Accountability in the public record

Major environmental enforcement actions

Ten major financial enforcement actions documented in Western New York—from criminal fines to cleanup-cost recoveries.

Amounts are not interchangeable.

A criminal fine punishes an offense. A civil penalty resolves violations. Cost recovery reimburses public cleanup spending. Natural-resource settlements fund restoration. We rank the announced dollar figures and clearly label each type of action.

1995 · Niagara Falls · Niagara County

Love Canal cost recovery

Occidental agreed to reimburse federal response costs. This was a cost-recovery settlement, not a civil fine.

How the action developed: The federal government sued after emergency response, relocation, containment, and cleanup spending beginning in the late 1970s. The 1995 agreement resolved outstanding EPA and FEMA cost claims after years of litigation.
Documented result: The announced $129 million comprised $101 million in cleanup costs and $28 million in interest. Long-term operation and monitoring of the Love Canal remedy continued separately.

U.S. EPA: Love Canal Five-Year Review ↗U.S. Department of Justice: Occidental to Pay $129 Million in Love Canal Settlement ↗Read the Atlas site history →

$129 million + interestCleanup-cost recovery

2014 · Town of Tonawanda · Erie County

Tonawanda Coke criminal sentence

Federal sentence following convictions under the Clean Air Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; separate from $12.2 million in community-service payments.

How the action developed: A federal jury convicted the company in 2013 on 11 Clean Air Act counts and three hazardous-waste counts. The environmental manager was also convicted, including for obstruction of justice.
Documented result: The 2014 sentence imposed a $12.5 million fine, $12.2 million in community service, and five years of corporate probation; the manager received incarceration, a fine, and community service.

U.S. Department of Justice: Tonawanda Coke and Manager Sentenced ↗U.S. Department of Justice: Prosecution of Federal Pollution Crimes — Tonawanda Coke ↗Read the Atlas site history →

$12.5 millionCriminal penalty

1999 · Niagara Falls · Niagara County

102nd Street Landfill settlement

Combined federal and state cleanup reimbursements and natural-resource damages; the agreement also required wetlands restoration.

How the action developed: The agreement resolved the last of four federal Superfund cases involving Love Canal-area waste sites and addressed liability at the 102nd Street Landfill.
Documented result: Payments covered federal and state response costs and natural-resource damages; the settlement also required restoration of wetlands affected by the landfill.

U.S. Department of Justice: Occidental Chemical and Olin to Pay $7.1 Million ↗Read the Atlas site history →

$7.1 millionCost recovery & damages

2021 · Buffalo · Erie County

Buffalo River natural-resource settlement

A settlement valued at $6.25 million for habitat preservation and restoration along the Buffalo River.

How the action developed: Federal, state, and Tuscarora Nation natural-resource trustees negotiated the settlement under Superfund for injuries to river resources associated with historical industrial contamination.
Documented result: The agreement funds restoration and preserves more than 70 acres of undeveloped habitat; trustee selection and implementation of restoration projects continue.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Buffalo River NRDAR ↗U.S. Department of Justice: Honeywell and Others to Fund Buffalo River Restoration ↗Read the Atlas site history →

$6.25 millionNatural-resource settlement

2015 · Town of Tonawanda · Erie County

Tonawanda Coke civil settlement

Federal and New York civil penalties within a broader $12 million settlement that also funded controls and environmental projects.

How the action developed: The civil case addressed air-pollution-control requirements and hazardous-waste management at the operating coke plant, separate from the earlier criminal prosecution.
Documented result: The settlement combined federal and state penalties with facility improvements and environmental projects; later shutdown and property cleanup are separate chapters in the site record.

U.S. Department of Justice: Tonawanda Coke to Pay $12 Million ↗Read the Atlas site history →

$2.75 millionCivil penalties

2022 · Buffalo · Erie County

Battaglia Demolition

The court-ordered agreement set a minimum $50,000 payment and liability up to $1.05 million depending on compliance.

How the action developed: New York's action followed odor, dust, noise, and debris-handling complaints and earlier state and court orders involving the South Buffalo facility.
Documented result: The agreement permanently shut the facility, required site cleanup, and tied the final payable penalty to compliance with the ordered work.

NYSDEC: State Shuts Down Battaglia Demolition ↗

Up to $1.05 millionContingent civil penalty

2024 · Niagara Falls · Niagara County

Allied Waste Niagara Falls Landfill

Clean Air Act settlement addressing landfill-gas controls and methane and organic-compound emissions.

How the action developed: EPA alleged failures involving landfill-gas collection and control requirements under the Clean Air Act at the Niagara Falls landfill.
Documented result: The settlement required a civil penalty and compliance work intended to improve collection and control of methane and non-methane organic compounds.

U.S. EPA: Allied Waste Resolves Clean Air Act Violations ↗

$671,000Civil penalty

2025 · Franklinville · Cattaraugus County

Great Lakes Cheese / Ischua Creek

$250,000 payable, $75,000 suspended, and a $150,000 environmental-benefit project after a discharge and wildlife die-off.

How the action developed: DEC's 2025 order followed a wastewater discharge to Ischua Creek and a documented fish and wildlife mortality event.
Documented result: The order combined payable and suspended penalties, corrective actions, and a local environmental-benefit project. It is not presented as a site-wide cleanup settlement.

NYSDEC: DEC Orders Great Lakes Cheese to Pay $475,000 ↗

$475,000Penalty & benefit project

2021 · Niagara Falls · Niagara County

Cascades Containerboard

State enforcement addressed persistent odors plus air- and water-quality violations at the Packard Road facility.

How the action developed: DEC's action followed repeated odor complaints and documented air- and water-permit violations at the containerboard plant.
Documented result: The consent order required a civil penalty and operational and pollution-control improvements, with deadlines and continued agency oversight.

NYSDEC: DEC Enforcement Action Against Cascades ↗

$375,000Civil penalty

2023 · Buffalo · Erie County

Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority

EPA assessed the amount for lead-paint rule violations, then waived it after the housing authority completed required corrective actions.

How the action developed: EPA alleged failures under federal lead-disclosure and renovation rules at Buffalo public-housing properties and entered a 2023 administrative settlement.
Documented result: EPA later reported that BMHA completed the required plans, reporting, staff certification, and compliance work, allowing the $252,000 remittable penalty to be waived.

U.S. EPA: EPA Enforcement Helps Protect Children from Lead Paint Hazards ↗U.S. EPA: EPA Settlement Protects BMHA Residents from Lead Paint ↗

$252,000Conditionally waived penalty

This is a documented research ranking, not a claim that these are the only actions ever taken in the region. Dollar amounts are nominal and are not adjusted for inflation. Separate actions involving the same facility remain separate when they arose from different proceedings.