Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with local families and environmental advocates, the   Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP)  on Monday attended a public hearing to challenge the installation permit for the EQT Leto Well Pad and Dehydrator in West Deer Township. GASP joined our partners at   Concerned Residents of West Deer (CROWD) , a dedicated group of neighbors who have spent years fighting to protect their community from heavy industrial shale gas operations in residential and densely populated areas. We also collaborated with the   Environmental Health Project (EHP)  and   Protect PT   to raise concerns regarding the Leto project’s potential air quality and public health impacts. This hearing marked the latest chapter in a long-standing battle for some concerned residents of West Deer Township. The Leto project has been a lightning rod for controversy since its inception. While West Deer supervisors initially approved the conditional use for the well pad in 2023, some residents have remained steadfast in their opposition. Local advocates argue that the site is fundamentally unsuitable for   hydraulic fracturing , commonly referred to as fracking because of its density and potential for noise, light, and—most critically—air pollution. Most recently, on Monday, April 13, the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) accepted public comment on the permit, which governs how air -pollution- control equipment will operate on-site. Those pieces of equipment are known sources of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs), which can contribute to respiratory issues and other long-term health complications. “Given the vast body of scientific research linking shale gas development to adverse health outcomes, combined with EQT's history of health and safety violations, we hope the Allegheny County Health Department exercises their authority to ensure adequate precautions are taken at this site,” Talor Musil of EHP said. "We see companies like EQT add polluting equipment to communities in a piecemeal fashion in order to hide the true pollution burden from the community and local government,” Gillian Graber of Protect PT said. “That is why it is imperative that the ACHD consider the full buildout of polluting infrastructure and employ the precautionary principle to protect the health of the community.” GASP was proud to stand with community members and support their grassroots work. “Public health should never be a secondary consideration to industrial expansion,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “We were there to help ensure the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) hears the community's demand for the most stringent protections possible under the law.” You can read   GASP’s full comments here.

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) has issued a $7,140 civil penalty against NCP Carbon for repeated air quality violations and failure to report equipment breakdowns in 2025. Located in Jefferson Hills, the facility specializes in carbon products, including carbon raiser, injection carbon, and metallurgic coke. According to a March 9 ACHD enforcement order, between June and October 2025, department representatives documented several instances of excess emissions originating from the facility’s baghouse and thermal dryer.  While the emissions themselves are a concern, NCP Carbon is specifically being cited for failing to notify ACHD - on five separate occasions - about equipment breakdowns as its permit requires. In fact, the enforcement order indicates ACHD only received reports after contacting the operator themselves. NCP Carbon has been ordered to: Correct all violations immediately. Report all future breakdowns within the mandatory 60-minute window. Submit written notices   within seven days of any original notification. You can read the entire enforcement order here. Editor’s Note: The Allegheny County Health Department periodically updates its website to include documents related to air quality enforcement actions. As part of our watchdog work, GASP monitors this webpage and reports on the air quality violations posted there. However, the docket has not been updated since December 2025. GASP is filing Right to Know requests for enforcement documents each month. “Timely transparency is needed,” GASP Communications Manager Amanda Gillooly said. “It would be ideal if the county updated the Air Quality Program enforcement docket each month, so residents know what our local regulator is doing to protect the air we all breathe from bad actors. As it stands, the docket has not been updated yet this year.”

Remember that breakdown at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works this past January - the one that prompted the Allegheny County Health Department to issue this public statement? Because a GASP public records request has revealed new information: That the breakdown resulted in a demand for $10,000 in stipulated penalties against U.S. Steel. Why? Because of provision in a high-profile 2021 consent decre e  reached between the company, our friends at PennEnvironment, and the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). The caveat: That U.S. Steel would be fined $10,000 for the first consecutive calendar day for excess H2S grain loading where sulfur dioxide emissions at Clairton Coke Works exceed 20 tons. Fines increase if the violation runs more than one day. According to ACHD’s March 10 demand for stipulated penalties, the Clairton Coke Works emitted 22.6 tons of excess SO2 thanks to the Jan. 27 breakdown. You can read the entire demand letter here. For those who'd like to take a deeper dive into the incident, here are some other docs we received through the Right to Know process: The  initial breakdown report  U.S. Steel submitted to ACHD  The 24-hour written notice  U.S. Steel submitted to ACHD ACHD’s notification to U.S. Steel that there was an exceedance of the H2S 25-grain standard An email chain  between ACHD and U.S. Steel discussing flaring during the event Editor’s Note: The Allegheny County Health Department periodically updates its website to include documents related to air quality enforcement actions. As part of our watchdog work, GASP monitors this webpage and reports on the air quality violations posted there. However, the docket has not been updated since December 2025. GASP is filing Right to Know requests for enforcement documents each month. “Timely transparency is needed,” GASP Communications Manager Amanda Gillooly said. “It would be ideal if the county updated the Air Quality Program enforcement docket each month, so residents know what our local regulator is doing to protect the air we all breathe from bad actors. As it stands, the docket has not been updated yet this year.”