GASP to ACHD: Hot Strip Mill Permit Deficiencies Must Be Resolved
The Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) joined residents and fellow environmental groups at a public hearing Tuesday to speak out on the draft operating permit for U.S. Steel's proposed Hot Strip Mill at its Edgar Thomson facility in North Braddock.
Here's what we told the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD):
Good evening. I’m Patrick Campbell, the executive director of the Group Against Smog and Pollution, a nonprofit fighting for cleaner air in our region since 1969.
Today I am here to address several deficiencies in the draft permit for U.S. Steel’s hot strip mill at the Edgar Thompson Works that must be resolved.
First, the permit sets hourly limits on heat input to the new facility’s Walking Beam Furnaces, steel slab throughput to the Hot Strip Mill, and steel throughput to the Ladle Metallurgical Facility, but only requires U.S. Steel to track fuel and production on daily and monthly bases.
Daily averages hide short-term pollution spikes. ACHD must mandate hourly recordkeeping to assure compliance with those hourly limits.
Second, the permit requires that emissions from the new facility’s Slab Grinder be controlled by a baghouse but completely omits the required BACT emission standard of 0.8 pounds per hour and the required LAER standard of 99 percent control efficiency on emissions from that baghouse.
These required standards may be legally unenforceable if they are not incorporated into the permit.
It is crucial that the Allegheny County Health Department require hourly tracking and explicit BACT and LAER limits.
Without enforceable limits on hourly operations, emission estimates are meaningless and there is no legal safeguard to prevent severe pollution spikes during peak production.
Third, ACHD must require strict monitoring, record-keeping and reporting requirements. The permit currently lacks the transparent, continuous monitoring protocols necessary to guarantee accountability. Including these requirements is crucial because public health cannot rely on self-reporting and lax oversight.
We know this facility will have a massive carbon footprint and that the closure of the Irvin Works facility coupled with emissions impacts from the hot strip mill at Edgar Thomson will expand the Mon Valley Works’ pollution zone substantially. It’s imperative that ACHD make this permit as protective of public health as possible.
GASP urges ACHD to integrate these essential technical corrections into the final permit to better protect the people who call this region home.
Thank you.
Missed the meeting? Check out local media coverage:
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