A Rensselaer-based company has been fined and order to set up a scholarship for Rensselaer High School graduates for exceeding air pollution limits.

The Department of Environmental Conservation fined Curia New York Inc. and ordered them to pay $425,000. This includes a fine of $175,000 and a requirement to establish a $250,000 environmental scholarship fund.

Curia, a pharmaceutical research, development and manufacturing organization, operated nearly 86 unpermitted processes at its facility from July 2001 to May 2023 and exceeded limits for certain operational processes on 27 occasions from June 2018 through March 2023, the DEC said in a statement. 

The company will be required to submit an approved compliance plan, increase emissions testing, submit monthly emissions certifications and apply for a permit modification.

The scholarship fund will award two $5,000 scholarships to students. One will be given to a student attending Hudson Valley Community College and the other one will go to a student attending any two- or four-year college.

Curia released a statement about the fine:

“Curia self-disclosed to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation the need to incorporate certain existing processes into its NYS DEC Air State Facility permit that were not included in the 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.”