Tag: Environment

May 6

2014

EPA investigating Battaglia Demolition

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The federal Environmental Protection Agency confirmed Tuesday that it’s investigating Battaglia Demolition for potential environmental violations. The EPA investigation comes less than a month after Investigative Post reported how residents on Peabody Street and elsewhere in the Seneca Babcock community have complained for a decade about quality of life problems they blame on the construction and demolition debris business owned by Peter Battaglia. Our report also revealed how the business continues to operate without one, and possibly two, state permits. The state Department of Environmental Conservation has cited Battaglia for operating a concrete crusher without an air permit and at[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Apr 22

2014

A buzz in Buffalo

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A secret network of beekeepers in Buffalo has developed. Well, it’s no secret now after this report from Grist. The city doesn’t have laws that prohibit beekeeping at a time when towns, cities and counties across the country are changing rules to be more bee friendly while also protecting neighbors.

Posted 12 years ago

Apr 22

2014

A typical morning on Buffalo’s Peabody Street

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How would you like to wake up at 7 a.m. to the sound of an excavator digging through concrete rubble? Welcome to Peabody Street in the Seneca Babcock community, where noise is a common occurrence from Battaglia Demolition’s excavators, truck traffic and concrete crushing. Here’s a short video taken from one resident’s porch: My report a few weeks ago on the decade-long fight between Seneca Babcock residents and Battaglia Demolition and a follow up blog post sparked a lot of conversation on our site and WGRZ’s Facebook page. The complaints about the business include bad air, heavy truck traffic, noise and health problems. The[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Apr 16

2014

Courts side with town in wind farm permit dispute

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Allegany Wind LLC wants to build a wind farm with 29 turbines in Cattaraugus County but needed an extension of its special use permit after a bout of legal challenges. The town of Allegany declined the extension, setting off another lawsuit. The courts sided with the town. A report by Great Lakes Echo.

Posted 12 years ago

Apr 16

2014

Courts uphold EPA’s toxic air emissions regs

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A federal appeals court upheld President Obama’s EPA toxic air regulations that aim to cut lead, arsenic, mercury and other pollutants from coal- and oil-burning power plant emissions. The rules require out-of-compliance plants to install pollution control technology.

Posted 12 years ago

Apr 14

2014

‘Big victory’ for Buffalo water quality

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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 12 years ago

Apr 7

2014

Scajaquada Creek revisited

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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 12 years ago

Apr 4

2014

Who are Battaglia’s advocates in Buffalo?

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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 12 years ago
Investigative Post