Erie County to provide evidence in Tonawanda Coke case

The Erie County Attorney's office submitted Wednesday a motion to file an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York to provide the court with additional information in regards to the actions of Tonawanda Coke.

The brief expresses county support for the calls by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and U.S. Department of Justice for full compliance with all applicable environmental laws or cessation of operations.

“By filing this amicus brief, we are letting the court know that Erie County leadership is very concerned with the environmental problems at Tonawanda Coke, we are vigilant about what is happening there, and we are going to do everything in our power to ensure that our residents are not being harmed by Tonawanda Coke’s activities,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz.  “The court is aware of the seriousness of these violations as well as the harm that Tonawanda Coke is doing to our health and our environment, and this brief adds our voices in support of legal actions to force the plant to abide by the law or shut down.”

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