The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) issued the demand for stipulated penalties on March 12. The associated violations are from the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2020 (April 1, 2020 – Dec. 31, 2020). How did ACHD come up with the penalty amount? The high-profile settlement agreement between the department and U.S. Steel in 2019. According to the demand, 90 percent of the penalties – $345,105 – will go toward the Community Benefit Trust established as part of the settlement. That trust benefits five Mon Valley communities: Clairton, Glassport, Liberty, Lincoln and Port Vue. The remaining 10 percent – or $38,345 – will be payable to the Allegheny County Clean Air Fund. “U.S. Steel was literally just bragging at a public hearing yesterday about what it deemed as its stellar environmental stewardship and record,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “Unfortunately, that spin comes as no surprise – just more gaslighting from the most egregious air polluter in the Mon Valley.”

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) announced in a press release Friday that it has issued fines against U.S. Steel for Article XXI Air Pollution Control violations and permit violations. The violations occurred at the Clairton Coke Works during the second and third quarters of 2019. ACHD has assessed $743,625 in stipulated penalties. Ninety percent (90 percent) of penalties ($669,262.50) will be paid to the Community Benefit Trust for impacted communities while the remaining 10 percent ($74,362.50) will be paid to the Clean Air Fund. The stipulated penalties were calculated pursuant to the Department’s agreement that was reached with U.S. Steel in June of 2019. That agreement can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/35TEz9V “Sadly, we don’t think that fines alone will make a difference. We’d also like to point out that while we think it’s great that the majority of the fine will benefit a community trust, we unfortunately still know nothing about its terms,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “The fines levied against U.S. Steel in this most recent order are for the same type of violations that we’ve seen from the company for years, if not decades. The repeated nature of these violations is indicative of chronic operational failures and systemic subpar facility maintenance.” Filippini added: “In addition to fining US Steel, ACHD officials must get to work on coke-oven emission regulations and a procedure to protect public health when weather conditions combine with industrial air pollution to threaten local air quality, as they committed to do.” Here’s a quick guide to the ACHD orders proposed to be resolved by the draft June 2019 settlement agreement & order between ACHD and U.S. Steel: Editor’s Note: Please check back – article will be updated with reactions and links to news stories as they become available. Health Officials: U.S. Steel Faces $743,625 in Fines for Clairton Coke Works Violations, published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Allegheny Co. Health Dept. Imposes Thousands in Fines Against U.S. Steel, published by KDKA.com Allegheny Co. Health Department Issues Fines Against U.S. Steel for Violations at Clairton Coke Works in 2019, published by WTAE.com U.S. Steel Hit with $740K in Fines Over Pollution Control, Other Violations, published by Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Allegheny County Issues Nearly $800K in Fines for Clairton Coke Works Violations, published by WESA

UPDATED March 13, 2019: Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) announced March 12 that it has revised its enforcement order issued Feb. 28th against U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works (Edgar Thompson Plant, Irvin Plant, and Clairton Coke Works). The action was taken in response to the plan submitted by U.S. Steel on March 7. Per the revised order (http://bit.ly/2F7uqft), U.S. Steel is required to implement the following at its Clairton Coke Works facility: • Extend coking times to 27 hours at all batteries by March 23, 2019. • By April 1, 2019, install six axial compressors and start testing compressors. • Have 100 percent desulfurization back online by April 15, 2019. The Allegheny County Health Department on Thursday announced that it has issued an enforcement order against U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works facilities—including Edgar Thompson Plant, Irvin Plant and Clairton Coke Works—for continued Article XXI permit violations for daily sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions after a Dec. 24 fire occurred at the Clairton Coke Works. In a press release the ACHD said U.S. Steel must reduce its use of coke oven gas and its daily SO2 emissions across all Mon Valley facilities, including the Peachtree flare at the Irvin Plant, through one or more of the following ways until the repairs at the Clairton Coke Works are complete, or June 30, 2019, whichever comes later: Reducing the volume of coal in each coke oven Further extending coking times from 22 hours to 30-36 hours Putting as many coke oven batteries as necessary under hot idle to achieve compliance with the hydrogen sulfide (H2S) emission standard; and/or Proposing its own plan to reduce SO2 emissions with demonstrated ability to comply with the daily permitted limit for its facilities. U.S. Steel must notify the Health Department of its decision within five (5) days and will also be required to provide weekly data demonstrating compliance. ACHD Deputy Director of Environmental Health Jim Kelly said: “After extensive analysis of data provided by U.S. Steel, the Health Department has determined that the most recent SO2 exceedance in the Mon Valley on February 4 was directly related to the lack of desulfurization at the Clairton Coke Works.” He continued: “Data provided to us since the exceedance at the North Braddock monitor showed that the amount of SO2 being emitted daily from these three facilities far exceeds what is allotted in the individual Title V operating permits. It also provided further evidence of elevated SO2 beyond what is being identified at our monitors. To get the plant back into compliance, and to protect the health of the public, it was essential to prepare and issue this evidence-based order. We are also requiring the implementation of further mitigation strategies necessary to comply with permitted emission limits that were set for the protection of public health.” The release noted that all civil penalties for permit and Article XXI Air Pollution Control violations related to the fire and its aftermath will be levied against U.S. Steel once repair work is completed at the Clairton Coke Works. It also explained that the enforcement order is separate from all previous enforcement orders, including both the 2016 consent order and the 2018 enforcement order issued against the Clairton Coke Works. The 2016 consent order remains in effect until March 24, 2019. The 2018 enforcement order remains in the appeals process. “We are pleased that ACHD is taking action to curb sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide pollution from US Steel’s operations in the Mon Valley, and hopefully to bring the air in Mon Valley into compliance with federal and state ambient air quality standards,” GASP senior attorney John Baillie said. “We will continue to monitor the results of this latest enforcement action to make sure the required measures are sufficient to achieve compliance with those health-based standards.”

This marks the fourth civil penalty levied against U.S. Steel since June of 2018, totaling more than $2.3 million. In addition, the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) levied a penalty of $5,750 for a failed stack test that occurred in 2017 and was resolved in late 2018 has been levied. This latest group of fines is not related to the fire that occurred at the Coke Plant on December 24, 2018, or to ACHD’s motion to intervene in the citizen’s suit (Clean Air Council and PennEnvironment) that was filed against U.S. Steel seeking remedies related to the fire. These penalties are also separate from all other enforcement actions and legal matters issued against the Clairton Coke Works that are currently in the appeals process. These matters include: • June 2018 enforcement order and a civil penalty of more than $1 million for the decrease in compliance • October 2018 civil penalty of $620,316 for 2nd quarter violations in 2018 • April 2019 civil penalty of $707,568 for 3rd and 4th quarter violations in 2018 Editor's Note: More information regarding ACHD’s legal matters with the Clairton Coke Works can be found here: http://bit.ly/2H2jnWh. #airpollution #USSteel #emissions #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #ClairtonCokeWorks

The Allegheny County Health (ACHD) department on Friday announced that U.S. Steel has appealed the civil penalty of $707,568 that was issued against it April 1. The penalty was assessed because of continued air quality issues at the Clairton Coke Works facility for the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2018. The company had previously appealed a civil penalty of $620,316, that was issued by the ACHD on Oct. 18, for continued emissions problems for the 2nd quarter of 2018 at the Clairton Coke Works facility. A hearing to determine the merits of these two appeals will be held Sept. 16-18, 2019 (date subject to change). Additional documents related to this case and all other cases brought before the hearing officer can be found here: http://bit.ly/2VTPN9P

The Allegheny County Partnership to Reduce Diesel Pollution, led by Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) and Clean Water Action, applauded PNC’s recent announcement that building contractors of The Tower at PNC Plaza will be required to minimize diesel emissions during construction activity. The Tower at PNC Plaza, expected to be completed in 2015, is already being touted as the greenest skyrise in the world.  The Tower’s design currently calls for a double glass façade with operable windows to enhance energy efficiency and allow natural air flow into the building, a vegetated rooftop and greywater retention system, and a geothermal-linked heating system. “PNC’s most environmentally-friendly skyscraper in the world just got even greener by requiring contractors to use cleaner construction equipment,” said Rachel Filippini, executive director of Group Against Smog and Pollution. “Leveraging more than ten years of green building experience, PNC continues to look for innovative ways to improve its building practices,” said Gary Jay Saulson, PNC’s director of corporate real estate.  “Adopting diesel emission standards for the construction of The Tower at PNC Plaza is a natural extension of our commitment to the environment and local community.” “The Diesel Partnership is working with many local institutions, including several universities, to institute similar diesel emission reduction policies. And we are so pleased that PNC is leading the way by improving air quality in the region,” said Kathy Lawson, Policy Associate at Clean Water Action. PNC’s announcement to require EPA Tier 4 emission requirements follows in the footsteps of UPMC, which announced a similar policy last summer. It also follows after Pittsburgh’s Clean Air Act of 2010, which requires contractors working on large, publicly subsidized projects to use some percentage of cleaner equipment on the worksite. Diesel pollution creates serious public health hazards. Diesel exhaust contains many toxic air pollutants, carcinogens, ozone-forming elements, and fine particulate matter. Exposure to fine particles causes asthma attacks, heart attacks, lung cancer, strokes, and premature deaths. In Pittsburgh alone, it is estimated diesel fine particles cause 84 premature deaths and 89 non-fatal heart attacks in adults, and 1,684 incidences of asthma exacerbation in children annually.[1]  A recent Carnegie Mellon University study of air toxics concluded that diesel particulate matter is the dominant cancer risk among air pollutants in downtown Pittsburgh.[2] According to Children’s Hospital, while the Pittsburgh region has the same rate of asthma as the nation, use of emergency services by local children with asthma is 300 percent to 400 percent above the national average, with local children being hospitalized two to three times the rate recommended by recent studies.[3] Why focus on reducing emissions from construction equipment?  The construction industry uses more diesel engines than any other sector, and according to EPA, it generates roughly 32% of all land-based non-road oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions and more than 37% of land-based particulate matter 10 micrometers or less in size (PM10). Poor air quality created by diesel emissions has an adverse effect on our community’s health, especially our children and the elderly, who are more vulnerable to air pollution. Poor air quality also has a negative impact on construction workers who are receiving the most potent, toxic dose of diesel emissions as they work around that equipment each day. Two major studies of health risks from diesel pollution from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) underscore the need to reduce diesel emissions. These studies examined the public health risks of diesel pollution by looking at a group of 12,000 mining industry workers exposed to diesel carbon particles and found an astonishing three-fold increased risk of both lung cancer and premature mortality among this study sample. Furthermore, the researchers found that lifetime exposure to diesel exhaust in some U.S. urban areas with high levels of diesel carbon pollution could carry similar risks. According to the study, particularly at risk are other workers besides miners who are continuously exposed to diesel exhaust, such as the 1.8 million heavy truck drivers and 460,000 heavy construction equipment operators in this country as estimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2008. [1] Clean Air Task Force report, “Diesel and Health in American: The Lingering Threat,” February 2005.  http://www.catf.us/diesel/dieselhealth//msa.php?site=0&m=38300 [2] Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Diesel exhaust at risky levels Downtown, study finds, November 6, 2008. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08311/925796-113.stm [3] Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Renowned researcher to study children’s asthma here, January 2, 2009. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09002/939107-114.stm

Read the press release here

On an early March evening, behind the seemingly placid Garfield Artworks façade, the Group Against Smog and Pollution was busy instructing a hall full of concerned citizens about a proposed Marcellus Shale compressor station and how to best interact with the authorities in charge of its permits. Lauren Burge, Staff Attorney with GASP, spoke on the details of the station’s machinery, which would include five compressor engines, 3 dehydrator/reboilers, and two produced water tanks on a plot of land in Allegheny County, just two miles from the Pittsburgh Mills Mall. The projected data for emissions from the facility does not include the associated operations or equipment, such as wells, gas pipelines, truck traffic, and other components that contribute to air pollution. GASP Legal Director Joe Osborne spoke on why the new compressor station is cause for concern: not just because of the ozone precursors and other emissions guaranteed to leak from this particular site, but also because of the rate at which oil and gas extraction is expanding in Pennsylvania, despite the warnings to be found in other regions engaged in the drilling process, such as Texas and Wyoming. One attendee in the audience genuinely wondered, “If it’s a cat in Wyoming, why isn’t it a cat in Pennsylvania?” In our case in the Northeast, the problem doesn’t necessarily lie in the geographical location of any single proposed well, but rather, it is a problem of numbers. Our already-existing non-attainment areas roughly overlay parts of the Utica and Marcellus Shales beneath them (vividly portrayed on a map in the meeting’s PowerPoint presentation). There is an existing excess of air pollution; to increase the amount of drilling here is to potentially worsen an already polluted area. In order to make your opinion on this proposed compressor station known, you can submit comments via e-mail or first-class mail to the Allegheny County Health Department, at aqpermits@achd.net or 301 39th St., Pittsburgh, PA 15201, respectively. The deadline for submitting comments is March 27, 2012. Please check out our tips for writing effective comments on our website. Alternately, if you would like to voice your opinion publicly, a hearing has been scheduled for 6 p.m. that Tuesday, March 27, in Building 7 of the Clack Health Center, 301 39th St Pittsburgh, PA; schedule a testimony slot by calling (412) 578-8115 before 4 p.m. March 23rd. Click here to listen to a Rustbelt Radio program from 3/12 about our meeting (starts at the 11:45 mark) or click here to read more about this proposed compressor station. — Christine Rigby, SCA Green Cities Fellow

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) will hold a public meeting to discuss the operations and emissions of Shenango Coke Works on Neville Island, and local air quality in general. The Coke Works are responsible for a sizable portion of air pollution in downwind communities, where asthma rates far exceed national averages. A brief question and answer period will be included. All Pittsburgh-area citizens concerned about air quality are urged to attend. 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. April 4, 2012 Bellevue Borough Building, 537 Bayne Avenue, Bellevue, PA  15202

On Feb. 13, the University of Pittsburgh School of Law’s Journal of Environmental and Public Health presented an open forum event discussing the future of sustainable development within Allegheny County. Hosted by the Phipps Conservatory, the discussions led to powerful conversations about the expanding green revolution and the feasibility of Pittsburgh being one of the revolution’s leaders. In his keynote address, U.S. Congressman Mike Doyle, an advocate for renewable development, spoke about the political and fiscal challenges, such as decreased federal funding, facing sustainable projects around the county. One of the solutions he is pushing is the prioritizing of legislation that seeks to provide financial assistance to cities that aim to power their business through renewable energy.  However, he is firm on the belief that the economic and employment benefits are worth the initial sacrifices and believes that Pittsburgh, “has many pieces of the puzzle, and has the opportunity to be the Silicon Valley of green development.” The event featured various industry leaders in both nuclear and natural gas development who believe that their energy source answers the calls for clean, responsible energy. Of course, the limited time did not allow for resolution of the criticisms leveled at nuclear energy, such as the creation of radioactive waste, or the destructive and energy-intensive mining and refining itself. Natural gas has its own issues as well, and while it might be cleaner than coal energy in some regards, fossil fuels of any kind just don’t compare to the low emission renewable energy sources such as wind power. Simply put, Pittsburgh has all the ingredients to be a leader in sustainable development.  The question is, will Pittsburgh finance the dream or let other cities take the lead? Do your part to fuel the future you want to see for our region by joining GASP and other environmental groups in the region, and let your voice be heard. –Guest author Matt Ferrer