The Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority on Wednesday voted to condemn the Erie Coke property on the bayfront.

The unanimous vote is a "declaration of taking," which will help the acquisition of the property move forward, according to Port Authority officials.

The Port Authority will work with the Erie County Redevelopment Authority to obtain control of the site.

Tina Mengine, with the Erie County Redevelopment Authority explained, "It means we can take control as a community. So we can decide as community what's going to happen there."

The decisions to condemn the site comes after the Erie Port Authority worked with the Erie County Redevelopment Authority to find the best solution to a site that's been an issue for years.


As Julie Slomski, the Deputy Executive Director of the Erie Port Authority explained, "The Erie County Redevelopment Authority are the expert remediation in the cleanup, and working with DEP, and with the EPA, most importantly, community informed every step of the way for us the first step is moving forward with the condemnation."

The vote came after months of tests, meetings, and public comments.


As Slomski explained, "And the feedback we received from former workers from neighbors, elected officials, members of HECA, from the Barber Center, from the S.O.N.S. of Lake Erie. Everyone's been very supportive of this effort and we're so excited for that."

But what comes next for the plant site? As Mengine explained, "Proceed to file the action necessary, so we can take control the site from there. We can start the cleanup which is going to be a long arduous process."


Although far from the end of the road, Wednesday's vote is a step in the right direction. According to Mengine, "The next steps is the legal part of it, following the condemnation with the courts, trying to find the owners going through that legal process. The DEP still has site control, so they'll continue their testing, so I mean this is going to take some time."

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have issued letters which indicate the authorities will not be held liable for existing environmental contamination at the site, according to the Port Authority.

The 194-acre Erie Coke site is located at the foot of East Ave. and is still owned by Erie Coke Corporation despite closing in December 2019.

The industrial coke production facility has a long history of environmental law violations, and the company was federally indicted in November 2022 for violating federal environmental laws.

The Port Authority said Erie Coke is believed have abandoned the site and be completely insolvent, but it has not yet filed for bankruptcy.