Local advocacy group urges EAC to press city for community working group on former Erie Coke site

A community advocacy group asked the City of Erie Environmental Advisory Council on Feb. 25 to press city leaders to take a more active role on the former Erie Coke site and to help create a community working group to translate environmental monitoring results for residents.

At the meeting, representatives of Hold Erie Coke Accountable (HEKA) said EPA and state Department of Environmental Protection investigations since the plant closed in 2019 have produced technical reports that are difficult for residents to interpret. HEKA requested that the council form a subcommittee or draft a formal recommendation asking the city and mayor to convene a community working group that would include city staff, the port authority, the redevelopment authority, environmentalists, business representatives and other stakeholders.

HEKA speakers said monitoring indicates pollutants affecting areas around Lampia (Lampy) Marina and argued the city could help ensure clearer public communication and broader stakeholder involvement. "Inaction is irresponsible in my opinion," one HEKA member said, urging the council to push for more transparent, citizen‑readable explanations of sampling results.

Council members discussed the legal and operational landscape: the port authority owns the property, and the redevelopment authority is charged with cleanup work, but the city retains land‑use and permitting roles that can influence future uses of the site. Members also debated whether EAC should itself form a subcommittee to draft the recommendation or simply prepare a letter to city council and the mayor.

Several options were raised: an EAC subcommittee could research partnerships and draft recommended membership and meeting formats for a community working group; alternatively, the EAC could send a concise, well‑crafted letter to city council asking the mayor to initiate the group, similar to how another municipality established a community forum in a comparable cleanup.

Council members urged HEKA to supply a clearer written proposal before the next meeting. EAC volunteers offered to help rework the materials and agreed to circulate a draft recommendation for review. Participants also encouraged HEKA to present the matter directly at a city council meeting as an advocacy step while the EAC prepares its advisory recommendation.

The council did not take a formal vote on forming a subcommittee during this session but agreed to continue work on a recommended approach and to place a revised proposal on the next agenda.

What happens next: EAC members volunteered to help redraft the HEKA proposal and to circulate it to the committee in advance of the next meeting. The group encouraged HEKA to consider addressing city council directly in parallel with the EAC advisory process.