Associated Press: Erie Coke Plant signals apparent shutdown amid pollution concerns

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  The Associated Press (AP) is a U.S.-based not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.

The Associated Press is reporting that the Erie Coke Plant turned workers away this morning, an indication that the plant, targeted by the Department of Environmental Protection over its pollution record, apparently is shutting down.

The AP quoted an employee who said workers were told they no longer had jobs. The DEP said “it would reach out to company officials to ensure the shutdown is ‘being done in a safe and orderly fashion and in accordance with state regulations,’” the AP reported.

In July, StateImpact Pennsylvania reported that the DEP moved to shut down the plant, denying its application to renew its operating permit and filing a complaint with the Erie County Court of Common Pleas, seeking an injunction to close the facility, which employs about 125 workers.

At the time, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell said the agency had received numerous complaints from the community over the past decade and had cited the plant, in the city of Erie, for numerous violations of state and federal law.

PA Post’s Ed Mahon reported on a community group called Hold Erie Coke Accountable that brought attention to the air quality issues related to the plant. Listen to that story here:

 

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