Dec 9
2013
The governors of eight Northeast states, including New York, want the federal government to force Midwest-Rust Belt states to prevent coal plant soot and smog from wafting across borders. The solutions are costly air pollution control technology or closing the coal plants for good.
Nov 16
2013
Responding to an Investigative Post report, state environmental officials announced Friday they will resume air quality testing near the Peace Bridge. Unlike the last round of testing, the monitoring will include the summer, when pollution levels are higher.
Nov 14
2013
Ontario is a year away from removing coal-fired power from its grid. But the smog isn’t going away. That’s because half of Ontario’s smog comes from the United States, namely Michigan, where half of its electricity comes from coal-fired power plants. In comparison, about 3 percent of New York’s electricity comes from coal.
Nov 13
2013
State officials proclaimed a month ago that air monitoring results near the Peace Bridge showed no serious pollution problem in the adjacent neighborhood plagued by high asthma rates that studies have linked to bridge traffic. In fact, officials went so far as to declare: “the data suggest that there are no significant differences between air quality in the plaza neighborhood and in the City of Buffalo overall.” However, an Investigative Post analysis has determined that conclusion is “not scientifically valid,” in the words of Sherri Mason, associate professor of chemistry at SUNY Fredonia, one of nine experts interviewed for this[...]
Oct 24
2013
The Cuomo administration has relented and agreed to test Gallagher Beach in South Buffalo for possible contamination before deciding whether to open it for swimming. In fact, crews began work this week to collect water, soil and sediment samples. An employee on the job for Ecology and Environment Inc., the contractor hired to collect and analyze samples, said the testing is the most comprehensive the firm has conducted for a beach. The decision to conduct comprehensive tests follows two Investigative Post stories earlier this month (found here and here) that reported the beach rests in a harbor basin contaminated with[...]
Oct 22
2013
New York State Assemblyman Sean Ryan (D) is urging the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to enforce the sewage right to know act. Ryan made the announcement on Friday in Buffalo. The law went into effect and calls for the public to know how much sewage is being discharged into local waterways. Despite that, Investigative Post in June found many of the reports are incomplete. “No one swims in their toilet,” said Assemblymember Ryan. “We don’t want to swim in waterways that are contaminated.” Since the law went into effect in May, there have been 252 sewer discharges[...]
Oct 17
2013
Our Earth is changing rapidly. There is no doubt. But people around the globe have a hard time seeing shrinking lakes and forests and urban sprawl from thousands of miles away. Until now. TIME magazine and Google partnered with NASA and the U.S Geological Survey to create a series of “stunning” timelapse satellite photographs that show how the world has changed over nearly three decades. Google also has some of the most shocking visuals. At the right-hand corner of the box of satellite images you can type in a location, such as Buffalo, and witness the changes that have occurred here. But Buffalo’s[...]
Oct 16
2013
A month-and-a-half ago, Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared his intent to open Gallagher Beach near the South Buffalo – Lackawanna border for public swimming. Congressman Brian Higgins is pushing to open the beach as soon as next summer. Not so fast, concluded an analysis by Erie County’s former senior public health engineer. He concluded opening Gallagher Beach for swimming is “probably impractical” because of a raft of environmental concerns. The analysis, coupled with reporting by our environmental reporter Dan Telvock, painted a picture of a beach whose waters rest in a harbor basin contaminated with PCBs and whose neighbors include two Superfund sites that[...]