Editor's Note: On Nov. 9, ACHD extended the deadline for public comment through Dec. 1. This blog was updated to reflect the new deadline. Allegheny County Health Department is now seeking public comment on its 2024 air quality network monitoring plan, an annual report that provides a detailed description of how and where air pollution is monitored in Allegheny County. Air Monitoring Network Plans are required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and provide the specific location of each monitoring station, siting criteria, monitoring methods and objectives, frequency of sampling, pollutants measured at each station, and aerial photographs showing their physical locations. The public comment period runs through Dec. 1. Stay tuned, GASP will be providing analysis and more information on how - and why - residents should weigh in. Until then, you can read the plan here.

It was a gorgeous weekend in Pittsburgh. There were blue skies, unseasonably warm temperatures, and plenty of sunshine. In the Mon Valley, though, all that fall splendor was spoiled by a rotten-egg stench that some SmellPGH users said caused physical symptoms like a sore throat, eye irritation and nausea. The cause of that stench? We’d bet the farm high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H2S for short) at Allegheny County Health Department’s air quality monitor in Liberty Borough were to blame. How bad was it? ACHD monitor data show H2S concentrations at the Liberty monitor handily exceeded Pennsylvania’s 24-hour standard for five straight days - Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and today. That means H2S concentrations at ACHDs Liberty air quality monitor exceeded PA’s 24-hour average standard on 11 of 15 days Oct. 23 through Nov. 6. It also means that exceedances in 2023 at the Liberty monitor (81) have already outpaced 2022 (when there were 78 such exceedances). The 2023 Liberty total now guarantees this will be the second-worst year for H2S exceedances since 2017. “And with 55 days left in 2023, we’re actually on pace to leap-frog 2021 for the absolutely worst year since 2017,” GASP attorney Ned Mulcahy noted. Why do we continue to raise a stink about the issue? Because exposure to the levels of hydrogen sulfide we see (way too often) in the Mon Valley can cause irritation to the eyes, nose, or throat as well as headaches, poor memory, tiredness, and balance problems. It may also cause difficulty in breathing for some asthmatics, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. If you’re now asking, “What is the source of all this H2S?” a 2022 ACHD study that concluded, "based on all available data and resources, H2S exceedances that occurred at the Liberty site during the period of Jan. 1, 2020 through March 1, 2022 can be attributed entirely to emissions originating at US Steel's Clairton coking facility." Then, days after the study was published, ACHD issued a $1.8 million enforcement order against U.S. Steel over the H2S emissions issue. The company appealed the order and the case is ongoing. State Department of Environmental Protection emissions inventory shows U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works emitted – on average – more than 120 tons of H2S annually from 2010 to 2020, making it the largest stationary source in the state. Despite the possibility of the Liberty monitor facing the worst year of H2S exceedances since 2017, and despite the public outcry about how the stench impacts residents’ health and quality of life - at Board of Health meetings, on social media, and via CREATE Lab’s Smell PGH app - ACHD has remained pretty much mum on the matter. That’s why GASP is again publicly asking ACHD: Is there something going on at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works to cause these H2S values? Has the air quality program been in contact with the company? “Mon Valley residents don’t deserve their lives and health interrupted by these days-long periods of stench and exceedances,” Campbell said. “We understand that the H2S case against U.S. Steel is ongoing, but that doesn’t absolve the health department of its duty to enforce Pennsylvania’s 24-hour H2S standard and protect residents.”

Remember RGGI? We have blogged repeatedly about the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the tortured way it wound through the rulemaking process and is *still* winding through the courts. The latest news: Today the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania determined that the proceeds from the auction of emission credits that would take place under the RGGI were an unconstitutional tax and entered an order finally barring Pennsylvania’s participation in the RGGI (participation had been temporarily barred pending the Court’s ruling on the case). “In a nutshell, the Court found that the proceeds of RGGI’s auction of emission credits would be disproportionate to the cost of administering the RGGI program, and thus that RGGI imposed a tax rather than a license fee as the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection had argued,” GASP senior attorney John Baillie said. The court further noted that Pennsylvania’s Constitution requires that any tax be enacted by the General Assembly; because RGGI was not enacted by the General Assembly (it would have been imposed in Pennsylvania by administrative rule), it was unconstitutional: Stated simply, to pass constitutional muster, the Commonwealth’s participation in RGGI may only be achieved through legislation duly enacted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and not merely through [a] rulemaking promulgated by DEP and [the Environmental Quality Board]. It is expected that DEP will appeal the Court’s order to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. GASP will continue to keep you posted.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday announced the launch of the Community, Equity & Resiliency initiative, a groundbreaking effort to help communities across the nation navigate EPA's Inflation Reduction Act investments and other new funding opportunities. Through this new initiative, EPA's Office of Air and Radiation and Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights will facilitate community-driven partnerships and provide a space for communities to learn, connect, and cultivate ideas on how to access historic resources, especially in low-income and disadvantaged communities. "Thanks to President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, we now have the largest investments in climate action and environmental justice in U.S. history," EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement. "The Community, Equity & Resiliency initiative will provide a roadmap to help communities navigate the Inflation Reduction Act and other new Investing in America funding opportunities from EPA, as we work to meet people where they are." GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said the EPA should be applauded for the new initiative. "The federal infrastructure and jobs bills have made available unprecedented amounts of money to municipalities,” he said. “It's crucial that as many leaders as possible take advantage of these opportunities to help make their communities healthier and safer places to live." As part of the initiative, EPA will host live virtual and in-person events, including panel discussions and fireside chats featuring environmental leaders and their peers, to help community-based organizations, their community partners, and potential grant applicants navigate funding opportunities. These engagements are designed to spark ideas on how to take advantage of Investing in America programs while taking into account each community's unique context when confronting the climate crisis and advancing environmental and climate justice. EPA's new Community, Equity & Resiliency website offers information on multiple funding opportunities and resources to ensure community-driven partnerships can inspire meaningful change in their communities. To learn more about the effort, visit EPA's new Community, Equity & Resiliency webpage. On Nov. 6, EPA will kick off the Community, Equity & Resiliency initiative with a National Virtual Open House that is open to the public. This six-day event will include a series of virtual panels and fireside chats featuring prominent environmental leaders and peers discussing their ideas to overcome environmental pollution and climate change challenges through funding opportunities that are available through the Inflation Reduction Act and other programs under the President's Investing in America agenda. Panel and fireside chat topics will include climate change in rural communities, green jobs, electric vehicle infrastructure, technical assistance, and more. Register here for the National Virtual Open House Upcoming Regional Roadshows But wait, there’s more: Starting this winter, EPA will also host in-person, community-based Regional Roadshow events. These will provide opportunities for community leaders to develop or leverage existing community-based partnerships and dream and cultivate ideas on the Inflation Reduction Act and other new Investing in America programs. Editor’s Note: More details on the Regional Roadshow will be available soon - we will keep you posted.

GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell on Wednesday implored members of the Allegheny County Board of Health to use their authority to task Air Quality Program leadership with developing a crisis communications plan for when permitted facilities experience outages and/or fires that impact - or are reasonably expected to impact - our ambient air. Campbell also reiterated GASP’s call for the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) to convene long-dormant subcommittees dedicated to air quality monitoring as well as pollution prevention and education. GASP began calling for ACHD’s Air Quality Program leadership to create such a crisis communications plan in the wake of high-profile events at two permitted facilities this year - one at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works (an outage that necessitated flaring) and the other at Metalico Recycling (a raging fire that caused massive plumes of smoke and major public outcry). Here are his full comments: Good afternoon. My name is Patrick Campbell. I am the executive director of the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP), a nonprofit organization working to improve our region’s air quality since 1969. Over the years there have been numerous high-profile air quality emergencies at facilities permitted by ACHD that fouled our local air quality. The most recent example is the September fire at Metalico Recycling on Neville Island. Noxious emissions from those events impacted - and frankly, frightened - folks across the county. Yet, information about these incidents and the emissions they created was hard to come by in real-time. To our dismay, in many of these situations, the Allegheny County Health Department’s messaging was late and inadequate, noting only that a fire occurred and that PM2.5 levels did not exceed regulatory limits. But this lack of real-time, health-based messaging is just one symptom of ACHD’s transparency sickness. GASP has also noted a steady decrease in access to real communication with ACHD leadership and staff over the past year. Specifically, we’ve noted fewer opportunities for residents to interact with ACHD to discuss air quality issues - two of three subcommittees of the Air Advisory Board have failed to convene for MONTHS. To build trust with residents, ACHD must increase transparency, which is why GASP is calling on Air Quality Program leadership to convene existing subcommittee meetings to provide opportunities for residents to interact with the Air Quality Program for updates and discussion about everything from monitoring projects and regulations in the works to public education and outreach initiatives. We again implore you to use your authority as members of the Board of Health to task ACHD with creating a crisis communications plan and articulate how it will alert residents via the Allegheny Alert system and social media platforms during fires, outages, or other emergencies at a permitted facility that has - or can reasonably be expected - to impact local air quality and public health. Thank you. GASP will keep you posted on all this. In the meantime, here’s what else happened at the meeting: ACHD Interim Director Patrick Dowd provided the board with several air quality-related updates. Here’s what we learned by attending the meeting: The Air Quality Program will be moving its offices from the Clack Campus in Lawrenceville to a new location on Fulton Street in the North Side. ACHD has issued more than 700 asbestos permit inspections so far this year. More than 500 asbestos permits have been issued since the beginning of the year. ACHD recently debuted a new emissions inventory dashboard that the county issued a press release about 30 minutes prior to the BOH meeting. You can read that press release here. The department also made upgrades to its legal docket software, which can be viewed here.

Today, GASP is extending a hearty THANK YOU to all who attended our recent Safe at Home: Understanding Common Environmental Hazards lunch-and-learn program. We also wanted to give a huge shoutout to our amazing panelists Heath Papinchak of Welcome Home, Home Inspections; Nesta Bortey-Sam of the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and Rhett Major, The Energy Doctor. And we also wanted to let folks know that while the event may be over, GASP still has LOADS of helpful resources on our website related to all things indoor air quality - from actionable info on asbestos abatement to helpful resources about radon testing and remediation. We’ll keep you posted on our upcoming events, but in the meantime bookmark our calendar and blog for updates.

Did you hear? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched "My Electric Ride: An EV Transportation Video Challenge," an exciting prize competition that encourages people to share their personal experiences with electric transportation. The challenge aims to showcase the real-world experiences of those who use electrified transportation in everyday life and help inform the public about more sustainable transportation. Interested participants are asked to submit a short (one- to two-minute) video for a chance to win up to $3,000. Participants can submit videos in one of three categories: • Personal Mobility: Electric two- and three-wheel personal mobility devices such as e-bikes, e-trikes, e-scooters, or e-cargo bikes. • Electric Vehicles: Electric vehicles such as cars, trucks, or SUVs. • Electric Buses: Electric buses such as school buses, shuttle buses, or transit buses. The videos will be judged on their creativity, originality, and effectiveness in conveying the positive aspects of electric transportation. EPA will select up to nine winning videos, with each category having a first--, second-, and third-place winner. Selected videos may be featured on EPA's website and social media channels. Information about the video challenge and instructions on how to submit a video can be found on the EV Transportation Video Challenge webpage. Submissions are due by Jan. 23. By way of background: The transportation sector is currently the largest contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. Electrifying transportation is key to a more sustainable future by moving people and goods more efficiently. With their increased energy efficiency and zero tailpipe emissions, electric vehicles (including battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles) can help improve air quality in communities and lower total GHG emissions.

In our annual updates about the Title V Operating Permit programs at the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), we have written about Eastman Chemical’s facility in Jefferson Hills and the ongoing failure to issue a Title V Operating Permit to it (background: although an application for such a permit was submitted in early 2022, the permit has not yet been issued). First, we have learned that the facility has a new owner – it also appears that in early 2022 the facility (as well as the rest of Eastman Chemical’s adhesive resins business line) was acquired by Synthomer, Plc., a multi-national firm based in the United Kingdom. So, going forward, we will be referring to Synthomer’s facility in Jefferson Hills when we write about it. Second: We have a bit of good news about the Synthomer facility. Recently, Synthomer applied for an installation permit that would authorize it to replace ammonia with sodium hydroxide in the thermal oxidizer that it uses to control emissions of oxide of nitrogen (NOx) from one of the facility’s manufacturing processes. According to Synthomer’s permit application, testing shows this substitution will reduce NOx emissions from the thermal oxidizer by about 13%, or potentially a little less than 3.5 tons per year. “This is not a huge reduction in emissions,” GASP’s Senior Attorney John Baillie said, “But less pollution is always good news.” Copies of the draft installation permit and ACHD’s review memorandum are available here. ACHD will accept comments on the draft permit through Nov. 14.

If you stepped outside this week in the Mon Valley, took a deep breath, and promptly asked yourself, “What is that STENCH?” we’ve identified a likely culprit: Concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) that exceeded Pennsylvania’s 24-hour standard on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and today at the Allegheny County Health Department’s (ACHD) air quality monitors in Liberty and North Braddock. If you also asked yourself: Is the stench dangerous? Where is the stench coming from? And what’s being done to stop the stench? You’ve got a lot of great questions, and we have answers. As one user of the CREATE Lab’s SmellPGH app put it, the air yesterday morning near Clairton had an unmistakable “sulfur/chemical/tar/burning” odor to it. Well said, and typical for other reports on the app since Monday. But is that offensive, rotten-egg odor dangerous? Sort of. At levels thousands of times higher than occur locally, H2S is highly toxic, but even exposure to the levels of H2S we see in the Mon Valley can cause irritation to the eyes, nose, or throat and has been linked to headaches, poor memory, tiredness, and balance problems according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Low concentrations of H2S may also cause difficulty in breathing for some asthmatics. That is one reason why GASP has continued to sound the alarm on this issue. Another reason is that the source of H2S locally – by and large – is steelmaking, an industrial process that has been polluting the air locally pretty much since steelmaking began. Of course, we should mention that there are natural sources of H2S. It can be emitted from volcanoes, stagnant ponds, and pretty much anything in nature decomposing. But the state Department of Environmental Protection emissions inventory shows U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works emitted – on average – more than 120 tons of H2S annually from 2010 to 2020, making it the largest stationary source in the state. There is also a 2022 ACHD study that concluded, “based on all available data and resources, H2S exceedances that occurred at the Liberty site during the period of January 1, 2020, through March 1, 2022, can be attributed entirely to emissions originating at US Steel’s Clairton coking facility.” As we said, it could be volcanoes and sewage, but it’s not volcanoes and sewage, and efforts meant to improve the situation have focused on steelmaking. Settlement Agreements between U.S. Steel and air quality regulators related to emissions issues at the company’s Clairton Coke Works and Edgar Thomson facilities could and should have stemmed the tide of H2S exceedances at ACHD’s air quality monitors in the Mon Valley. The 2019 Clairton settlement mandated upgrades and educational programs designed to reduce fugitive emissions, a concerning source of H2S. The agreement also tacked on additional fines for on-site violations that occur on days when H2S exceeds the state standard. In 2022, just days after ACHD published the study mentioned above, ACHD issued a $1.8 million enforcement order against U.S. Steel over the H2S emissions issue. The company appealed the order and the case is ongoing. Later in 2022, the Consent Decree ACHD and the EPA entered into with U.S. Steel to resolve longstanding emissions issues at the Edgar Thomson facility directed the company to begin “feeding an oxidizing chemical additive or additives such as, but not limited to, potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide into the Slag Pit quench water spray system, to enhance suppression of H2S emissions.” That’s not all: The agreement also required U.S. Steel to submit to the EPA and ACHD for approval of written procedures for the slag pit that detail actions being taken to “minimize or prevent the evolution of H2S.” In spite of all that, H2S exceedances at ACHD’s air quality monitors in the Mon Valley are trending up, not down. But don’t take our word for it: The ACHD H2S dashboard shows there were 12 H2S exceedances at the North Braddock monitoring station in all of 2022; we've had 27 so far in 2023. The dashboard also shows that between both Mon Valley monitors combined, we've had 101 exceedances so far this year. Over the same period last year, we only had 76. If now you’re asking yourself, “Are you kidding me?” with maybe an extra unprintable word between you and kidding, we understand, but this time we don’t have an answer. And that is itself a big problem. We wish we could tell you more about those written procedures for the Slag Pit quench water spray system at Edgar Thomson, the procedures meant intended to suppress H2S exceedances like the ones we’ve seen this week in the Mon Valley. But we can’t. That’s because ACHD has failed to provide a public update about how - or whether - U.S. Steel has abided by the provisions of the high-profile consent agreement (you can read more about that here). The same goes for emissions issues at the Clairton Coke Works. We hope the agreement is progressing as written, but we need County and ACHD leadership to provide substantive public updates on these agreements and any progress made toward the emissions-reduction goals in them. The reason we need to hear from ACHD leadership is that ACHD has been limiting opportunities for residents to ask questions and provide ACHD input on their experiences with air pollution and their needs from health officials. ACHD must be transparent with the community it’s charged with protecting. “As we’ve been saying for years: Residents’ repeated exposure to H2S and other industry-created air pollutants isn’t just a nuisance as ACHD leaders have suggested. It’s also a legitimate health concern,” Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “Unfortunately, ACHD Air Quality Program leadership have not only failed to resolve the longstanding issue despite high-profile legal agreements, they are now shutting down opportunities for residents impacted by these issues to interact with them in a public setting.” He added: “Residents deserve better. A continued lack of transparency and accountability isn’t tenable.” Editor’s Note: Please join GASP and fellow advocates at the upcoming Allegheny County Board of Health meeting to speak out about these transparency issues. Stay tuned for more info from GASP on this. In the meantime, save the date. Here’s what you need to know if you wanna join us.

GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell was among those who presented comments Wednesday to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regarding its newly unveiled Environmental Justice policy. Here's what he said during the virtual public hearing: Good evening. My name is Patrick Campbell. I am the executive director of the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP), a nonprofit organization working to improve air quality since 1969. GASP applauds the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for instituting an updated Environmental Justice Public Participation Policy and is generally supportive of the agency’s approach. However, we believe the new policy would be more effective if DEP would determine how its permitting process can be made more transparent and open to public participation in general. Specifically, we believe DEP should - and could - include two additional measures in its new policy: First, DEP could make more - if not all - draft permits available online. Currently, residents interested in viewing those documents would need to make a public records request or participate in an informal file review. While lawyers and environmental advocates are well-versed in open records rules, DEP would be wise to recognize that this process can be a barrier to residents and their ability to participate in public hearings or via public comment. Second, the agency could identify what information it seeks from the public in its permitting decisions and then educate residents and encourage their participation in the process so that they can advocate for their communities by pushing for stronger environmental and public health protections. All too often, GASP has attended important public hearings regarding facility permits, policy updates, and regulation drafts that were sparsely attended by residents, despite having major environmental and public health implications in their hometowns. And all too often, the reason is because of a lack of awareness - not because of a lack of caring. We’re hopeful that improvements to the ways DEP communicates with and educates residents in environmental justice areas will help ensure that the Pennsylvanians most impacted by pollution have a real voice - a real seat at the table - when it comes to the policies, permitting, and regulation decisions that impact them and their communities. Thank you. Editor's Note: While the virtual hearing may be over, the deadline for residents to submit public comments on the new policy is not. If you haven't already, we encourage you to weigh in - we've made doing so as simple as possible. Check out our Cliffs Notes-style public comment guide and online form. Only takes a minute to share your experiences - promise!