Our Health for Corporate Convenience – We Must Resist Rollback of Iron & Steel Emissions Standards (Here’s How)

Last year, many of us signed with relief when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled critical revisions to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPS) for Integrated Iron and Steel Manufacturing Facilities. 

These updates, which required fence line monitoring of dangerous pollutants like benzene, were a hard-won victory for cleaner air and public health, directly impacting facilities like U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works right here in our region.

These regulations were designed to provide concrete, enforceable limits on harmful emissions, with clear compliance deadlines set. They were meant to protect us.

But now, the EPA has chosen to put corporate profits over our well-being.

Earlier this month, the EPA published an interim final rule that unacceptably delays these vital compliance deadlines until April 3, 2027. 

This decision is a direct undermining of the progress we fought for. The EPA's justifications – vague claims of "infeasibility" provided by industry and a flimsy plea for "consistency" regarding fence line monitoring – simply do not hold up against the stark reality of the inevitable environmental and public health consequences.

While saving industrial polluting facilities an estimated $3.3 to $3.5 million, frontline communities will be dealt an additional 120 tons of hazardous air pollutants (also known as HAPs) being emitted that would have been avoided under the original deadlines. 

Please let that sink in: An additional 120 tons of cancer-causing agents, respiratory irritants, and other toxins will continue to pollute our air, prolonging exposure for communities already disproportionately burdened by industrial pollution.

It's clear that Trump’s EPA, an agency supposedly committed to environmental protection, is prioritizing budget considerations of polluting industries over the lives and health of frontline communities (like Clairton, Braddock and so many others here locally).

While we recognize that this public comment period might ultimately be performative – a box the administration feels compelled to check – it is absolutely crucial that our vehement opposition to this, and all other rollbacks of regulations meant to protect our health and environment, is put on the record.

Our collective outcry creates a formidable record of dissent, which is essential for future advocacy, legal challenges, and continued resistance.

But please know the clock is ticking. EPA is accepting comments on this interim final rule through Aug. 1. We want to make it as simple as possible for residents to join us in our dissent. All you have to do is click here to submit your concerns. 

When you submit your comment, keep these points in mind:

• Be clear, concise, and articulate your strong disagreement.

• Refer specifically to the interim final rule and the Docket ID number.

• Explain why these delays are unacceptable and how they will negatively impact your health, your family, or your community. Personalize your comment with your own experiences.

• Urge the EPA to reverse this decision and enforce the original, more protective deadlines.

Editor’s Note: You can read GASP’s formal comments here - please feel free to use some or all of our comments if you need a little help getting started!