SCHUMER ANNOUNCES CORNING INC. IN STEUBEN COUNTY HAS SECURED CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL PERMIT THAT WILL ENABLE DIESEL MANUFACTURING PLANT EXPANSION’S STARTUP; WILL ALLOW AREA JOB-CREATION & ECONOMIC ENGINE OF SOUTHERN TIER TO CONTINUE FULL-STEAM AHEAD

Schumer Has Long Fought To Promote Clean Energy Technology, Manufacturing & Job Creation at Corning Inc. – Schumer Previously Pushed Corning to Expand at Facility in Erwin, NY & Helped Secure $30 Million in Clean Energy Tax Credits 

Fed Investments in Diesel Plant in Corning Inc. Have Helped The Company Expand Production at Erwin Plant – Now, Critical EPA Ruling Allowed NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation to Issue Critical Title V Permit; This Will Protect Environment and Give Company Green Light to Keep Ramping Up Expansion to  Full Capacity 

Schumer: Fed Approval & State Permit Will Protect Environment and Keep Corning Inc. Engine of Steuben County Humming 

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a critical ruling that allowed the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) to issue the critical Title V permit for Corning Incorporated, a diesel manufacturing plant in Steuben County, which will both protect the environment and allow the company to continue to fill orders and thrive in the Southern Tier. Schumer said Corning has been working to obtain an emissions permit over the last several months and it will now allow full startup of the new expanded facility and flowing toward full capacity. Schumer explained that the company manufactures a diesel particulate filter that is installed in most diesel engine exhaust systems. These systems then capture the emissions that come from the vehicle engine. However, because the company was nearing its cap and trade emissions threshold, the EPA needed to provide a positive ruling in order for the NYDEC to issue this final permit. Now that this federal approval has been given and the NYDEC permit issued, Corning Inc. will be able to continue manufacturing these filters, make substrate and ensuring the business expansion moves forward at full throttle.

“This federal approval is great news for Corning Inc., which will both protect the environment and allow this economic engine of the Southern Tier to continue humming and ramping up the diesel business expansion. When companies like Corning develop advanced clean energy technologies that set them up for expansion and success, it is critical we do everything we can to keep them expanding locally and employing residents with good-paying jobs. This federal approval will allow the company to continue doing just that,” said Schumer. “I have long fought for Corning to expand and create jobs right here in the Erwin, and this federal approval not only highlights Corning’s stellar track record in diesel emission control, but goes to show that the Southern Tier is a place for Corning to do business for generations to come.”  

This Title V permit is a requirement of the Clean Air Act of 1990 and is issued through the EPA to all large sources, along with a limited number of smaller sources, of air pollution. This permit includes pollution-control requirements from both federal and state regulations. Schumer has long fought to keep the Corning plant in Erwin expanding and creating good-paying jobs in Steuben County. The facility currently employs hundreds of workers. In 2013, Schumer pushed the facility to expand in the Southern Tier and helped it secure a $30 million 48C Tax Credit from the Federal Departments of Energy and Treasury to build U.S. capabilities in clean energy manufacturing. This was part of a $150 million package of these credits that went towards investments in manufacturing facilities by 12 firms. This federal investment allowed Corning to expand the manufacturing capacity of its diesel emissions control products facility in Erwin. The Section 48C program is intended to encourage investments in manufacturing facilities for the production of clean-energy technologies. Specifically, it provides a 30 percent tax credit to support investments in a wide variety of clean-energy products, such as renewable energy equipment and grids, electric and hybrid vehicles and their components, and carbon dioxide capture and sequestration systems.

Schumer said that as countries around the globe toughen emission standards, Corning has benefited immensely from this increase in demand for products that reduce diesel vehicle air pollutants. Corning’s work, Schumer noted, provides massive benefits to the environment and human health.

###