Schools urgently need to rebuild better after years of institutional and facility neglect. For two decades, healthy schools' advocates have stressed the importance of clean indoor school environments to children’s health and ability to learn. Now, with schools reopening after a year of missed learning for too many children, poor air and water quality, misuse of toxic disinfecting products, no infection control plans, and aged ventilating systems are all challenges to staying fully open. In fact, too many schools are ill-equipped to provide clean air during an airborne pandemic. These problems are critical challenges and enormous opportunities to Build Back Better. “Thanks to the Biden Administration and the passage of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), two-year emergency funding is available to schools to improve Indoor Air and address other environmental health hazards. One-hundred million dollars is also available to US EPA to assist states, communities, and schools with their chronic indoor and outdoor air, water, sanitation, and related infrastructure problems,” said Claire Barnett of the New York-based national Healthy Schools Network. GASP joins the Healthy School Networks and myriad partner organizations in sounding the alarm on these chronic air quality issues facing our school children every day – and demanding better. “Children’s exposure to air pollution from nearby industrial sources, as well as diesel exhaust, pesticides, cleaning products, and formaldehyde, can trigger asthma attacks, create new cases of asthma, bring on headaches and nausea, or far worse, cause learning disabilities or cancer,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “Considering more than 50 million American children spend as much as 40 hours a week at school, the quality of that environment can have a significant impact on their health, well-being, and ability to learn.” To underscore the importance of this issue locally, we want to remind readers about a recent peer-reviewed study conducted by Dr. Deborah Gentile which showed children in Allegheny County living near major pollution sources had nearly triple the prevalence of asthma as compared to the national average. The pandemic revealed a shocking lack of coordinated messaging on reopening schools. Today, advocates are calling on the Biden Administration to help schools and children by creating a first-ever Interagency Task Force on Environmental Quality of Schools to consider federal K-12 and child care priorities, strategies, and resources to ensure that all school buildings, especially those in the poorest communities, are ready for the next disaster. In support, Healthy Schools Network is releasing a report of its January 2021 national Summit “COVID, CLIMATE, CHILDREN, AND SCHOOLS” to spur the creation of a national strategy. Former US EPA Administrator and New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, Co-Chair of the Aspen Institute’s K-12 Climate Initiative who provided opening remarks at the Summit, said: “We have a unique opportunity to help our children, our environment, and build back better by recognizing the opportunity our educational system offers us. From the actual school structures themselves to the lessons in and out of the classroom, this report lays out a path forward that can benefit everyone in a community.” As in previous years, activities to reinforce the National Healthy Schools Day messaging will take place in schools, communities, and cities across the country. A growing list of planned activities is available here: https://tinyurl.com/y92pwpk4.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 3:51 p.m. Monday to include today’s exceedances at the Liberty and North Braddock air quality monitors. High concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the Mon Valley led to exceedances of the state standard on Saturday and Monday at the Allegheny County Health Department’s air quality monitoring sites in Liberty and North Braddock. For the uninitiated: Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas most commonly recognized by its “rotten egg” smell. The most recent spate of bad air came just days after ACHD issued a notice of violation to U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works facility addressing 32 exceedances of the state’s 24-hour average H2S standard that occurred Jan. 2020 through March 2021 in Liberty. The notice precedes any potential enforcement action, which here could include civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation per day. Worth noting is that this notice did not address eight exceedances of the H2S standard that occurred in North Braddock from Dec. 2020 through March 2021. While air quality was fair Sunday, the AQI soared into the red early Monday morning in Clairton, meaning “some members of the general public may experience health effects” and that “members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.” At one point, the Liberty-Clairton area had the second-worst air quality in the nation according to AirNow.gov. The level of fine particle pollution in the Mon Valley was especially concerning early Monday, where PM2.5 surged to 99 ug/m3 from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. at the Liberty monitor. By contrast, PM2.5 levels at ACHD’s other monitors (along the Parkway East and in Avalon and Lawrenceville) showed levels no higher than 17 ug/m3. In fact, ACHD on Monday morning sounded the alarm, tweeting out a series of messages warning the Mon Valley about elevated levels of PM2.5. “We thank the health department for communicating today’s poor air quality to folks in the Mon Valley via social media,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “GASP and others are actively working with ACHD to increase and improve these types of communications and we look forward to more robust messaging in the future.”

Another weekend, another pair of air quality exceedances for the Mon Valley – concentrations of hydrogen sulfide at Allegheny County Health Department’s Liberty and North Braddock air quality monitors exceeded the state’s 24-hour hydrogen-sulfide standard of 0.005 ppm again Saturday. The 24-hour H2S average at the North Braddock air quality monitor Saturday was 0.008 ppm. Liberty’s was 0.010 ppm – twice the state standard. “Air quality in the Mon Valley has been particularly bad this month. We’ve had seven days of hydrogen sulfide exceedances so far,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “Despite all these exceedances – and the community outcry that the foul air elicited – the health department has stayed mum, providing zero communications to the public about the exceedances or what it is doing to get to the bottom of them.” She added that it’s not just the frequency of the exceedances, but the insanely high one-hour values experienced at the North Braddock air quality monitor in particular. Example: There was a 0.081 ppm peak March 23 and a 0.077 ppm peak on March 3, which are the second- and fourth-highest one-hour h2s readings over the past five years. That means that two of the worst four hours over the past five years have occurred in the past three weeks in North Braddock. GASP put out a call last week for ACHD to better communicate these exceedances to the public, and to make finding the source of these concerning H2S peaks a priority. We are renewing that call today.

It’s official: The Mon Valley will experience yet another air quality exceedance today according to preliminary data from the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). The air was so rotten Thursday that by 6 a.m. it was numerically impossible for the North Braddock and Liberty monitors *not* to exceed the state’s 24-hour hydrogen sulfide standard of 0.005 ppm – the seventh such exceedance so far this year. There was also another insane one-hour value (0.081 ppm) at North Braddock – which is the second-worst one-hour value since Jan. 2016 for all ACHD h2s monitors. Consider this: “The 0.081 ppm peak today and the 0.077 ppm peak on March 3 are the second- and fourth-highest one-hour h2s readings over the past 5 years,” GASP staff attorney Ned Mulcahy noted. “That means two of the worst four hours over the past five years have occurred in the past three weeks in North Braddock.” GASP again is calling on ACHD to better communicate these exceedances to the public, and to make finding the source of these concerning H2S peaks a priority. “It’s a warm spring day, but many in the Mon Valley were forced to shutter their windows Thursday morning because of what was largely described as an industrial stench,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “We continue to be extremely concerned about the source of these recent H2S spikes in North Braddock. It’s a question we hear from the public often when these exceedances happen, ‘Is there something going on at Edgar Thomson?’”

Every day, more than 25 million children (and thousands of bus drivers) breathe polluted air during their commute to school, which has a negative impact on student health and attendance – particularly for students with asthma and other respiratory conditions. How can we lessen the exposure to dangerous diesel pollution? Enter The Clean School Bus Act. This legislation would provide $1 billion to help school districts across the nation replace traditional diesel school buses with electric ones. By reducing students’ exposure to diesel exhaust, bill sponsors say it would significantly: cut down on asthma-related health incidents increase attendance and provide long-term savings to school districts Here’s how it would work: The proposal would provide grants of up to $2 million for school districts to swap out diesel buses with electric ones, invest in charging infrastructure, and support workforce development. This legislation would provide $1 billion to help school districts across the country replace traditional school buses with electric ones. By reducing students’ exposure to diesel exhaust, the bill would significantly cut down on asthma-related health incidents, increase attendance, and provide long-term savings to school districts. GASP stands alongside our friends at Moms Clean Air Force, American Lung Association, League of Conservation Voters, National Education Association, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Green For All, and others in support of the Clean School Bus Act. “Having a fleet of electric busses is no longer just a future aspiration. They’re available today and wherever possible we should take advantage of opportunities to shift to electric – especially when it comes to those most vulnerable to the health impacts associated with diesel pollution: Our kids,” GAP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “At a time when environmental justice disparities have never been more clear, we’re thankful that the grant program will prioritize support for lower-income students.” We know about those disparities all too well here locally. A peer-reviewed study conducted by a local doctor shows children in Allegheny County living near major pollution sources had nearly triple the prevalence of asthma as compared to the national average. Children in the study lived in Clairton, Woodland Hills, Allegheny Valley, Northgate, and Gateway school districts, with many living in environmental justice communities populated with a high percentage of low-income and African American families. The study spotlights the health inequalities that exist between African Americans and other children: Overall prevalence of asthma in the study was highest among African Americans (26.8 percent) and those 10-12 years of age (26.7 percent) on public health insurance. “We need to push our Congressional representatives here in Pennsylvania to support the Clean School Bus Act,” Filippini said. “If we can’t rally around protecting our most precious natural resource – our kids – and help ensure they breathe clean air, what can we rally around?” YOU can help. Reach out to your Congressional representatives today and ask them to support the Clean School Bus Act. Not sure who your reps are? No worries – you can enter your address here to find out who you need to contact and how.

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, and requests for determinations for major polluters like U.S. Steel, a company that recorded $9.7 billions in revenue last year. No fees for any of it. Think that’s insane? We do, too. That’s why GASP has strongly supported the fee schedule changes proposed by both the state and the Allegheny County Health Department’s Air Quality Program. Not gonna mince words: Approving the proposed fee schedule changes should be a no-brainer. You can read all the nitty gritty details about the proposed changes on our blog. But here are five quick reasons why the fee schedule changes should be approved without delay: The revised fee schedule largely mirrors those approved by the state that went into effect this past January. ACHD Deputy of Environmental Health Jim Kelly made this point clear to board members, reminding them that all counties in Pennsylvania except Allegheny have already adopted the fees. The Clean Air Act requires that the fees imposed on major sources of air pollution – also known as Title V sources – in Allegheny County be ‘sufficient to cover all reasonable (direct and indirect) costs required to develop and administer’ the health department’s Title V permit program. Because ACHD’s Air Quality Program receives little or no funding from Allegheny County itself, the fees paid by non-Title V sources in the County must also generate sufficient revenue to fund the non-Title V side of the program. The proposed fee schedule would increase application fees for plan approvals, operation permits, and the annual administration fees charged to operating permit holders that were based on a schedule set all the way back in the 1990s and last increased 14 years ago. The fee schedule sets the price tag for 14 new fees related to the permitting process – fees that will pay for services the Allegheny County Health Department currently provides, absorbing the costs at a time when the Air Quality Program needed to hire seven new staffers in the past two years because of a high volume of work. The changes are expected to help buoy Air Quality Program enforcement and compliance efforts that directly impact public health. You with us? Then sign our petition to urge Allegheny County Council members to vote YES on the fee schedule changes: The petition is now closed.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday the largest solar commitment by any government in the U.S. announced to date. In a release issued Monday, Wolf said that the major clean energy initiative will produce nearly 50 percent of state government’s electricity through seven new solar energy arrays totaling 191-megawatts to be built around the state. As part of the governor’s GreenGov initiative, Pennsylvania PULSE (Project to Utilize Light and Solar Energy) will go into operation on Jan. 1, 2023. “In issuing the GreenGov challenge, I charged state government with leading by example in demonstrating sustainable governance and lowering greenhouse gas emissions to reduce the risks of climate change in Pennsylvania,” Wolf said. “This included significantly reducing energy use and pursuing an ambitious goal of obtaining at least 40 percent of electricity from clean energy generated in state. I commend General Services for their GreenGov leadership in not only meeting this goal but exceeding it." Solar arrays will be built in seven locations in six counties: Columbia, Juniata, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, and York. When completed, the total 191-megawatt project is expected to deliver 361,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year, supplying 100 percent of electricity for 434 accounts across 16 state agencies, or about half the electricity used by state government. The solar project will create 400-plus jobs and begin lowering carbon dioxide emissions statewide by 157,800 metric tons each year – the equivalent of the emissions from nearly 27,000 homes or taking 34,000 cars off the roads. “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is crucial to slowing climate change and protecting our health and safety, environment, and economy,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “With over 85 percent of Pennsylvania’s greenhouse gas emissions coming from energy production and use, pursuing clean energy and energy efficiency at the enterprise scale, as the state government solar procurement demonstrates, will make a big impact. At the same time, research shows the clean energy sector is a leading creator of quality jobs in Pennsylvania, bringing positive economic impacts as well.” Governor Wolf’s Climate Change Executive Order in 2019 set a goal of lowering Pennsylvania’s greenhouse gas emissions 26 percent by 2025 and 80 percent by 2050 compared with 2005 levels. It re-established the Green Government Council, co-chaired by the Departments of General Services, Environmental Protection, and Conservation and Natural Resources. The GreenGov Council is charged with developing strategies to ensure that state government plays a lead role in greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Goals include obtaining at least 40 percent of electricity from in-state clean energy sources; reducing energy use at least 3 percent annually; replacing 25 percent of the state vehicle fleet with electric vehicles; and attaining energy high-performance standards in building construction, lease, or renovation. The Council recently released its second annual report, outlining progress towards these goals in 2020. The 2020 Pennsylvania Climate Impacts Assessment documents that Pennsylvania’s average state temperature has climbed nearly 2° F since 1901, and the state average annual rainfall has increased about 10 percent, while extreme weather events have increased. It’s projected that by mid-century, every county will be 4.9° F hotter than in 2000, while average rainfall continues to increase 8-12 percent unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.

The group is now scheduling a series of workdays throughout April. All workdays will be held outside at the site with social distancing and mask-wearing in place. Four to six volunteers are needed for each of the sessions, which are slated for 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays. Did we mention bagels will be provided in the morning, and sandwiches will arrive at quitting time? Here’s the work schedule: Sat, March 27: Install the remaining fence posts for the rain garden Sat, April 3: Install the rain garden fence planks Sat, April 10: Staining of the property line fence and rain garden fence Sat, April 17: TBD (finishing touches) Can’t make it for those sessions but still want to lend a hand? The Etna Community Organization is also looking for folks to distribute information door-to-door to help advertise its Earth Day Challenge to those who do not use social media or email. “If you are an avid neighborhood walk-taker, please reach out to get a stack of door knockers to hang on your neighbors’ doors to spread the word!” event organizers said. “The more hands we have, the cleaner our community becomes.” Interested in helping out? Please reach out to megan@etnacommunity.org if you can volunteer for any of these tasks.

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 cogeneration plan, PEC Baghouse replacement, and Endless Casting and Rolling facility. While GASP submitted formal technical comments to ACHD, our Executive Director Rachel Filippini also spoke out at the hearing – here’s what she had to say: Good morning. My name is Rachel Filippini and I am the Executive Director of Group Against Smog and Pollution. Later today we will submit written comments addressing the draft installation permits for U.S. Steels’ Cogeneration Plant, PEC Baghouse replacement, and Endless Casting and Rolling facility. I am here speaking to you now to highlight a few issues we raised in those comments. Our overarching concern is that ACHD must ensure these projects improve or – at the very least – not harm air quality in the Mon Valley. According to emissions calculations in the Cogen and ECR project permits, it appears there will be a reduction in US Steel’s emissions of SO2 and NOx across the Mon Valley. That is promising, but these projects are also predicted to increase emissions of ammonia and volatile organic compounds. In addition, both PM10 and PM2.5 might increase or decrease slightly depending on changes at Irvin Works. For these projects, the emissions increases might not be significant enough to trigger stricter emissions controls, but they are increases all the same, and they are occurring in an area of the County plagued by poor air quality. Our written comments request revisions to or additional details for certain figures where emissions calculations might not have been conducted properly or fully explained. While permits do not contain public health warnings, ACHD has an obligation to explain to the public how – or if –emissions increases will impact air quality and public health. Related to emissions increases, we are especially concerned that the ECR permit does not require a compliance plan.  We read Article 21 as requiring any facility seeking an installation permit for a project that will increase emissions be fully in compliance with both its permit and all applicable air quality regulations. The ECR project will result in a net increase of SO2, PM10, and PM2.5 emissions at Edgar Thomson.  Currently, the Air Quality Program’s Compliance Status Report on its website lists Edgar Thomson as “Non-Complaint.” Given the issues that have been occurring at ET intermittently and the lack of finality on issues dating back to 2017, ACHD must demand compliance with existing requirements before allowing new construction.Of course, ACHD has enforcement discretion and we understand that a project with some emissions benefits shouldn’t be rejected outright. But ACHD should not use that discretion to give US Steel the benefit of the doubt or trust that issues will be worked through diligently over time.Many years ago, the demise of the “promised” battery D at Clairton provided a troubling precedent for US Steel’s commitment to major facility upgrades. It appears that could happen again. During US Steel’s quarterly earnings call this past January, the company suggested at least the Cogen and ECR projects will be on hold for a time.  ACHD cannot plan for every contingency but we believe you must now demand full and strict compliance from US Steel and an enforceable plan to get there. In May 2019 US Steel announced the Cogen and ECR projects “exemplify” the company’s “continued commitment to conserve resources and improve air quality in the Mon Valley.” It seems to us meeting its existing commitments is something U.S. Steel cannot avoid any longer. While the public hearing may be over, there’s still time to submit written comments on the proposed air quality permits and make your voice heard – specifically regarding issues with the proposed PEC Baghouse project. We are making that as easy as possible for you: Our attorneys broke it all down in layman’s terms on our blog, where we also have sample language and a form that auto-routes your comments straight to ACHD. What are you waiting for? Deadline to speak out is 4 p.m. “We want to thank everyone who has taken the time to share their comments with ACHD about these proposed air quality permits,” Filippini said. “That’s the only way things change: Through strong, sustained concerned citizenry.”

The values in red denote exceedances of PA’s 24-hour H2S standard of 0.005 ppm. Thursday marked the fourth straight day of air quality exceedances in the Mon Valley, with hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentrations again exceeding the Pennsylvania standard at Allegheny County Health Department’s Liberty monitor – the 24-hour average H2S concentration was 0.009 ppm at the Liberty monitor. The PA standard is 0.005 ppm. That means there were H2S exceedances at the Liberty air quality monitor in five of the last nine days. An H2S exceedance was also noted at the North Braddock air quality monitor (24-hour average concentration of 0.006 ppm), the third such infraction in nine days. “This week, in addition to all of those H2S exceedances, Allegheny County also experienced its first exceedance of the health-based standard for particle pollution,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “Despite all that, the health department issued zero communications to the public to give them a heads up about this latest bout of bad air so they could take measures to mitigate exposure.” GASP again is calling on ACHD to better utilize the county Alert system and its social media channels to better inform the public on air quality issues that could impact their health.