As the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection works to have Erie coke shut down, we wanted to dig deeper and learn what led them to this decision.

Erie News Now caught up with the DEP to figure that out and if there's any hope left for the future of Erie Coke.

DEP Regional Director Jim Miller said the decision to file a complaint against the facility should not be a surprise.

"At this point we've reached the end of the line," Miller said. "We've tried working with them, it wasn't happening and so we've decided to take this action."

He said in the last two years, Erie Coke failed to correct more than 80 air pollution violations.

"At some point you have to draw the line," Miller said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has denied Erie Cokes operation permit, and has filed a complaint in Erie County Court to have the business shut down.

Miller said the DEP doesn't want to see any business shut down, but that they have to put the safety and health of the people that live right next to the facility first.

"This is very rare for us to do something like this," Miller said. "If it wouldn't have been so long and involved and in an at risk community we have an environmental justice community beside the plant there, I'm not sure it wouldn't got to this point."