborhood Wednesday  to urge the Environmental Protection Agency to send a message to Battaglia Demolition that “we will not stand by and allow this company to pollute our community without any consequences whatsoever.” The business, owned by Peter Battaglia, has been the target of neighborhood complaints about the dust, truck traffic spewing diesel fumes and health problems for a decade. Schumer called on the EPA to require[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Sep 4

2014

Progress on Scajaquada Creek pollution

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After years of inaction, local and state officials are acting to stem the flow of sewage overflows into the badly polluted Scajaquada Creek. Following a series of stories by Investigative Post last month that aired on WGRZ and published in Artvoice: The Buffalo Sewer Authority, which treats Cheektowaga’s sewage, proposed several options to reduce the flow of untreated sewage into the creek after heavy and moderate rains. The most promising option could cut the volume of overflows by about half, according to town Supervisor Mary Holtz. Town of Cheektowaga has retained an engineering firm to develop a new blueprint to[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Aug 7

2014

DEC’s dustup with Battaglia Demolition

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The decade-long conflict between Peabody Street residents and an adjacent construction and demolition recycling facility continues despite recent enforcement actions by state environmental regulators. The Department of Environmental Conservation on May 1 cited Battaglia Demolition, owned by Peter Battaglia, with five notice of violations. Two of the alleged violations deal with failing to control dust that the DEC say drifts off the property from his concrete crusher as well as from the 80 to 200 trucks that rumble down Peabody Street most days of the week to get to and from his facility, located a mile southeast of downtown in[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Jul 31

2014

Tonawanda Coke faces $161,100 in fines

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Tonawanda Coke faces $161,100 in fines for “disturbing” violations investigators said they discovered after a Jan. 31 explosion at the plant that rattled homes and businesses up to a mile away. In total, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the plant and Kirchner LLC, which supplies temporary workers, with 17 serious violations, including two repeat ones, plus three minor infractions. Some of the alleged violations put employees at risk of falls, amputations and crushing injuries, according to the agency’s press release. OSHA defines a serious violation as “when death or serious physical harm could result from hazards[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Jul 30

2014

Cheektowaga pledges action on Scajaquada

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There is progress to report on Scajaquada Creek. The creek has been badly polluted by the dumping of more than 500 million gallons a year of sewage and untreated stormwater runoff by Buffalo and Cheektowaga. As a result, the Scajaquada is plagued by high bacteria levels , botulism that kills birds and sludge up to five feet deep in parts of the creek bed. Town of Cheektowaga officials, who to this point have dodged questions since our initial report two weeks ago, acknowledged to Dan Telvock of Investigative Post that the dumping is a serious problem that they need to address.[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Jul 28

2014

Cheektowaga pols won’t discuss Scajaquada

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Cheektowaga is responsible for dumping more than 300 million gallons of untreated sewage and stormwater runoff in the Scajaquada Creek every year. The state Department of Environmental Conservation ordered town officials to develop a plan to address the problem six years ago, but Cheektowaga has yet to devise an acceptable plan. Against that backdrop, Dan Telvock went to Town Supervisor Mary Holtz seeking an explanation. She has failed to respond to a dozen phone calls and emails and town Council members are no more eager to talk. Here is his complete report, which aired Friday on WGRZ.  

Posted 10 years ago

Jul 24

2014

Disgust and outrage along Scajaquada Creek

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Two state senators are demanding the Department of Environmental Conservation take aggressive action to address sewer overflows that have contaminated Scajaquada Creek. Senators Mark Grisanti and Tim Kennedy, whose districts include the creek, called for action Monday after witnessing a repulsive scene that included trash filled creek water, three dead ducks, and a fourth paralyzed and gasping for air in a pool of garbage and sewage. Grisanti and Kennedy, sickened by what they saw in the creek near Delaware Park’s Hoyt Lake, said they will make it a priority to clean up Scajaquada Creek and advocate for more money to[...]

Posted 10 years ago
Investigative Post

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