On  June 29, 2026, the Sierra Club Niagara joined the NAACP of Niagara Falls and the Interfaith Climate Justice Community to present Dylan Keenan a Climate Justice Hero Award. This was done at a press conference on 56th Street in Niagara Falls, across from the Goodyear plant.

The reason for the award was because Dylan worked at the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) as a licensed air pollution engineer who reported to DEC management that the Goodyear plant in Niagara Falls was manipulating their ortho-toluidine emissions data to make it look less hazardous to the surrounding community. They also were not following proper EPA protocol for testing OT emissions from all of their stacks.

In 2023 the DEC fired Dylan for going to upper management and the EPA with his written report. Dylan went public and has been working with several nonprofits (Don’t Waste NY, Sierra Club Niagara, NAACP, Interfaith Climate Justice Community) to force Goodyear to reduce their air emissions to a safe level. Dylan Keenan spoke truth to power and he received this award due to his bravery and persistence, despite losing his job with the DEC.