A grand jury Thursday returned a 20-count indictment charging Tonawanda Coke Corp. and its environmental- control manager with a variety of federal crimes stemming from alleged emissions of toxic chemicals at the River Road plant in the Town of Tonawanda.

Charges include unsafe storage and treatment of coal tar sludge, a manufacturing byproduct, at the facility and attempting to conceal it during an Environmental Protection Agency inspection in April 2009.

Both the corporation and environmental- control manager Mark L. Kamholz, of West Seneca, could be fined if found guilty. Kamholz, 63, also faces the possibility of prison, according to U. S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. The incidents allegedly occurred from 2005 to 2009.

Fifteen of the federal charges relate to violations of the federal Clean Air Act and five related to the release of coke oven gas containing benzene directly into the air through faulty pressure-relief valves.

“All of the Clean Air Act charges carry a maximum five-year jail term and a $250,000 fine for Kamholz, and a $500,000 fine for the corporation,” Hochul said in a news conference Thursday in the Federal Building. Hochul added that Tonawanda Coke is currently in compliance on its emissions.

Assistant U. S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, the lead prosecutor in the

case, said both parties are scheduled to be arraigned at 2 p. m. Tuesday before U. S. Magistrate H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr. in U. S. District Court.

Residents of the neighborhood in the shadows of the Tonawanda Coke plant have long complained about toxic emissions from the facility.

“The environmental-protection laws such as the Clean Air Act were passed by Congress in recognition that clean air and land are basic rights for all residents living in a community,” Hochul said Thursday.

The indictment includes charges of 10 Clean Air Act violations related to the operation of two “coke quenching towers” that lacked baffles, which are designed to reduce the emission of particulate matter from the coke gas produced at the plant. As a result, it is alleged, the gas was allowed to escape directly into the air of surrounding communities.

“The indictment also alleges both the Tonawanda Coke Corp and Kamholz obstructed justice during the investigation of the Clean Air Act violations,” Mango said.

He added that four other counts in the indictment have to do with a different federal environmental-protection law called the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

“These offenses relate to the storage and the treatment of coal tar sludge that is another byproduct of the coke production process,” Mango said. “The indictment alleges these two defendants either put the coal tar sludge directly into the ground, which is unpermitted or, in one case, taking the liquid and putting it on the coke and then burning it in a normal process, allowing the air and the gas to simply escape without being treated.”

The alleged actions were in violation of the plant’s federal EPA and state Department of Environmental Conservation permits, Mango said.

Erin J. Heaney, executive director of the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York, said of the government’s investigation, “It sounds like it was very, very thorough and comprehensive.”

She added, “It’s really gratifying to know that the case is moving forward and the government is really attacking this at all sides.”

Heaney said that while Tonawanda Coke has in the past been threatened with fines, her group’s goal has long been to stop the emissions.

“We certainly want companies to be held accountable,” she said, “but, first and foremost, we’re concerned with improving air quality.”

hmcneil@buffnews.comnull