NOCO Required to Install Pollution Control Technology at 6 Asphalt Tanks
NOCO Energy Corp operates a petroleum and chemical bulk storage terminal in Tonawanda. This facility stores and distributes liquid petroleum and products containing regulated air pollutants. There are 68 storage tanks at NOCO’s property, including 6 tanks that hold asphalt.
Our members have complained numerous times to the Department of Environmental Conservation regarding smells by the NOCO facility.
“There are consistent odors and so forth. One that I encounter generally several times a week is one at South Grand Island Bridges, it’s pretty strong petroleum, and it shows up there from NOCO territory.”
“For me the most significant is I really, really dislike some morning if I happen to be taking a walk on the River Walk, close to the Grand Island Bridge and all of the sudden I start to smell some awful horrendous smell.”
NOCO has also been found in violations numerous times over the last 5 years for violation of the Clean Air Act.
In 2014, our membership sent letters to the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Environmental Protection Agency demanding more pollution control technology at the facility.
This spring NOCO’s Title V air permit was up for renewal. Title V air permits are required for all major air pollution sources and are renewed every 5 years. Air permits set requirements for the facility to perform monitoring so that the public can be confident that the facility is following the law and may require control technology for certain pollutants that can negatively impact people’s health.
In the new permit, NOCO is required to install pollution control equipment on these tanks, to reduce emissions between 2015 and 2019!
Our Tech Team worked diligently for a month and a half to review the new permit, and demanded better monitoring of the pollution control technology, and clearer enforcement guidelines for the asphalt tanks.
On July 3rd the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation responded, stating that the agency agreed with our comments, and will develop a plan to improve air monitoring at NOCO!
This is great news! Noco was one of the companies the group was most concerned about when CAC was getting started, and was what we suspected was one of the primary contributors to the “bad air” in Tonawanda.