Erie, NY

High Risk (81/100)

Transparent derived index from EPA TRI / SDWIS / Superfund extracts: not an official EPA rating. Fixed caps: facilities ≤25 pts (50+ = max), log10 releases ≤25 pts, Superfund ≤25 pts (5/site), health-violation systems ≤15 pts (3/system), high-chemical facilities ≤10 pts. Bands: High ≥60, Moderate ≥30. See methodology. This is a different measure than the EJ Screening score for this county, which ranks it by percentile against other tracked counties rather than against these fixed caps.

Environmental data for Erie in New York · Population: 950,044

TRI sites such as 3M Co - Tonawanda; Dupont Yerkes Plant; Wieland Rolled Products N.a. Buffalo Inc.; SDWIS systems such as ECWA DIRECT; BUFFALO WATER AUTHORITY; ECWA AMHERST; NPL sites such as Pfohl Brothers Landfill; Wide Beach Development anchor Erie, NY's EPA extract. Derived burden score 81/100 (High Risk) uses fixed national caps on density, log release volume, Superfund count, and health-flagged systems - not an official EPA rating.

EPCRA disclosures in Erie total 4.9M lbs; health-flagged SDWIS rows include ECWA EVANS; AKRON VILLAGE; ALDEN VILLAGE, while 3M Co - Tonawanda leads TRI pounds. AQS median AQI 43 / peak 105 in 2024.

Largest TRI sites in the extract: 3M Co - Tonawanda; Dupont Yerkes Plant; Wieland Rolled Products N.a. Buffalo Inc.. Named SDWIS systems: ECWA DIRECT; BUFFALO WATER AUTHORITY; ECWA AMHERST. NPL sites on record: Pfohl Brothers Landfill; Wide Beach Development. Burden score 81/100 (High Risk) is the only weighted composite here; tables reproduce EPA disclosure history, not a current-safety verdict.

Release-over-release change

What changed for Erie, NY: EPA TRI 2023 reporting year

2022 → 2023

Same facilities, both years

+3.3%

63 facilities that filed in 2022 and 2023

Whole inventory

+3.3%

861.6 thousand lb → 889.7 thousand lb, every facility that filed

Between the two reporting years, 0 facilities filed for the first time and 4 stopped filing. Facilities entering or leaving the inventory are excluded from the same-facility comparison above.

  • Erie, NY's total reported releases rose from 861.3 thousand lb in 2022 to 889.7 thousand lb in 2023, based on EPA TRI filings.
  • Erie, NY's off-site transfers rose from 235.3 thousand lb in 2022 to 263.7 thousand lb in 2023, based on EPA TRI filings.
  • Erie, NY's water releases rose from 3.4 thousand lb in 2022 to 3.7 thousand lb in 2023, based on EPA TRI filings.
  • Erie, NY's chemicals reported fell from 57 in 2022 to 56 in 2023, based on EPA TRI filings.
County population (Census ACS)
950,044
TRI Facilities
50
Water Systems
49
Superfund Sites
2
Total Releases
4.9M lbs

Air Quality History (2020–2024)

EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) data showing how many days per year fall into each air quality category.

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy (SG) Max AQI
2024 234 (64%) 131 1 105
2023 198 (54%) 159 5 176
2022 238 (65%) 125 2 150
2021 225 (62%) 139 1 101
2020 278 (76%) 86 0 157
2024 Good Air Quality: 64% of days
Unhealthy days: 1
Median AQI: 43

Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County AQI categories: Good (0-50), Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), Hazardous (301+)

For real-time air quality readings and pollutant breakdowns in New York, see the EPA's AirNow.gov.

Water Systems (49)

System System pop (SDWIS) Violations
ECWA DIRECT 313,380 0
BUFFALO WATER AUTHORITY 276,000 0
ECWA AMHERST 92,697 0
TONAWANDA, TOWN WATER DEPT. 72,571 0
ECWA LANCASTER 29,018 0
ECWA ORCHARD PARK 24,582 0
ECWA WEST SENECA 23,557 0
GRAND ISLAND TOWN WATER DEPT. 19,500 0
KENMORE VILLAGE 15,423 0
ECWA EVANS 12,338 1
ELMA WATER DISTRICT NO. 1 10,287 0
ECWA HAMBURG (V) 9,744 0
ECWA BOSTON 7,250 0
EAST AURORA VILLAGE 6,610 0
ECWA NEWSTEAD 5,801 0
SPRINGVILLE VILLAGE 4,266 0
ANGOLA VILLAGE 4,050 0
AKRON VILLAGE 3,100 3
ORCHARD PARK VILLAGE 3,100 0
ALDEN VILLAGE 2,666 1
HOLLAND WATER DISTRICT 1,680 3
COLLINS/GOWANDA CORRECTIONAL FACILITY 1,512 0
NORTH COLLINS VILLAGE 1,496 1
COLLINS WDS #1 AND #2 1,400 0
COLLINS WD #3 760 1
BRANT, TOWN OF 465 0
COLDEN WATER DISTRICT #1 445 0
HILLSIDE ESTATES MHP 200 0
CHAFFEE WATER CO 200 2
EVANS WATER DISTRICT 160 1
HUNTERS CREEK MOBILE HOME PARK 150 19
CREEKSIDE M.H.P. 120 4
BIG TREE MOBILE HOME PARK 99 25
LAWTONS WATER CO 95 11
SPRINGVILLE MOBILE VILLAGE 90 0
CIRCLE COURT MOBILE PARK 90 3
TRITON VALLEY ESTATES MHP 80 1
COUNTRY VILLAGE 75 0
PERKINS MOBILE HOME PARK 75 0
TWIN FAWN ESTATES 50 0
EDEN-WEPAX ROAD 48 1
SHORE ACRES MOBILE HOME PARK 43 0
BENDING RIVER ESTATES 41 4
VILLAGER APARTMENTS 40 1
PLEASANT VALLEY MOBILE HOME PK 39 12
TRITON VALLEY ESTATES - FARMERSVILLE 36 0
CIRCLE B TRAILER COURT 35 0
HOLLAND HILLS APARTMENTS 30 2
TOWN OF AURORA PRIVATE WATERLINES 25 0

TRI Facilities (50)

# Facility Total Releases
1 3M Co - Tonawanda 1.6M lbs
2 Dupont Yerkes Plant 690.0K lbs
3 Wieland Rolled Products N.a. Buffalo Inc. 450.4K lbs
4 Unifrax I LLC 320.9K lbs
5 Tesla 289.6K lbs
6 Iimak 187.8K lbs
7 Lactalis American Group Inc. 185.3K lbs
8 Unicell Body Co Inc. 171.4K lbs
9 Pvs Chemical Solutions 116.8K lbs
10 Engineered Composites Inc. 116.3K lbs
11 L D McCauley LLC 89.5K lbs
12 Hamburg Finishing Works 88.6K lbs
13 Saint Gobain Corp Ceramic Materials 83.3K lbs
14 Evonik Active Oxygens LLC 83.2K lbs
15 Niagara Refining 81.1K lbs
16 Derrick Corp 55.6K lbs
17 United Precious Metal Refining Inc. 50.9K lbs
18 Upstate Niagara Cooperative Inc. 50.6K lbs
19 Materion Electronics Materials 23.8K lbs
20 Upstate Niagara Cooperative Inc. 20.6K lbs
21 New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co. Inc. 20.2K lbs
22 General Mills Operations Inc 15.8K lbs
23 Gm Powertrain Tonawanda 14.1K lbs
24 New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co. Inc. 13.5K lbs
25 Buffalo Terminal LLC 13.4K lbs
26 Rosina Food Products Inc 13.2K lbs
27 Pcb Piezotronics 11.8K lbs
28 Safety-Kleen Systems Inc Buffalo Oil Recovery Facility 10.9K lbs
29 Sumitomo Rubber USA LLC 8.2K lbs
30 Islechem LLC D.b.a. Actylis Buffalo 7.7K lbs
31 Xylem Inc (fluid Handling Llc) 5.5K lbs
32 Derrick Corp 4.6K lbs
33 Noco Energy Corp 3.5K lbs
34 Univar Solutions USA - Buffalo 3.5K lbs
35 United Silicone Inc 2.5K lbs
36 Kemper System America Inc 2.0K lbs
37 Buffalo Metal Casting Co Inc 2.0K lbs
38 Pcb Piezotronics 2.0K lbs
39 Crescent Marketing (dba Crescent Manufacturing) 1.7K lbs
40 Whiting Door Manufacturing Corp 1.6K lbs
41 Unifrax I Llc- Pirson 1.3K lbs
42 Flexovit USA Inc. 1.1K lbs
43 U.c Coatings LLC 845 lbs
44 Uop LLC 774 lbs
45 Republic Steel - Lackawanna 516 lbs
46 Moog Inc 361 lbs
47 New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co. Inc. 318 lbs
48 Frontier Hot Dip Galvanizing Inc 314 lbs
49 Tonawanda Rmx (aka River Road) 263 lbs
50 Pvs Nolwood Chemicals Inc 258 lbs

Superfund Sites (2)

Site Name Status HRS Score
Pfohl Brothers Landfill Deleted NPL Site 50.11
Wide Beach Development Deleted NPL Site 56.58

Cities in Erie (31)

Buffalo
26 facilities · 13 water
Tonawanda
12 facilities · 1 water
Cheektowaga
5 facilities · 0 water
Lancaster
4 facilities · 0 water
West Seneca
3 facilities · 1 water
Lackawanna
3 facilities · 0 water
East Aurora
2 facilities · 5 water
Orchard Park
2 facilities · 2 water
Akron
2 facilities · 1 water
Springville
2 facilities · 1 water
Amherst
2 facilities · 0 water
Depew
2 facilities · 0 water
Angola
1 facilities · 2 water
Alden
1 facilities · 1 water
Elma
1 facilities · 1 water
Grand Island
1 facilities · 1 water
Blasdell
1 facilities · 0 water
Hamburg
1 facilities · 0 water
North Collins
1 facilities · 0 water
Collins
0 facilities · 5 water
Bowmansville
0 facilities · 2 water
Colden
0 facilities · 2 water
Farnham
0 facilities · 2 water
Holland
0 facilities · 2 water
Kenmore
0 facilities · 2 water
Chaffee
0 facilities · 1 water
Clarence
0 facilities · 1 water
East Concord
0 facilities · 1 water
Norh Collins
0 facilities · 1 water
Wales
0 facilities · 1 water
Brant
0 facilities · 0 water

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the environmental risk level in Erie, New York?
Erie, NY has an environmental risk score of 81/100 (High Risk), based on 50 TRI facilities, 2 Superfund sites, and 49 water systems on record. 19 water systems have health-based violations. Source: EPA TRI, SDWIS, and Superfund NPL.
Are there Superfund sites in Erie?
Yes, Erie, NY has 2 Superfund sites on the EPA National Priorities List (NPL). Superfund sites are contaminated locations that require long-term cleanup under the EPA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
How many toxic release facilities are in Erie?
Erie, NY has 50 TRI-reporting facilities on record with the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, with a combined total of 4.9M lbs in reported toxic releases. TRI facilities self-report annual chemical release data to the EPA.
What is the air quality in Erie?
In 2024, Erie, NY recorded a median AQI of 43 and a peak AQI of 105. 64% of monitored days had "Good" air quality (AQI 0–50). Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County.
Is the drinking water safe in Erie?
Erie, NY has 49 EPA-regulated water systems. 19 systems have reported health-based violations (MCL exceedances). A past violation does not necessarily mean water is currently unsafe. For current water quality, contact your local water utility. Source: EPA SDWIS.
What environmental agencies cover Erie?
Environmental compliance in Erie, New York is overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the federal level and the New York state environmental agency. Facilities report to the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, water systems are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and contaminated sites are managed under the Superfund program. Contact your state environmental agency for local concerns.

What does this county environmental profile show?

This county environmental profile rolls up EPA Toxics Release Inventory facility reports, Safe Drinking Water Information System public-water-system filings, and Superfund National Priorities List sites for the county boundary defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Facility counts reflect facilities with a reporting address inside the county, not where downstream environmental effects may be observed. Population figures are from the most recent Census ACS 5-year estimate. The county detail page is updated whenever the upstream EPA programs publish revised data; see the methodology page for the documented ingest cadence and the editorial choices governing how aggregations are computed.

Related

Data sourced from U.S. EPA environmental datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainEnviro