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Blog Against Smog

Apr 1, 2021

Health Department Issues Notice Of Violation to U.S. Steel Over Hydrogen-Sulfide Exceedances

The Allegheny County Health Department on April 1 issued a Notice of Violation against U.S. Steel for hydrogen sulfide exceedances that occurred at the Liberty monitor. The NOV covers 25 exceedances, which occurred in 2020 and seven to date in 2021. The notice is the first step for any enforcement action, including civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation per day, for sources. Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas most commonly recognized by its “rotten egg” smell. U.S. S

Mar 24, 2021

ACTION ALERT | Tell Allegheny County Council: Air Quality Permit Fee Changes Desperately Needed

The petition is now closed. Thank you to everyone who signed! Imagine if you will, a world where local air quality program staffers must complete complex reviews and craft lengthy reports FOR the major industrial polluters they are charged with regulating. For free. Surprise: That’s what’s happening NOW right here in Allegheny County, where air quality staff members – inspectors, engineers, and attorneys – complete things like ambient air quality modeling, risk assessments, a

Mar 16, 2021

More Air Quality Violations at Clairton Coke Works Leads to $383K Demand for Stipulated Penalties

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) issued the demand for stipulated penalties on March 12. The associated violations are from the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2020 (April 1, 2020 – Dec. 31, 2020). How did ACHD come up with the penalty amount? The high-profile settlement agreement between the department and U.S. Steel in 2019. According to the demand, 90 percent of the penalties – $345,105 – will go toward the Community Benefit Trust established as part of

Mar 15, 2021

Residents Tell Allegheny Co. Health Dept: Put Our Health Above Industry Profits with Strong Permits

The message was delivered again and again by residents during the more than 90-minute hearing: U.S. Steel needs to clean up its act, and the health department needs to make sure they do it through permits that are as protective of public health as possible. More than two dozen residents made remarks Monday morning at Allegheny County Health Department’s virtual public hearing regarding myriad air quality permits – among them draft installation permits for U.S. Steel’s cogener

Mar 9, 2021

U.S. Steel Fined Nearly $13K for (Again) Violating Air Quality Regs

Allegheny County Health Department has issued two enforcement orders against U.S. Steel for violating local air pollution regulations – violations that led to ACHD assessing nearly $13,000 in civil penalties. A Jan. 25 enforcement order posted to the ACHD website Tuesday evening detailed a failed Oct. 19, 2019 stack test at Clairton Coke Works’ C Battery where emissions for filterable particulate matter exceeded the limit established in U.S. Steel’s installation permit. The e

Mar 5, 2021

U.S. Steel Projects Emissions Increases Following Pollution Reduction Project at Clairton Coke Works

Editor’s Note: The deadline to submit public comments regarding the U.S. Steel permits was 11:59 p.m. March 15. Right now, the Allegheny County Health Department is seeking public comment on a draft installation permit for an upgraded Pushing Emissions Control (PEC) Baghouse at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works – and we need YOUR help to ensure it does what it is intended to do: Reduce emissions coming from the Mon Valley-based facility. The deadline to submit formal comments

Feb 10, 2021

One Year Later: What We Know About How the U.S. Steel Community Trust Money is Being Spent

The $2.7 million trust benefits five Mon Valley communities – Clairton, Glassport, Liberty, Lincoln, and Port Vue, and is governed by a Community Advisory Panel composed of one representative from each of those municipalities. The Panel must meet regularly – at least once every six months – and is empowered to consider and approve funding for community improvement projects proposed by the municipalities. While the trust was a result of repeated air quality violations at U.S.

Feb 8, 2021

Advisory Committee Votes to Table Episodic Weather Regs, Health Department Says It Might Take it to

Draft episodic weather regulations long-sought by residents and air quality advocates could be sent out for public comment as soon as March 3, despite a committee vote Monday night. After about an hour of discussion, Allegheny County Health Department’s Air Advisory Committee voted unanimously to table the regulations, sending the draft back to the regulation subcommittee for more specifics. For inquiring minds who want to know: The next regulation subcommittee is scheduled t

Feb 2, 2021

Allegheny County Health Department Seeks Public Comment on U.S. Steel, Other Air Quality Permits

Allegheny County Health Department is now seeking public comment on several air quality permits. Two notices were published in late January with comments being accepted for the first batch of permits through Feb. 22. Another set of air quality permits will be out for public comment through March 15. Of particular interest are permits for U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works facilities. The installation permit for the proposed Co-Generation Plant at the Clairton Coke Works is among t

Jan 20, 2021

Residents to Allegheny County Health Department: Better Protect Us With Strong Coke Oven Regs

Editor’s Note: The public comment period for Allegheny County’s coke oven regulations closed as of 4 p.m. Jan. 21. Residents talked about having to shut their windows on nice days to keep out noxious odors emanating from the Clairton Coke Works. They spoke about asthma attacks, about suffering itchy eyes and throats, about dust that cakes their windows and kills their outdoor plants. Some talked about fears that persistent poor air quality would ultimately force them to uproo

Jan 19, 2021

Deadline to Speak Out on Proposed Coke Oven Regulations Quickly Approaching

Editor’s Note: The public comment period for Allegheny County’s draft coke oven regulations closed as of 4 p.m. Jan. 21. Time is running out to weigh in on proposed revisions to Allegheny County’s coke oven regulations – rules the health department hopes will reduce certain air pollutants emanating from U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works as well as clarify inspection procedures. As Mon Valley residents know all too well, emissions from coke ovens have been a primary source of o

Oct 12, 2020

PHOTOS: Understanding Emissions Points, Operations at U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Plant

GASP has been vocal in demanding transparency regarding when and how the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will force U.S. Steel to get its Edgar Thomson Plant back into compliance with local and federal air quality regulations. While the public is STILL waiting for an update on a compliance plan promised way back in 2017, those living near the facility continue to deal with smoke, dust, and malodors emanating from Edgar Thoms

Sep 16, 2020

Local Enviro Groups to Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald: Lives Literally Depend on Your Swift Action

GASP and several local environmental groups and nonprofit partners sent a letter this week to Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald calling on him to take swift, aggressive action to improve local air quality – reminding him that in many cases, the lives of his constituents literally depend on it. The letter was sent as part of the Toxic Ten Week of grassroots actions calling on Fitzgerald to demonstrate his commitment to air quality improvement by stemming air pol

Aug 27, 2020

GASP Delivers Widely-Supported Petition to ACHD Demanding Public Update on Emissions Issues at U.S.

Media Contact: Amanda Gillooly GASP Communications Manager amanda@gasp-pgh.org/ 412-924-0604 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE GASP Delivers Widely-Supported Petition to ACHD Demanding Public Update on Emissions Issues at U.S. Steel Facility Signed by nearly 600 residents & 16 local organizations, it asks for an update on a compliance plan for the Edgar Thomson plant promised back in 2017. PITTSBURGH – The Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) today delivered a petition to the Alleghen

Aug 18, 2020

ACHD Issues $1,755 Civil Penalty Against Pittsburgh Cremation Services

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) on June 8 filed an enforcement order against Pittsburgh Cremation Services for failing to submit an application to renew its minor source operating permit. Minor source operating permits are valid for five years. Pittsburgh Cremation Services permit expired more than two years ago – May 30, 2018. The enforcement order also indicates that the company failed to submit required semi-annual reports. ACHD noted in the enforcement order

Aug 13, 2020

Sign Our Petition to Tell ACHD it Must Provide Public Update on Edgar Thomson Emissions Issues

GASP needs your help to send a message to the Allegheny County Health Department that enough is enough: The public deserves a substantive update on the air quality issues revolving around U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works facility. Read and sign our petition below. Editor's Note: The deadline to sign the petition has passed. Thank you to everyone who signed! #noticeofviolation #airpollution #USSteel #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #EdgarThomsonPlant #ACHD #airquality

Aug 5, 2020

Recent Air Quality Standard Amendment Will Further Limit Mercury Emissions at U.S. Steel Facility

U.S. Steel’s Braddock-based Edgar Thomson Works is one of 11 integrated iron and steel manufacturing facilities in the country to be subject to amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) that were finalized recently by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These amendments didn’t just come out of the blue: Section 112 of the Clean Air Act directs the EPA to categorize sources of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and develop NESHAPs

Jul 9, 2020

Still No Official Explanation for Emissions Issues at U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Plant

Editor’s Note: GASP on Aug. 26 delivered a petition signed by nearly 600 people and 16 local organizations calling for the Allegheny County Health Department to provide a substantive update on the ongoing emissions issues at U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson plant. After complaints from concerned citizens and clean air groups over an opaque, reddish-brown plume billowing from U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Plant on the evening of June 17, the Allegheny County Health Department agreed to

Jun 19, 2020

Brown Plume from Edgar Thomson Plant Prompts Questions & Complaints, ACHD Response

A reddish-brown plume emanating from U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Plant Wednesday evening prompted questions and complaints from nearby residents and clean air groups. Video on the Breathe Project’s Breathe Cam captured video of the emissions, which spewed from one of the plant’s stacks around 6:43 p.m. June 17. GASP was among those who reported the incident to the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) and reached out to U.S. Steel via social media to ask what had happened.

Jun 11, 2020

GASP Weighs in on Allegheny County Health Department’s Draft Air Quality Monitoring Network Plan

The Group Against Smog and Pollution on Wednesday submitted comments on the Allegheny County Health Department’s (ACHD’s) draft 2021 air monitoring network. Here are some of the highlights: GASP supports the establishment of a National Air Toxics Trends Station in Lawrenceville but noted that ACHD must address ancillary issues regarding the move. GASP expressed concern over access to data and noted that there should be an analysis of the need for continued air toxics monitori

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