Almost 90% of Title V Air Permits in Erie and Niagara County are Expired – Buffalo News Coverage

As we have been openly stating for almost a year now, NYS DEC has a significant backlog of Title V air permits and other permits that has developed over time since the staffing and program funding freezes and cuts that Governor Cuomo put in place at state agencies in response to the 2008 Financial Crisis. We began learning of this problem as we examined the Title V permit for the Fortistar power plant in North Tonawanda, and were shocked to see permits for sites like 3M in the River Road corridor with permits that expired over a decade ago. NYS Comptroller DiNapoli released an in-depth report in September 2023 specifically about the backlogged air permit reviews.

An expired permit does not necessarily mean dangerous levels of emissions from these sources – but it is a red alert that our regulatory agencies are not staffed to sufficient levels to protect the public and that there are gaps in our oversight capacity. Further, it means that permits that these sites are operating under were written under older environmental laws – earlier this year, for example, the EPA strengthened the rules about PM 2.5 safety thresholds, and older permits were written for the older threshold.

We are also alarmed by the slow tick upward in reported emissions at some of these facilities – while still operating within the parameters set by their older permits, at least to the best of our knowledge, it’s very worrying to see these increases, especially in Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPS), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), and greenhouse gas emissions like CO2. Not only does that put public health at increased risk, all of these increases also threaten to undermine the actions that we’re all taking to reduce and ultimately eliminate our statewide impacts on climate change, like transitioning away from the use of gas in our homes.

The Buffalo News this past Sunday featured deep dive coverage on the statewide issue of expired Title V permits, including the almost 90% of expired Title Vs in Erie and Niagara counties – click here to read the coverage!

Yesterday the Editorial Board also featured commentary further called on our representatives in Albany to take immediate steps to address the backlog, whether that’s NYS DEC prioritizing the reviews, our State Legislature passing environmental bills like S9370 which would mandate that permit reviews be completed within 5 years of expiration, or Governor Hochul taking the lead to steer these actions and develop a plan to address systemic understaffing at our state agencies. Click here to read the editorial!

Want to take action to pressure our representatives to take these steps? Join us on Wednesday July 24 for our next General Meeting to learn about what we are currently doing, and to talk with peers about how you’d like to get involved or what you’d like to take leadership on!