Pollution trial of New York coke producer wraps up
Source: Reuters
Pollution trial of New York coke producer wraps up
By Neale Gulley
BUFFALO, New York | Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:32am EDT
(Reuters) - Jury deliberations could begin as early as Wednesday in the trial of Tonawanda Coke Corp, which has been charged with fouling the air for years and whose environmental manager is accused of hiding plant deficiencies from U.S. regulators.
The western New York company faces a 19-count indictment that lists numerous violations of the federal Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and obstruction of justice for an alleged cover up of emissions prior to a 2009 investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency. If found guilty, the company faces fines for each count.
The company, which has operated for 30 years in the Buffalo suburb of Tonawanda, produces a coal-based additive called coke, which is used to make steel.
Prosecutors said the company's air permit application did not mention a pressure relief valve emitting noxious coke oven gas. Other violations of federal law, they said, include the failure to install required emission control devices called baffles.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/27/us-usa-ny-pollution-idUSBRE92Q0I620130327