Latest

Apr 14

2014

‘Big victory’ for Buffalo water quality

Published by

The Buffalo Sewer Authority will spend $380 million on upgrades to its century-old sewer system over the next 20 years that will drastically reduce the amount of raw sewage and untreated stormwater flowing into the Niagara River and its tributaries. The authority agreed to the improvements under pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency, which determined in 2004 that the city was violating the Clean Water Act. “This is a big victory,” said Judith Enck, EPA’s administrator for Region 2 that includes New York. “We think this formal agreement will make a big difference in terms of improving water quality in[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Apr 9

2014

Cuomo’s contempt for public’s right to know

Published by

You may recall a series of stories Dan Telvock did last fall about the push by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, among others, to open Gallagher Beach for swimming despite its PCB contaminated water and proximity to not one, but two Superfund sites. State officials, after first suggesting they might not test the beach for its fitness as a swimming hole, relented and announced the soil and water at Gallagher Beach would be thoroughly tested. We were told test results would be available in February. Well, folks, it’s now the second week in April and state officials are still refusing to say[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Apr 7

2014

Scajaquada Creek revisited

Published by

I was compelled to return to the scene to prove a point: the portion of Scajaquada Creek that runs through Delaware Park is disgusting. One person criticized the post “Scajaquada Creek: a Buffalo toilet” because the photograph I used is from last summer. I felt comfortable using the photograph because I know it is a common sight. I run three times a week and Hoyt Lake is a part of the path I take for my 10ks. I’ve become too familiar with the problems of this section of Delaware Park. I’ve also become accustomed to smelling sewer wafting from underneath[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Apr 4

2014

Quasar’s bio-energy plans draws concern

Published by

Wheatfield residents are concerned about Quasar’s proposal for a 5-million-gallon sludge storage tank at its Liberty Drive plant. The sludge is used as farm fertilizer and to produce methane for electricity. The tank would be close to a creek that connects to the Niagara River. A report from WGRZ.

Posted 10 years ago

Apr 4

2014

Who are Battaglia’s advocates in Buffalo?

Published by

Not everyone is against Peter Battaglia’s effort to expand his construction and demolition processing business in the Seneca Babcock neighborhood southeast of downtown. His advocates, however, all have skin in the game—from his children to companies that dump at his facility. I wasn’t kidding when I said I pored through hundreds of state and city documents for Thursday’s story about a decade-long battle between Battaglia and residents who live near his business. Now is a good time to share some of the specific documents. So stay tuned because I will post more documents and videos throughout the coming week. For example,[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Apr 3

2014

Buffalo’s decade-long dust bowl

Published by

The Weaver family and their neighbors on Peabody Street may be the only people in Buffalo who don’t look forward to warm weather. That’s when concrete crushing kicks into full gear at Battaglia Demolition, a construction and demolition processing facility that abuts their homes in the gritty Seneca Babcock neighborhood about a mile southeast of downtown. “I can’t open my windows because of all the dust from the rock crushing,” Jan Weaver wrote to the state Department of Environmental Conservation last fall. Between 80 to 200 diesel trucks a day rumble down Peabody Street loaded with concrete, scrap metal and[...]

Posted 10 years ago
Investigative Post

Get our newsletters delivered to your inbox * indicates required

Newsletters *