#emissions

Blog Against Smog

May 17, 2022

U.S. Steel to Pay $1.5M Penalty, Make Improvements to Settle Air Pollution Violations at Edgar Thoms

BIG NEWS: U.S. Steel will pay a $1.5 million penalty and make extensive improvements at its Edgar Thomson facility in Braddock Borough as part of a settlement announced Tuesday with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) for longstanding air pollution violations. The consent decree addresses numerous Clean Air Act violations dating back to 2016 at the Edgar Thomson Works. The one-mile radius around the facility is an area o

<UPDATED> GASP to Board of Health: Use Your Authority to Demand More Transparency, Improved Pu

May 4, 2022

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<UPDATED> GASP to Board of Health: Use Your Authority to Demand More Transparency, Improved Pu

Editor’s Note: This blog was updated at 9:37 a.m. to include a link to the Allegheny County Board of Health meeting. ACHD posted the video to its Facebook page Wednesday evening. We joined fellow environmental advocates and residents Wednesday to send a message to county leaders: They must do more to protect the health and wellbeing of local residents dealing with all-too-frequent bouts of unhealthy air quality and illegal emissions from local air polluters like the U.S. Stee

Rejoice! Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Regs Have Been Finalized – PA to Formally Join Pro

Apr 25, 2022

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Rejoice! Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Regs Have Been Finalized – PA to Formally Join Pro

Pennsylvania’s road to entering the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) was a rocky one. We kept you posted on the drama, most recently blogging about how the carbon-capture program in the Keystone State was subject to a challenge in court, preventing them from going into effect. Now we’re happy to tell you that this particular soap opera has a happy ending (for now): The regulations went into effect Saturday, April 23, when they were finally published in the Pennsylvan

GASP’s Earth Week of Actions: Take Action to Stave Off Food Waste

Apr 18, 2022

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GASP’s Earth Week of Actions: Take Action to Stave Off Food Waste

A 113-page Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report published in November dissected one of America’s most egregious contributions to greenhouse gas-causing Climate Change: Food waste. Potent greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane are created when that food waste begins decaying in your local landfill. Experts estimate that about one-sixth of our methane emissions are caused by wasted food. Stanford University notes that nationally, the greenhouse gases emi

No Surprise: U.S. Steel Appeals Allegheny County Health Department $1.8M Enforcement Order Over H2S

Apr 18, 2022

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No Surprise: U.S. Steel Appeals Allegheny County Health Department $1.8M Enforcement Order Over H2S

As expected, the infamously-litigious U.S. Steel Corp. has appealed a March 7 Allegheny County Health Department enforcement order for illegal hydrogen sulfide emissions from its Clairton Coke Works. In the 23-page appeal filed April 5 and posted to the ACHD website this weekend, the company asks an Allegheny County hearing officer to vacate the order and the $1.8 million fine that came along with it. U.S. Steel used the usual appeal argument: That ACHD “abused its discretion

UPDATE: Commonwealth Court Blocks Publication of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Regs, Then DEP F

Apr 11, 2022

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UPDATE: Commonwealth Court Blocks Publication of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Regs, Then DEP F

GASP has been following the soap opera that has become Pennsylvania’s efforts to enter into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (otherwise known as RGGI). Just so everyone is on the same page before we get too much further into this saga: RGGI is a cap-and-trade program that uses a two-pronged approach to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from certain electric generating units (known as EGUs) in participating states. The first prong reduces CO2 emissions by establishin

Allegheny County Health Dept. Announces Approval of Re-Submitted Mon Valley Air Pollution Episiode P

Apr 1, 2022

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Allegheny County Health Dept. Announces Approval of Re-Submitted Mon Valley Air Pollution Episiode P

The Allegheny County Health Department has reviewed and approved six amended air emissions mitigation plans for those sources which were initially rejected, according to a press release issued Friday afternoon. The plans from pollution sources are required under the Mon Valley Air Pollution Episode Rule and outline what steps the source will take to reduce its emissions during any episode. Here’s what the release said: “This is another important step to protect the health and

The Kitchen Study is Coming to Pittsburgh & Participants Are Needed

Apr 1, 2022

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The Kitchen Study is Coming to Pittsburgh & Participants Are Needed

Many of us use natural gas in our day-to-day lives, including cooking on gas stoves. PSE’s team of researchers will be collecting and analyzing samples from residential natural gas from April 18-20 in Pittsburgh. The non-profit research institute is seeking participants for the new study, which “aims to improve our understanding of the relationship between indoor air quality and human health and the potential health hazards of unburned natural gas.” It’s a pretty straightforw

GASP Encourages Residents to Take Advantage of Upcoming Glass Collection Events in Allegheny County

Mar 22, 2022

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GASP Encourages Residents to Take Advantage of Upcoming Glass Collection Events in Allegheny County

Mark your calendars because Allegheny County just announced that it’s partnering with the Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC) for a second year to offer its Traveling Glass Recycling Bin Program in county parks. Beginning on Saturday, April 2, the bin will be located in each park for six days, Saturday through Thursday, from 7 a.m. to sundown to allow residents a resource to recycle glass. County officials said in a press release that glass recycling continues to be of inter

Good News! Environmental Quality Board Approves Regs to Reduce Emissions from Oil & Gas Industr

Mar 17, 2022

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Good News! Environmental Quality Board Approves Regs to Reduce Emissions from Oil & Gas Industr

We have some *good* news to report for once! Pennsylvania’s Environmental Quality Board has approved new regulations aimed at controlling emissions of volatile organic compounds from sources in the oil and natural gas industry. We commented on these regulations as they were proposed back in July 2020. “The new regulations will require oil and natural gas operators to beef up their leak detection and repair programs at well sites, compressor stations, and storage vessels and a

New Turbines to Significantly Reduce Potential Emissions from Greene County Compressor Station

Mar 14, 2022

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New Turbines to Significantly Reduce Potential Emissions from Greene County Compressor Station

We blogged earlier this month about the installation of new equipment at the J.B Tonkin Compressor Station in Murrysville, Westmoreland County, and the significant reductions in that facility’s potential to emit ozone-forming pollutants that will follow. This week’s Pennsylvania Bulletin contains similar good news about another compressor station – Texas Eastern Transmission’s Holbrook Compressor Station in Greene County (which is right next to Ryerson Station State Park). Ac

Time Running Out to Speak Out About U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works’ Draft Air Quality Permit

Mar 3, 2022

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Time Running Out to Speak Out About U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works’ Draft Air Quality Permit

The deadline to weigh in on the draft air quality permit for U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works is quickly approaching, and it’s so important that regulators hear from residents like you. GASP is making that as easy as possible: Our attorneys have pored over the more than 300-page permit and are preparing written technical comments on its deficiencies. But they also took the time to distill all that information down into an FAQ we can all understand. Here’s what you need to kno

Good News, Murrysville: Emissions of Ozone-Forming Compounds from Westmoreland Compressor Station

Mar 1, 2022

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Good News, Murrysville: Emissions of Ozone-Forming Compounds from Westmoreland Compressor Station

We found a piece of good air quality news in this past Saturday’s Pennsylvania Bulletin: Emissions are expected to decrease at a Westmoreland County-based compressor station. Here’s what happened: Eastern Gas Transmission & Storage, Inc. has filed an application for a Plan Approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to install an oxidation catalyst to reduce emissions from its J.B. Tonkin Compressor Station in Murrysville. “The potential reduct

GASP to Allegheny County Health Department: Don’t Squander This Opportunity to Improve Air Quality i

Feb 23, 2022

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GASP to Allegheny County Health Department: Don’t Squander This Opportunity to Improve Air Quality i

GASP on Tuesday joined residents and fellow air quality advocates to provide input on the draft Title V operating permit for U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works facility, telling the Allegheny County Health Department not to squander the opportunity to help improve public health (and quality of life) in the Mon Valley. Residents from several municipalities in and around the Clairton facility – which has been operating under a Title V permit that expired back in 2016 – presented

<UPDATED> More H2S Exceedances at Liberty, Mon Valley Residents Report Stench

Feb 22, 2022

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<UPDATED> More H2S Exceedances at Liberty, Mon Valley Residents Report Stench

Editor’s Note: This blog was updated at 10:35 a.m. Feb. 23 to include an updated H2S chart. Users of CMU CreateLab’s crowd-sourcing app SmellPG reported the usual odors – saying the pungent air that seeped in through their windows last night and this morning was reminiscent of rotten eggs. Some said it was a strong sulfur smell. Others called it “industrial.” The possible culprit could be the elevated concentrations of hydrogen sulfide that have pervaded the Mon Valley Monday

Allegheny County Health Department Tells U.S. Steel, Others that Mon Valley Air Pollution Mitigation

Feb 2, 2022

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Allegheny County Health Department Tells U.S. Steel, Others that Mon Valley Air Pollution Mitigation

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) has notified U.S. Steel and other major source polluters that emissions mitigation plans submitted to comply with Mon Valley Air Pollution Episode Rules are “unacceptable,” and ordered them to modify and resubmit paperwork or face possible fines. You can read all about that Mon Valley Episode Rule here. In a Jan. 31 Order of Disapproval and Order for Compliance, ACHD notified U.S. Steel that the mitigation plan submitted for its C

GASP Lauds Gov. Wolf’s Veto of RGGI-Killing Resolution Voted on (Possibly Illegally) by PA Senate

Jan 10, 2022

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GASP Lauds Gov. Wolf’s Veto of RGGI-Killing Resolution Voted on (Possibly Illegally) by PA Senate

GASP on Monday lauded Gov. Tom Wolf’s veto of a Senate resolution that would have put a pin in Pennsylvania’s opportunity to enter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (otherwise known as RGGI). “GASP is appreciative of Gov. Wolf for the veto. We have long known that Pennsylvania contributes a disproportionate volume of climate change-causing air pollution in the United States and the time to address the issue is quickly running out,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbel

Lower Emissions Limits Proposed for Cheswick Generating Station

Dec 8, 2021

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Lower Emissions Limits Proposed for Cheswick Generating Station

And that’s just what’s happened in Pennsylvania regarding Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for large coal-fired power plants so we wanted to help break things down. You can get all the details and background on our recent blog about Pennsylvania’s illegal RACT determinations for those plants required by the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in its decision Sierra Club v. EPA. But the long and short of it is this: The U.S. Environmental

GASP & City of Pittsburgh Team Up to Send the Message: Don’t Idle!

Dec 2, 2021

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GASP & City of Pittsburgh Team Up to Send the Message: Don’t Idle!

Did you know that for every 10 minutes you idle your car or truck, you’re contributing about a pound of carbon dioxide – a primary contributor to global warming – into the air we all breathe? And did you further know that idling for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel and produces more smog and emissions than stopping and restarting your engine? That’s why GASP has long advocated for anti-idling laws and partnered with local businesses and communities to help remind folks to

GASP Joins Partners in Response to Bombshell Media Reports About U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Maintenance

Nov 22, 2021

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GASP Joins Partners in Response to Bombshell Media Reports About U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Maintenance

Breathe Project in responding to bombshell media reports published in Allegheny Front and Public Source Friday analyzing court documents that show that U.S. Steel allowed its Mon Valley operations to fall into disrepair at the expense of the health of local residents. You can – and should – read the series (links to all of them are at the bottom of this story), which sheds more light on what exactly caused the 2018 Christmas Eve fire that left the Clairton Coke Works without

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