DEC fines Curia $425,000 for air emission violations

RENSSELAER, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is fining the Curia New York, Inc. Rensselaer facility $425,000 for operating unpermitted air emission sources and exceeding permitted batch limits. A portion of the fines will fund an environmental scholarship for students in the Rensselaer City School District for the violations between 2001 and 2023.

A DEC investigation uncovered that the pharmaceutical research, development, and manufacturing organization operated 86 unpermitted air emission sources at the Rensselaer facility from July 2001 to May 2023. Additionally, between June 2018 and March 2023, they exceeded operational processes 27 times.

Curia paid a $175,000 penalty, and the DEC ordered them to use $250,000 to establish an Environmental Scholarship Fund for Rensselaer City High School graduates. Two graduating seniors seeking a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) degree will be selected annually for the one-time $5,000 scholarship. One of the students selected for the scholarship will attend Hudson Valley Community College, while the other will go to a student attending a two or four-year college.

Rensselaer City School District Superintendent Joseph Kardash said Rensselaer students can use the resource and be agents of change for the community. "DEC's focus on education speaks volumes about planning for the future," Kardash said.

After the violations were found, the DEC evaluated the unpermitted process emissions below annual and short-term guideline concentrations. In May, the DEC also denied Curia's attempt to modify its existing NYS DEC Air State Facility permit.

Curia Vice President and General Manager Barbara Kucharczyk said the company disclosed the need to incorporate existing processes into the Air State Facility Permit. "There are no community or environmental impacts resulting from the lack of inclusion of these items in Curia's permit. Curia fully cooperated with the NYSDEC's subsequent evaluation of the issue and is committed to ongoing compliance," Kucharczyk said.