Categories for GreenPost

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

Texting out WNY environmental problems

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Western New York residents now can use their phones to report environmental concerns directly to the people in power. The Western New York Environmental Alliance has partnered with the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo‘s mobile communications tool Grow 716 to launch the “716 Stands Up for the Environment” text messaging campaign on Earth Day. This is how it works: text the keyword “WNYEA” to 877-877. The mobile tool texts back a few questions and your answers will go by letter to elected officials in May. Although the alliance asks residents to text before May 1, the campaign will extend beyond that. Residents can track results[...]

Posted 11 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 11 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 11 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 11 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 11 years ago

Mar 28

2014

Buffalo’s harsh winter kills thousands of fowl

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Many of us complained about this winter’s freezing cold. But we survived. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for a lot of birds. Thousands of ducks along the shores of Lake Erie and Niagara River died from starvation due to the brutal winter this year, the state Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed today. The widespread ice cover prevented the fowl from eating food in the water. State wildlife experts called the number of deaths “unprecedented.” DEC tests did not reveal any infectious diseases in the waterfowl, the agency said. Eastern Lake Erie and the Niagara River are habitats for 150,000 to[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Mar 27

2014

Mapping spread of Great Lakes invasive species

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Ever wonder how fast invasive species can spread throughout the Great Lakes? Look no further. The Nature Conservancy developed a series of time lapse maps that show the shocking, rapid spread of the different types of invasive species. Zebra and quagga mussels, round goby and sea lamprey are the chief invaders in Western New York. “A 2012 report by Anderson Economic Group commissioned by The Nature Conservancy revealed that it costs hundreds of millions of dollars to control aquatic invasive species,” The Nature Conservancy states on its website. “Industries like sport and commercial fishing, water treatment, power generation and tourism are all affected by[...]

Posted 11 years ago
Investigative Post