Investigative Post

A university research team released a report Wednesday that found — to no one’s surprise — that some of the soil around the Tonawanda Coke plant is contaminated with a host of toxic chemicals. The affected areas include two areas near the plant in the town and city of Tonawanda. Contamination was also found across […]

There’s been a tug of war for 15 years between CWM Chemical Services, which has proposed expanding its hazardous waste landfill in Porter, and opponents of the project. Since Investigative Post last reported on the proposed expansion, opponents have filed paperwork with the state that aim to show the community is a bad fit for […]

State officials took steps Tuesday to limit the concentration of chemicals that contaminated the drinking water supply in Hoosick Falls several years ago. If adopted, the recommendation would require improvements to around a quarter of public water systems across the state, with initial costs of $855 million. The standards, recommended by the New York State […]

Residents who live near Tonawanda Coke want to know whether pollution from the plant has contaminated the soil in their yards and their children’s schools and playgrounds. A federal judge agreed and ordered the Tonawanda Coke Corp. to fund a $711,000 study investigating how the plant’s foundry coke emissions have contaminated soil in surrounding communities. […]

Researchers are concerned that climate change could be helping to lay the groundwork for an eventual collapse of the Niagara River’s ecosystem. Populations of the Emerald Shiner, a minnow that serves as the foundation of the river’s food chain, have been cut drastically this summer. Researchers worry that as the region heats up, this could […]

Jim Heaney tells Scott Levin of WGRZ that Tonawanda Coke has been a rouge operation for years. The foundry coke plant off River Road was back in the news Monday, when federal prosecutors hauled the company into court and public officials questioned the firm’s conduct after they temporarily blocked firefighters from dealing with a blaze […]

Sara Jerving, who has reported from over a dozen countries and been published in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times, has joined the staff of Investigative Post. Jerving will primarily cover environmental issues. “I have long been passionate about environmental reporting and I’m excited to join Investigative Post, which has […]