Tonawanda Coke Brownfield Site Decision Document

On August 29, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Health officially published the Decision Document for the large brownfield portion of the former Tonawanda Coke site at 3875 River Road, also known as site C915353 on DEC’s InfoLocator, also known as the Riverview Innovation and Technology Campus.

After Tonawanda Coke’s bankruptcy, the site was portioned into several areas, with some areas entered into the NYS and federal Superfund program, and 3875 River Road entered into the state Brownfield program. The Decision Document determines the clean-up standards and tactics that will be used to reach that standard, and follows the Alternatives Analysis, which examines which pros and cons of various potential clean up methods.

Clean Air has submitted numerous written and verbal comments over the course of time since the facility closure in 2018 which has influenced and strengthened the standards selected. You can read the Decision Document by clicking here, the comments we asked or submitted for the Decision Document here, here, and here, as well as the responses by DEC and DOH staff here.

While the site will not fully meet unrestricted standards for clean up, we are pleased to report that at least 4.7 acres of the site will, creating a buffer area between the more contaminated restricted areas and the neighboring sites. While this is a win, the site is 86.46 acres in total, so this is only 5% of the site, so this does not represent a full clean-up of the site that will allow for fully unrestricted uses of the site, such as residential development.

Clean Air will continue to participate in the Tonawanda Community Working Group and advocate for the strongest standards for remediation at the TCC BCP parcel as well as the neighboring parcels. If you are interested in joining this work, please reach out to Bridge about joining the River Road Watchdogs team.

With the Decision Document finalized, we now also need to turn our attention towards the planned future uses of the site. Under the revised Town zoning code, the site remains zoned for heavy industrial uses. The site developer has expressed strong interest in developing a data center, specifically one for cryptocurrency mining. We have heard from area residents that this is NOT a use they support due to concerns about noise pollution and the impacts on the stability of the energy grid. We are exploring potential alternative industrial uses that would better align with adjacent residential areas – if you are interested in joining this research and conversation, please reach out to Bridge about joining the Tonawanda Tomorrow Team.