United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA Continues its Presence at the Tonawanda Coke Facility River Road Tonawanda, New York Community Update December 2019 Public Participation is essential to the success of EPA's community involvement program. If you have any questions, please contact: STATUS OF ACTIVITIES While the facility transitions to the next phases of cleanup and reuse, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues its presence on site. Michael Basile EPA Public Affairs Specialist Western NY Public Information Office 186 Exchange Street Buffalo, New York 14204 In September 2019, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York ordered the sale of the facility property, and on October 10, 2019, the property was sold to Riverview Innovation and Technology Campus, Inc. (RITC). RITC plans to redevelop the property into a data center. RITC assumed responsibility for maintaining all secondary containment areas and discharges to the Publicly Owned Treatment Works. In addition, RITC began other tasks to ensure the main plant area is secure, and it is prepared to mitigate any potential release to the environment. (716)551-4410 basile.michael@epa.gov Under EPA oversight, in September 2019, Honeywell International, Inc., began clean up activities at Site 108, the portion of the facility designated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as a state superfund site. Waste coal tar contained in three bulk storage tanks and soil contamination in the containment areas around these tanks will be removed and disposed of at EPA-approved disposal facilities. These tanks will also be demolished and removed. Asbestos-containing materials will be mitigated, and historic piles of contaminated soil will be shipped for disposal to EPA-approved disposal facilities. Restoration of the affected areas will be completed at the conclusion of the cleanup. SITE BACKGROUND The Tonawanda Coke Company operated a coke manufacturing facility from 1978 until operations at the site were abandoned in October 2018, leaving behind numerous coal/coke piles, drums and tanks with coal tar sludges, acids, bases, flammable liquids and potentially explosive materials.The Tonawanda Coke facility is comprised of two parcels of land separated by River Road. The parcel on the east side of River Road, known as the main plant area, is the portion of the facility where coke manufacturing occurred on the property since 1917. The parcel on the west side of River Road, adjacent to the Niagara River, is known as Site 108. EPA led the effort to safely shutdown operations at the Tonawanda Coke Facility under its removal program securing all dmms, containers and tanks; treating process waste before being discharged to the local water treatment plant and providing other emergency stabilization actions. In Fall 2018, sixty coke ovens were closed, following the emptying and purging of gases from these structures. This marked the end of coke production at the facility. Throughout 2019, EPA removed certain contaminated soil at the facility to mitigate impacts to surface water and stop the spread of contamination. Floors contaminated with chemicals in several buildings have been cleaned, and over a million gallons of contaminated water have been treated. Other areas contaminated with hazardous substances were addressed by EPA to prevent the release of the contaminants to the environment. httDs://www.epa.gov/nv/tonawanda-coke-corporation-tcc-site ------- |