GASP was honored to join U.S. Rep. Summer Lee and fellow environmental and community advocates Tuesday to demand stronger rail safeguards for communities and tout legislation the congresswoman introduced this week to prevent train derailments like the one in East Palestine from happening to another town. Lee is co-sponsoring the DERAIL Act introduced by U.S. Rep Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall, a bill that would broaden the definition of high-hazard flammable trains. You can read more about that bill here. Here's what our Executive Director Patrick Campbell - who was flanked by Lee, state Rep. Sara Innamoroto and our friends at PennEnvironment, Climate Power, Clean Air Moms, and 412 Justice - said at the event: Good morning. I’m happy to be standing alongside colleagues and elected officials today who are working to make our region a safer and healthier place to live. For 54 years GASP has been at the forefront of advocating for regulations and policies that protect air quality and create a safe place to live for every single person - no exceptions. Because we know that stronger regulations and more robust enforcement are necessary to safeguard public health from polluters more concerned with strong financial returns for investors than the well-being of their employees and the people who live in their operational footprint. Unfortunately, our neighbors in East Palestine and Beaver County learned firsthand how weak regulations can have devastating consequences. So do our neighbors in the Mon Valley, who routinely wake up to some of the worst air quality in the nation. Just today, the Liberty-Clairton area had the distinction of having the most unhealthy NowCast AQI in the nation. Take a deep breath, you may still be able to smell the tell-tale sulfury stench. But despite these challenges, the people living in these communities aren’t powerless victims. Daily, they’re fighting for better protection from polluters and working to make their neighborhoods healthy places to live and play. But they can’t do it alone. They need elected leaders who will stand up and say, “Enough is enough.” Not just in their words - but by crafting commonsense legislation to deal with the threats facing our community. Norfolk Southern has tallied three train derailments in Pittsburgh over the past two months. The time is now to put better safeguards in place to ensure that what happened in East Palestine doesn’t happen anywhere else. Thank you. The press conference drew myriad media members. Here's some of the coverage: More coverage from: Penn-Capital Star Pittsburgh Post-Gazette WESA

Spring has officially sprung, and if you've ever thought about putting solar panels on your roof, now might be the perfect time to do it! GASP is excited to be teaming up with the nonprofit group Solar United Neighbors (SUN) to bring you the Allegheny County Solar and EV Charger Co-op — a free group to help you go solar. "Now more than ever people are looking for opportunities to live more sustainable lives by making household changes like installing solar,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “GASP looks forward to working with the co-op to help our neighbors better understand and navigate home solar issues and can't wait to get started." Here's how it works: The solar co-op will help area homeowners and small business owners learn about solar together and purchase solar panels at a group rate from a single installer. Together, co-op members will learn about solar energy and leverage their numbers to get competitive pricing and quality solar installations. After a competitive bidding process facilitated by SUN, a group of volunteers from the co-op will select a solar company to complete the co-op's installations. Rest assured, joining a co-op does not obligate members to purchase solar or chargers. Instead, each member will have the option to individually purchase panels and electric vehicle chargers based on the installer's group rate. LEARN MORE: Join us for a Solar 101 at 6:30 p.m. THIS Thursday, April 6 on Zoom. The solar experts at SUN will walk you through solar technology, economics, incentives, and how the co-op works. Register here. GASP will be there - we hope to see you there, too!

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. The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) issued a civil penalty of $2,090 against an Elizabeth Township contractor for open burning violations. According to ACHD’s March 1 enforcement order, the fine was levied against Jeff Sorick Heating & Cooling for violations at 8914 Roberts Hollow Road in Elizabeth on Aug. 4, 2020, Aug. 13, 2021, and Jan. 12, 2022. ACHD sent inspectors to the property following citizen complaints and found that Jeff Sorick Heating & Cooling was in violation of the county’s open burning regulations because: The company was burning something other than clean wood, propane or natural gas - namely cardboard and polystyrene foam The burn pit exceeded size regulations No employee was present as required while burning was taking place The company has appealed the fine. GASP continues to follow the issue, and applauds ACHD for taking action on citizen complaints regarding wood smoke and for holding polluters accountable through enforcement action and fines. And considering spring has sprung and having a backyard fire might be on folks’ radar, we want to ask you, dear reader, to do your part, too: Don’t be a jag when it comes to wood burning. It’s one thing if you live on a large piece of property in a rural part of the county and have a small fire to roast marshmallows with the kids. It’s another thing to live in a densely populated part of town and start a smoking, raging inferno in your small yard. Because - truly - wood smoke is no joke: It contains very fine particles - ones tiny enough to reach deep into the lungs and cause myriad health ailments. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, fine particles can trigger heart attacks, stroke, irregular heart rhythms, and heart failure, especially in people who are already at risk for these conditions. Fine particles can also make asthma symptoms worse and trigger asthma attacks. So before you embark on that backyard fire, please get your learn on - ACHD has the regs spelled out right here.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced new regulations that will implement a provision of the Clean Air Act known as the Good Neighbor Rule or interstate transport rule for the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The so-called Good Neighbor rule requires the states to prohibit emissions that significantly contribute to the nonattainment of a NAAQS - or that interfere with the maintenance of those national health-based standards - in another downwind state. EPA’s new regulations will impose new limits on emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from certain sources in Pennsylvania and 22 other states because NOx emissions contribute to the formation of ozone in downwind areas. But let’s pause here to talk about why the EPA is concerned with NOx emissions and ozone in the first place. Some Need-to-Know Info About NOx and Ozone & How They Harm Our Health Nitrogen oxides are a mixture of gases composed of nitrogen and oxygen that are released to the air from the exhaust of motor vehicles, the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas. They are also produced commercially by reacting nitric acid with metals or cellulose. Nitrogen oxides are used in the production of nitric acid, lacquers, dyes, and other chemicals. Nitrogen oxides break down quickly in the atmosphere by reacting with other substances found in the air. When they react with chemicals produced by sunlight it leads to the formation of ground-level ozone (more on ozone in a bit). Low levels of nitrogen oxides in the air can irritate your eyes, nose, throat, and lungs, and could even cause coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue, and nausea. Breathing high levels of nitrogen oxides can cause rapid burning, spasms, and swelling of tissues in the throat and upper respiratory tract, reduced oxygenation of body tissues, a build-up of fluid in your lungs, and death. Let’s get back to ozone: It forms when sunlight chemically reacts with pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, chemical plants, refineries, and even some species of trees. And it can be harmful to your health, causing everything from throat irritation and coughing to chest pain and airway inflammation. Ozone can even reduce lung function and harm lung tissue, and exposure can exacerbate conditions like asthma and other breathing issues. Some scientists have compared ozone-caused lung damage to sunburn. Understanding the Good Neighbor Rule Now that we understand the air pollutants of concern when it comes to the Good Neighbor Rule, let’s get into its nuts and bolts. The first thing you need to know is that the EPA sets the bar for what emissions “significantly contribute” to the nonattainment relatively low: Sources in an upwind state need only to contribute emissions constituting 1% of the NAAQS threshold. That means that, for the 2015 ozone standard, 0.70 parts per billion measured at an air quality monitor in a downwind state to trigger the rule. EPA performs a cost-benefit analysis to determine which sources in upwind states will need to reduce their NOx emissions - and by how much - to satisfy the Good Neighbor Rule’s requirements. States that are home to sources subject to the Good Neighbor Rule are required to address its requirements in their State Implementation Plans due to EPA within three years of the promulgation or revision of a NAAQS. Accordingly, Pennsylvania and the other 22 states should have submitted plans implementing the Good Neighbor Rule for the 2015 ozone NAAQS rule back in 2018. This means that EPA waited more than four years to finally act after the states either failed to submit required plans (like Pennsylvania did) or submitted inadequate plans. EPA’s Good Neighbor regulations focus on sources of NOx from just a few source types in certain industries: Coal- and oil-burning electric generating units Reciprocating internal combustion engines used in the pipeline transmission of natural gas Cement kilns Reheat furnaces in iron, steel, and ferroalloy mills Furnaces used to produce glass Solid waste incinerators and Industrial boilers used in several industries, including iron, steel, and ferroalloy mills; paper and pulp mills; basic chemical manufacturing; and coal products manufacturing. The new emission limits for EGUs in states where the “good neighbor” rule is triggered will be phased in using a trading program beginning this year. EPA expects that EGUs will be able to comply with the rule by optimizing control devices (typically, selective catalytic reducers) that are already installed. Sources affected by the new regulations that are not EGUs will have until 2026 to comply. When the Good Neighbor Rule & RACT Collide There's an interesting wrinkle, though: Major sources in Pennsylvania subject to the Good Neighbor Rule are also covered by what's known as Reasonably Available Control Technology III (RACT III) regulations that went into effect in Pennsylvania on Jan. 1. Although the two sets of regulations impose similar emission limits, they are not exactly the same, as this chart shows: "The major sources subject to both rules might have to reduce their Nox emissions twice in the space of three years to stay in compliance," said GASP's Senior Attorney John Baillie. “This is a remarkably short time in the context of the air pollution laws. It shows EPA is taking ozone pollution seriously."

Recent high-profile events in and around southwestern Pennsylvania have demonstrated just how quickly a complex issue like air quality can become all-consuming. And when these incidents that threaten our health and well-being happen, residents expect their local elected and municipal officials to be able to help them. At GASP, we want to make sure that if and when air quality issues crop up locally, community leaders will have the working knowledge they need to effectively serve their constituents. That’s why we’re hosting a virtual workshop at 3 p.m. on April 19: To help municipal and elected leaders and their staff members establish a useful knowledge base and share resources and potential funding opportunities to help municipalities implement innovative environmental projects. We hope to hear from participants about how air quality relates to their own strategies and goals to ensure a safe, healthy community for their residents. We’ll touch base on a wide variety of topics, such as open burning, asbestos abatement, and air quality monitoring - all of which will be covered in more detail in a written primer provided to all participants. The workshop is free, and participants will be entered to win a free Purple Air monitor for their community. These easy-to-use monitors are simple and reliable - the data is automatically uploaded to a publicly available real-time map on their website. Are you an involved community member looking to share information with your local government? Feel free to join us and take the information home with you and to your local borough, city, or township meeting. Register here to reserve your spot.

The Allegheny County Board of Health on Wednesday approved for public comment changes to local air quality regulations that would allow the Air Quality Program to utilize a greater portion of a fund intended to benefit community environmental projects - from 5% to 25% or $1.25 million (whichever is less) for a period of four years. If approved the proposed changes would also allow the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) to recoup from air polluters direct costs associated with air quality enforcement. GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell was one of several clean air advocates to speak out against the proposed changes. Here's what he told the board: Good afternoon. I’m Patrick Campbell, executive director of the Group Against Smog and Pollution, a local nonprofit group working to improve our region’s air quality since 1969. Today, the Allegheny County Health Department is expected to ask you to approve for public comment changes to Article 21 allowing its Air Quality Program to recoup direct enforcement-related staffing costs. The changes would also allow the department to take a greater percentage of the Clean Air Fund for its operational expenses. ACHD and county leaders have been adamant that the changes aren’t just necessary as a “stop-gap” measure meant to plug a budget shortfall of nearly $2 million. Using a greater portion of the Clean Air Fund has been floated by ACHD and county leaders as the only way to get the Air Quality Program on sound financial footing. GASP fully supports a well-funded air quality program and is in favor of permitting ACHD to bill air polluters for direct enforcement-related costs - it makes good fiscal sense. What we reject is the conclusion that raiding the Clean Air Fund is our only hope of balancing the Air Quality Program’s budget. At the last Air Advisory Committee meeting, the county manager presented a budget presentation that created more questions than answers. During the two-hour meeting, she was unable to provide concrete answers to basic financial questions posed by members. But she was clear on one thing: Using county general fund money wasn’t a possibility. To us, it isn’t that the county is unable to better fund its Air Quality Program, Allegheny County has chosen not to make it a funding priority. Instead, the administration seems intent on siphoning cash from a fund created to help our most vulnerable environmental justice communities, not ACHD’s bottom line. Consider this: From 2020-2022, $3.2 million in Clean Air Fund money made its way back to ACHD’s coffers while only $604,000 was awarded to local groups for neighborhood projects. We ask this board to use your authority to get to the bottom of the Air Quality Program’s budget woes, insist on more transparency, and advocate for more county funding to stem one of our region’s most pressing public health and environmental justice issues. Thank you. Editor's Note: GASP continues to follow this issue closely and will let you know when the public comment period opens. Stay tuned, we have an explainer in the works that will make weighing in on the proposed changes quick and easy.

GASP was honored to join U.S. Rep. Summer Lee and fellow environmental and public health advocates for a press conference to celebrate new investments in community-level air quality monitoring that will help protect residents of Southwestern Pennsylvania from harmful pollution. In case you missed it: Southwestern Pennsylvania groups (including GASP) have already been awarded nearly $2 million to monitor levels of harmful air pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing an additional $236 million in IRA funds nationwide for air monitoring, including grants for monitoring near industrial facilities, multipollutant monitoring, and air quality sensors in disadvantaged communities. “This new funding speaks directly to the need to place marginalized communities front and center on efforts to combat decades of environmental racism,” Lee said. “Our region has some of the worst air quality in the country, with higher rates of asthma and cancer particularly impacting Black and brown communities. The IRA is a powerful tool to help us monitor and protect our environment, and it will put to rest any doubts on the harm caused by carbon pollution and fossil fuel corporations that have disregarded our most vulnerable frontline communities for generations.” Innamorato highlighted the urgent need to address the region’s air quality. “Pittsburgh and Allegheny County were ranked among the top 15 most polluted cities in the country last year for year-round particle pollution. This is clearly a pressing issue for our communities,” she said. “The added transparency of local air quality monitoring is going to help expand our ability to seek environmental justice and bring further accountability to the worst carbon polluters. We’re putting an important tool directly in the hands of those communities that are most impacted by big polluters.” In light of the industrial, fracking, and petrochemical plant activities in our region of PA – which includes the Shell Ethane Plant natural gas flaring and Equitrans underground wells leaking 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas – the air quality monitoring systems already in place reflect the longstanding concerns of local residents. “Our region has been grappling with the consequences that come with air pollution for a long time, among them higher rates of asthma,” Strassburger said. “We’ve made some progress in reducing harmful pollution, but this new air quality monitoring capacity will really allow us to focus our efforts on the worst industrial polluters, among them the Toxic Ten, that still need to prioritize their workers’ health and the community’s health.” Public health and environmental leaders explained what IRA funding will mean for the region. “This investment in citizen air monitoring will help educate and empower our neighbors in underserved environmental justice communities," GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. "GASP is excited to get started and is hopeful the project will fill in the air quality monitoring gaps locally and equip residents with the data they need to understand what's in the air they're breathing and what actions they can take to both mitigate their exposure and be environmental change-makers in their communities." FracTracker Alliance Executive Shannon Smith said the investment will further support efforts to cut harmful pollution and protect public health. “Heavily industrialized communities in the Ohio River Valley have some of the lowest-ranking health indices in the nation, in part due to poor air quality,” said Shannon Smith, Executive Director, FracTracker Alliance. “Over the past few years, residents have taken it upon themselves to set up monitoring systems with the means available to them.” While grateful for the recent grant, speakers expanded on how the region should position itself to aggressively pursue additional EPA funding. "EHP is a partner on four of the EPA grants selected for funding,” said Environmental Health Project Executive Director Alison L. Steele. “These grants are a good first step in ensuring that families have access to clean air. We look forward to working with our partners to better protect public health in the Southwestern Pennsylvania region, and defend frontline communities from pollution.” “In the wake of the recent East Palestine train derailment and the Shell ethane cracker plant polluting its yearly allowance in just two months, the value of local air monitoring has never been more clear,” said Vanessa Lynch, Pennsylvania State Coordinator for Moms Clean Air Force. “The work of frontline community organizations like FracTracker, GASP and the Environmental Health Project to monitor and hold local air polluters responsible for their actions has never been more essential to protecting families and the air we breathe.” With some members of Congress seeking to undermine these critical investments, speakers all shared the urgent need for continued bold climate action. The event concluded with speakers urging the Biden administration to finish the job on climate and implement solutions for pollution to help slash climate pollution in half by 2030. You can check out a recording of the event here.

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) issued $307,800 in stipulated penalties against U.S. Steel for air quality violations that occurred at the Clairton Coke Works during the second quarter of 2022. The fines were calculated in accordance with the 2019 Settlement Agreement and Order between the department and U.S. Steel. Pursuant to that agreement, 90 percent of penalties ($277,020) will be paid to the Community Benefit Trust for impacted communities while the remaining 10 percent ($30,780) will be paid to the Clean Air Fund. In December 2022, ACHD issued $458,225 in stipulated penalties against U.S. Steel for violations that occurred at the Clairton Coke Works during the first quarter of 2022. Editor's Note: GASP staff is reviewing the enforcement action, which you can read for yourself here.

Allegheny County Health Department on Tuesday announced it has launched a new dashboard dedicated to tracking hydrogen sulfide - a move that comes in the wake of recent calls from GASP for ACHD to better communicate issues related to the air pollutant prominent in the Mon Valley. "This is the kind of information that we have been urging the Allegheny County Health Department to share with residents," GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. "Local folks - particularly those in the Mon Valley - have long had to deal with the health and quality of life impacts associated with high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide so we're hopeful that easier access to the data will help equip them with the information they need to help mitigate their exposure." He added: "We thank ACHD for the increased communication and transparency and encourage residents to check out the new resource." Here’s what ACHD’s press release said: In an effort to improve transparency and provide residents more information about the region’s air quality, the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) has launched a new dashboard dedicated to tracking hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The dashboard, which was created in partnership with CountyStat, displays up-to-date information from the county’s two H2S monitoring sites located in North Braddock and Liberty. Other information on the webpage explains the state’s H2S regulations and what the Health Department’s Air Quality Program is doing to monitor and enforce Pennsylvania’s H2S standards. The Allegheny County H2S Dashboard is available on the county’s website. “We have made great strides in improving the region’s air quality over the past decade, with an 80 percent reduction in hazardous air pollutants including particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and ozone,” explained County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “Although hydrogen sulfide does not pose the same health concerns as other emissions, it is still a nuisance to our residents in higher concentrations and needs to be addressed. The new H2S dashboard will add another layer of regulatory focus for this particular type of emission.” Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a colorless gas with a rotten egg-like smell. The most common sources of H2S are from industrial processes like oil and natural gas refineries, kraft paper production, coke ovens and tanneries. It is also released at sewage treatment facilities, landfills, as well as during bacterial breakdown of human and animal waste. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not have federal air quality standards for H2S. Pennsylvania is one of a few states with a hydrogen sulfide regulation. In 1971, ACHD incorporated the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) H2S regulations into its Air Quality Rules and Regulations. The Air Quality Program enforces the Pennsylvania H2S odor control standard and has issued enforcement orders based on it. “The smell associated with H2S has long been a concern for Allegheny County residents,” said ACHD Acting Director Patrick Dowd. “Hourly H2S readings have been available on the department’s website for years, but creating this dashboard allows for the data to be understood in a much more straightforward and discernable way.” Many H2S emissions are fugitive, meaning they are released at non-specific points during an industrial process and cannot be easily traced. The ACHD’s Air Quality Program has sought enforcement actions against H2S emitters in the past and will continue to do so, if facilities are found in violation of the commonwealth’s H2S standard. In 2022, to better understand H2S and where it is originating from in the county, the Health Department authored a study entitled Analysis and Attribution of Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) Exceedances at the Liberty Monitoring Site from January 1, 2020 through March 1, 2022. This study looked at data from its permanent H2S monitors and portable H2S sensors, weather conditions, emissions inventory statements from facilities, and how these factors were used to determine the source of H2S exceedances. “The Allegheny County Health Department is committed to improving the air quality our residents breathe on a daily basis, whether it be for health or odor purposes,” remarked Dowd. “This new dashboard is another step in that direction.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more than 54 years, the Group Against Smog and Pollution has worked to keep both industrial polluters and the public agencies charged with regulating them accountable. We take that watchdog role seriously: GASP monitors local enforcement actions and appeals, reviews air quality data, regulations, and permits and we put it all on the record in the form of press releases, public statements, blogs like this one, and social media posts that keep you informed (and that gets stuff done). But this work takes considerable resources. Can you make a $7 donation today to help us keep on keepin’ on with the watchdoggin’?

Dear Fellow Breathers, GASP is currently seeking a consultant to lead our board and staff in a one-year process to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, with a particular focus on guiding our organization on how best to work with diverse communities in and around Pittsburgh. Qualified firms are invited to submit a proposal meeting the requirements described here. Please note that all proposals (those sent by snail mail included) must be received by GASP no later than March 22. Thanks in advance for helping to get the word out about this opportunity! Sincerely, Patrick Campbell Executive Director Jonathan Nadle President