Along with following up on the long-delayed permitting of the McConway and Torley steel foundry in Lawrenceville, GASP has also been tracking manganese levels recorded at the facility’s fenceline and reported on in the Lawrenceville Toxics Metals Study (viewable here under “Other Air Quality Studies”). Our most recent Making the Connection event, on October 25, 2018, explored manganese exposure and children’s IQ and featured regional experts and their latest research. Their presentations from that evening are posted below. But first some background: Manganese is a naturally-occurring metal found in many types of rocks and soil. Certain foods also contain manganese. And while some ingested manganese is necessary for good health, inhaled manganese is a different story. Manganese becomes airborne from industries using or manufacturing products containing manganese (such as the McConway and Torley foundry), mining activities, and vehicle exhaust. The most common health problems in people exposed to manganese involve the nervous system. Health effects include behavioral changes and other nervous system effects, such as slow and clumsy movements. This group of symptoms is called “manganism.” Other effects such as slowed hand movements have been observed in people exposed to lower concentrations. Manganese can also cross the blood-brain barrier and the placenta during pregnancy, allowing it to reach a developing fetus. Most manganese studies have focused on occupational exposure, so we were quite interested when we learned Dr. Erin Haynes, a Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Cincinnati, was examining the impact of airborne manganese on child neurodevelopment. Dr. Haynes has been conducting research in partnership with communities concerned about their potential exposure to manganese for over a decade. See Dr. Haynes’s presentation: We were also joined by Nancy Beluk. Nancy has been working in the field of MRI for 34 years and is currently focused on MRI research, working at the University of Pittsburgh and the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh as a Research Coordinator in the Pediatric Imaging Research Center. She manages several studies that hope to derive a better understanding between brain dysplasia in children and the potentially adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes that may occur as a result. See Ms. Beluk’s presentation: Manganese is emitted by some industries located in Allegheny County. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection eFACTS, the top emitters of manganese in Allegheny County in 2016 were: U.S. Steel/Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock ATI Flat Rolled Products in Brackenridge Universal Stainless and Alloy Products in Bridgeville NRG Midwest LP in Cheswick McConway and Torley in Lawrenceville To learn more about these facilities, the status of their air quality permits, and GASP’s work to watchdog this issue, please watch GASP Staff Attorney Ned Mulcahy’s presentation: Finally, you can view the informative Question and Answer Session: Please contact us if you’d like more information or to get involved in this issue, or check back to or web site regularly as we’ll be reporting on this and other air quality issues. #Lawrenceville #airpollution #makingtheconnection #McConwayandTorley #airquality #manganese

Dec. 3, 2018 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Geoff Bland, Clean Water Action gbland@cleanwater.org, (412) 765-3053 Zachery Barber, PennEnvironment zach@pennenvironment.org, (412) 973-5023 Residents Urge U.S. Steel to Focus on Cleanup PITTSBURGH, PA – Residents in the Mon Valley and Pittsburgh urged U.S. Steel to stop appealing fines for air pollution violations and focus on fixing the long violating Clairton Coke Works. The Allegheny County Health Department held a hearing today on U.S. Steel’s appeal of ACHD’s $1,000,000 fine for hundreds of recent violations at the Clairton Coke Works. “Residents in the Mon Valley have long suffered from years of poor air quality caused by U.S. Steel’s violations. It’s time for U.S. Steel to invest in our health and jobs in the Mon Valley instead investing in their high-priced lawyers,” said Clairton resident Miriam Maletta. “I’m glad to see that our Health Department is taking action against U.S. Steel for these violations, but when are we going to see U.S. Steel focus on cleaning up their plants? Pittsburgh residents should not have poor air quality because of one company thinking they are above the law,” said Clairton resident Melanie Meade. Air quality scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have conducted detailed studies of air quality in Allegheny County, finding that U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley plants are significantly impacting air quality in over half the county, including in Pittsburgh’s East End. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranks areas downwind of the Clairton Coke Works in the top 2% nationally for cancer risk from toxic air pollution. Geoff Bland, a community organizer with Clean Water Action stated, “U.S. Steel has been given many years to fix their plant, and still they put out illegal levels of pollution that can make people sick. If U.S. Steel wants to be a good neighbor in Allegheny County, they need to show us they can run this plant in compliance with the law.” “U.S. Steel has treated Pittsburgh’s skies as its dumping ground for decades, filling our lungs with chemicals that can cause cancer and asthma. It’s past time for the company to face serious consequences for their long history of disregard for the health of the city that built them,” said Zachary Barber, the Clean Air Advocate with PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center. In June 2018, ACHD issued an enforcement order against U.S. Steel for multiple and repeated violations of the Clean Air Act, including increasing emissions violations and active attempts of U.S. Steel employees to disrupt official inspection. The order came with $1 million in fines, orders for more rigorous monitoring and a 60-day deadline to improve compliance or face a temporary freeze on operations of the dirtiest parts of the plant. “U.S. Steel’s illegal pollution poses a real risk to the thousands of people who live within 3 miles of the plant and the many more who live in the path of the company’s toxic plume,” said Kelly Yagatich, Outreach Coordinator for the Clean Air Council. This is not the only time the coke works has been cited for breaking the law. A separate enforcement action in October 2018 brought $620,000 in fines for further increases in the number of violations. ACHD also cited the facility for an average of more than three violations per day for a period of four years starting in 2011. “U.S. Steel has been given years to fix the problem, but chose to continue breaking the law,” said Rachel Filippini, Executive Director of the Group Against Smog and Pollution. As one of the largest regional air polluters, the Clairton Coke Works has long been the subject of public outcry. The facility ranked #3 on PennEnvironment’s Toxic Ten ranking of the dirtiest polluters in the county and was the subject of lawsuits by PennFuture and others. “A $1 million dollar fine might sound like a lot, but it really represents only 8 one-thousandths of a percent US Steel’s $12.2 billion in revenue last year, said Matt Mehalik of the Breathe Project. “This would be like fining the average Pittsburgh family $6.09. The fact that U.S. Steel is appealing this enforcement action instead of fixing the problem is disappointing.” ### #enforcementorder #airpollution #USSteel #MonValley #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #ClairtonCokeWorks #Clairton #airquality

Title V of the Clean Air Act requires that each major source of air pollution (as well as certain minor sources) have an operating permit that includes all of the air pollution law requirements that apply to the source. The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) is responsible for issuing such air quality permits to Title V sources in Allegheny County. A Title V Operating Permit is good for a period of up to five years, but an air pollution source that submits a timely and complete permit application can continue to operate without a permit, or with an expired permit, until the issuing agency acts on the application. The Clean Air Act requires an issuing agency to take final action on an application for a Title V Operating Permit within 18 months of the application’s submittal. We have blogged several times about the Allegheny County Health Department’s backlog of Title V Operating Permits. There are currently 32 Title V sources in Allegheny County, 26 of which are major sources of air pollution. Two of those major sources—Allegheny Ludlum Inc.’s Brackenridge Works and Eastman Chemicals & Resins in Jefferson Hills–have never been issued a Title V Operating Permit. One of the non-major Title V sources of air pollution, Harsco, Inc. (which processes slag at Allegheny Ludlum’s Brackenridge Works), also has never been issued a Title V Operating Permit. An additional eight of Allegheny County’s major sources are operating on permits that have been expired for more than the 18 months allowed by the Clean Air Act. As we’ve written, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently reviewed ACHD’s Title V permitting program and directed ACHD to develop a plan to address its backlog of Title V permit applications. ACHD has published its plan. In a nutshell, to eliminate the backlog, ACHD has committed to adding necessary staff and publishing draft Title V Operating Permits for these sources before the end of 2018: Ashland, Inc. Buckeye Pipelines Coraopolis Terminal; Sun Oil; Pittsburgh Terminals/Gulf Oil; Alcosan; and USA Waste/Chambers Development Monroeville Landfill ACHD has committed to issuing Title V Operating Permits for these sources in 2019: NRG Energy–Brunot Island; Harsco, Inc.; U.S. Steel Clairton Works; Bellefield Boiler; and University of Pittsburgh In 2020, ACHD plans to finally issue Title V Operating Permits for Allegheny Ludlum’s Brackenridge Works and Eastman Chemical & Resins, the two major sources that have never had Title V Operating Permits. We will keep our fingers crossed that ACHD sticks to the plan it has outlined to EPA. Of course, GASP will review and comment on the Title V Operating Permits that ACHD does issue as they are published. –John Baillie, Staff Attorney #AlleghenyLudlumsBrackenridgeWorks #airpollution #TitleV #JohnBaillie #Ashland #Harsco #CleanAirAct #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #airquality

GASP has blogged about the backlog of Title V Operating Permits at the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) from time to time over the last few years. The Clean Air Act requires every major source of air pollution to have a Title V Operating Permit. A facility’s Title V Operating Permit must include all federal, state, and local air pollution law requirements to which the facility is subject. Because Title V facilities must report on their compliance with those requirements at least once a year, the permits help to improve compliance with the air pollution laws. A Title V Operating Permit is good for five years. A facility may continue to operate on an expired permit as long as it has submitted a complete and timely application to renew the permit. Currently, out of 28 major sources of air pollution in Allegheny County, nine are operating with expired permits, including one facility that has operated under an expired Title V Operating Permit since 2008. Two major sources of air pollution in Allegheny County, Allegheny Ludlum’s Brackenridge Works and Eastman Chemicals and Resins in West Elizabeth, have never been issued Title V Operating Permits. ACHD’s own regulations purportedly required that all facilities in Allegheny County subject to Title V’s operating permit requirement were to have been issued an initial permit by November 2004, at the latest. ACHD’s Title V permitting program is subject to oversight by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In August 2017, EPA conducted an evaluation of ACHD’s Title V permitting program. EPA detailed its findings in a report that was finalized in May 2018. Although EPA did not make a determination that ACHD’s Title V permitting program was deficient (a legal conclusion which, if required corrective action were not taken, could ultimately lead to federal takeover of the program and the loss of federal highway funds), its report identified several problems with the program that have contributed to the backlog of Title V Operating Permits. Primarily, EPA found that ACHD could not adequately implement its Title V permitting program with existing staffing levels. EPA also noted problems with the permit tracking software that ACHD uses, ACHD’s failure to set formal due dates for permit applicants to respond to ACHD’s requests for additional information, and ACHD’s practice of prioritizing installation permits over operating permits. EPA’s report directed ACHD to take a number of specific steps to address these problems and improve the Title V permitting program: ACHD must develop a corrective action plan for each backlogged Title V Operating Permit. The plan must specify the date by which the backlogged permit will be issued and identify intermediate deadlines for issuing any installation permits for a given facility that may need to be issued before its Title V Operating Permit; ACHD must add additional permit engineers and other staff so that it can implement the corrective action plans it develops; ACHD must improve the data entry and data management systems used by its Title V permitting program; ACHD must determine whether its existing Title V fees are adequate to fund the operation of its Title V permitting program. If they are not, ACHD must work with DEP to increase the fees so that they are adequate to fund the program’s operations; and ACHD should continue the steps it has already taken to improve the permitting program’s operations, by establishing deadlines for facilities to respond to its inquiries and tracking their compliance with such deadlines, developing permit templates, creating a database of specific sources within facilities, and working with EPA on permitting issues (especially those involving complex sources). Hopefully, ACHD will implement these measures and eliminate the backlog of Title V Operating Permits. GASP will review and comment on draft Title V Operating Permits that ACHD publishes as it implements the corrective action plans. –John Baillie, Staff Attorney #AlleghenyLudlumsBrackenridgeWorks #airpollution #TitleV #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #EastmanChemical #airquality

On June 28, 2018, the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) fined U.S. Steel approximately $1.1 million for multiple violations of air pollution regulations at its Clairton Coke Works. The enforcement action also includes a provision for the closure of two of the facility’s older batteries of ovens if certain emissions limits are not met. According to the enforcement order, Clairton Coke “continues to experience ever-increasing visible emissions and unexplained exceedance.” (Full text of the enforcement order here.) U.S. Steel is appealing the enforcement action, and a public hearing on the matter will be scheduled soon. In light of this latest action, we took a look through some boxes in our closet here and put together a series of articles that show both U.S. Steel’s decades-long battle with regulators and Clairton Coke’s air pollution issues. Please click on the links to see the relevant articles. Newsweek, 2/21/72: “Spurred on by GASP,” PA & the County file suit to force Clairton’s compliance with health regulations. “Harold Mallik, U.S. Steel vice president for environmental control, answered that ‘there is no way to bring the works into compliance.’” Pittsburgh Press, 3/23/73: Health Department says Clairton Coke is violating consent decrees & exceeding emissions limits by ~40%. GASP considers suing if air pollution laws aren’t enforced. Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, in a case featuring Pennsylvania and Allegheny County vs. U.S. Steel, 5/23/73: Even lawsuits aren’t enough sometimes, as a judge agrees that “The easiest decision to make in this case, since the violations are obvious, is to hold the defendant in contempt and impose the sanction recommended by the plaintiffs” but then chooses to NOT do so. Environmental Action, 9/25/76: U.S. Steel says it only invests for profit, not to reduce air pollution. EPA cites “substantial compliance problems” at 17 of U.S. Steel’s 20 major steel-making facilities & “a record of environmental recalcitrance which is second to none.” Pittsburgh Press, 4/21/77: Levels of the carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene found to be highest in the nation around Clairton Coke. McKeesport Daily News, 11/11/88: U.S. Steel plans to reopen two coke batteries. VP of Environmental Affairs says GASP & others concerned about increasing already-horrific level of benzene in Liberty Borough (over 19 parts per billion) “are probably overreacting.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8/26/89: EPA finds greatest cancer risk in from industrial plants in whole nation comes from Clairton Coke. U.S. Steel VP of Environmental Affairs for Steel Division casts doubt on findings, asking “Who has counted the bodies of casualties in the communities?” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2/26/91: EPA and Justice Dept. ask court’s permission to shut down Clairton Coke until facility complies with air pollution standards; levies potential fines of over $6 million. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2/20/93: U.S. Steel pays $1.8M to settle lawsuits related to releasing raw coke oven gas & quenching coke with contaminated water. And on up until the present. We thank the Allegheny County Health Department for the recent enforcement action and urge them to continue enforcing the law until these problems end. Learn more about the recent fine and context here. GASP will attend U.S. Steel’s hearing and hope you will too–we’ll send out details of that meeting as soon as we know them. #benzene #airpollution #USSteel #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #ClairtonCokeWorks #Clairton #airquality

Allegheny County Health Department Proposes to Allow More Air Pollution from Steel Plant After Department Failed to Issue Operating Permit for 15 Years, Draft Permit Allows Even More Air Pollution from Pittsburgh-Area Plant FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, November 16, 2017 PITTSBURGH – The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) yesterday proposed a permit for a steel plant near Pittsburgh that would allow the release of over 2,000 tons more air pollution than an earlier draft permit, threatening public health. As compared to a draft issued by the county last year (which already raised concerns among local community and advocacy organizations), the new proposed Clean Air Act operating permit for ATI Flat Rolled Products Holdings, LLC’s steel plant in Brackenridge would allow the plant to annually emit nearly 300 tons more nitrogen oxides (which contribute to smog), and over 50 more tons of particulate matter (soot), which can trigger heart attacks. Already one of the dirtiest polluters in the county, the plant has never had an operating permit—even though the county was required to make a decision on the air quality permit application 15 years ago. “The large amounts of particulate matter and nitrogen oxide that the Department is proposing to allow are particularly alarming, given our area’s problems with these two pollutants,” said Rachel Filippini, executive director of Group Against Smog and Pollution. Located 20 miles from downtown Pittsburgh, the ATI steel plant on average reported annual nitrogen oxide emissions of under 300 tons, between 2000 and 2014. The county’s 2016 draft permit allowed the release of over 1,000 tons of nitrogen oxides annually, and the new draft allows the release of over 1,300 tons. This is more than four times the nitrogen oxide pollution that the plant has claimed to emit in recent years. And while the 2016 draft allowed over 1,100 tons of carbon monoxide to be emitted annually, the new draft would allow almost 3,000 tons of that pollutant per year. For particulate matter, the proposed annual limit rose from 518 tons to 575 tons. “I am very concerned with the idea of even more pollution being allowed to come from this facility,” said Donna Frederick, who lives across the street from the steel plant. “The health department should be doing more to protect citizens’ health as opposed to giving ATI a pass to pollute.” “We are just beginning to review the revised permit, but our initial review shows some potentially big and unlawful problems that could impact the health of the people of Western Pennsylvania,” said Patton Dycus, Senior Attorney for the Environmental Integrity Project. “We asked the county health department to fix multiple problems with the permit in comments we submitted to the department last fall, but it has apparently not fixed some of the big ones.” The American Lung Association’s 2017 State of the Air report gives Allegheny County an “F” grade for particulate matter and smog pollution. Smog is formed when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds from industry and cars react in sunlight. Asthmatics, children, the elderly and those who work and play outdoors are most at risk from smog’s effects, which include difficulty breathing, permanent lung damage, aggravated lung disease, and death. Similarly, numerous scientific studies have linked particulate matter exposure to a variety of problems, including premature death in people with heart or lung disease and heart attacks. EPA estimates that in the year 2020, the reduction of one ton of nitrogen oxide from an iron and steel facility would have monetary benefits between $17,000 and $39,000 in terms of human mortality and morbidity. This means that in 2020, the proposed increase in nitrogen oxides of nearly 300 tons would correspond with a loss between nearly $5 million and $11 million in human health costs to the region. The new draft permit would also raise the limits from a 2002 permit for the plant’s “electric arc” furnaces to even higher levels than in the 2016 draft—even though environmental groups pointed out in comments that the Department could not lawfully raise the limits to the levels it was then proposing. For over a decade, the furnaces at the ATI plant have been far exceeding their emissions limits for nitrogen oxides and other types of air pollution. After environmental organizations provided notice in March that they intended to sue ATI for those violations, the Health Department filed a separate lawsuit and entered into a settlement with the company, excluding environmental groups. Instead of requiring ATI to comply with its 2002 permit limits, that settlement only required the company to pay $50,000 in penalties and provide a short easement for a bike trail. It also invited the company to apply for new, higher limits. Even though the Clean Air Act required it to make a decision on the permit application almost 15 years ago, the Department has never issued an operating permit for ATI’s Brackenridge plant. “Clean Air Act operating permits are important because they are supposed to require monitoring and reporting of pollution in order to allow citizens and the government to regularly assess whether plants are actually meeting their pollution requirements,” said Christopher Ahlers, Staff Attorney at Clean Air Council. The Department is giving the public until Tuesday Dec. 19 to submit comments on the new draft permit. At 6 p.m. that evening, the Department will hold a public hearing on the proposed permit in the Harrison Township Building, One Municipal Drive, Natrona Heights, 15065. “Our groups plan to submit strong comments urging the Department to comply with the Clean Air Act,” said Zachary Barber, the Western PA Field Organizer for PennEnvironment. “We encourage members of the public who live near the plant or are otherwise concerned about air pollution in our region to also submit comments and attend the hearing, to allow their voices to be heard.” The Environmental Integrity Project is a 15-year-old nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, based in Washington, D.C., that is dedicated to the enforcement of environmental laws and holding polluters and governments accountable to protect public health. Group Against Smog and Pollution works to improve air quality to protect human, environmental, and economic health in southwestern Pennsylvania. Clean Air Council is a member-supported, non-profit environmental organization serving Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic Region. For over 50 years, the Council has been dedicated to protecting and defending everyone’s right to a healthy environment. PennEnvironment is a citizen-based environmental advocacy group working to promote clean air, clean water and protect our natural heritage. To find out more, visit PennEnvironmentCenter.org. Media contacts: Tom Pelton, Environmental Integrity Project, (202) 888-2703 or tpelton@environmentalintegrity.org John Baillie, Group Against Pollution and Smog (GASP), (412) 924-0604 ext. 202 or john@gasp-pgh.org Christopher Ahlers, Clean Air Council, (215) 567-4004 x 125 or cahlers@cleanair.org Zachary Barber, Penn Environment, Zachary Barber (412) 973-5023 or zach@pennenvironment.org ### #AmericanLungAssociation #airpollution #TitleV #nitrogenoxideemissions #ATI #RachelFilippini #particulatematter #CleanAirAct #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #airquality

On Jan. 28, our friends at PennFuture issued a 60-day Notice of Intent to Sue to U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works, the largest coke works in the nation. The lawsuit addresses thousands of violations of combustion stack opacity limits and other regulations that the coke works is subject to, recorded from 1/1/2012 onward. The facility is about 11 miles from downtown Pittsburgh. It produces around 4.7 million tons of coke per year, as well as byproducts such as coke oven gas, crude coal tar, light oil, elemental sulfur, and anhydrous ammonia. The coke works is a major source of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, hazardous air pollutants, and other types of toxic air pollution. The notice informs U.S. Steel that the conditions causing the violations must be corrected. Paying fines without fixing the problems isn’t an acceptable business practice. For the extra-curious, check out our documents on Clairton Coke’s air quality permits here. Stay tuned to GASP and PennFuture for updates on this important issue. Full press release: Local Air Quality, Environmental Organizations Applaud Efforts to Increase Accountability at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works PITTSBURGH – Earlier today, PennFuture announced a 60-day notice of intent to file a lawsuit against U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works. Clairton is the largest producer of coke in the nation, and about 37,000 people live in the shadow of the Mon Valley facility. \ While the plant has been known to regularly exceed emissions regulations, PennFuture has found that it has been in violation of pollution limits approximately 6,700 times from January 1, 2012 to May 31, 2015. That’s akin to polluting over five times a day, every day for nearly three and a half years. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) describes coke emissions as among the most toxic of all air pollutants, and classifies them as carcinogens. Earlier this year, the Clairton facility landed near the top of PennEnvironment’s “Toxic Ten” list, which tracks the worst industrial polluters in the region. Despite a promise in 2012 that a new oven would bring Clairton more in-line with the laws in place to keep both nearby residents and its workers safe, the facility has continued to fall dramatically short of legal levels of toxic emissions. Air quality and environmental experts from across Allegheny County released the following statements in response to today’s news: “Laws that regulate industrial polluters are in place for a very simple reason: to protect the health of all the families and individuals living in a given community,” said Joe Minott, Clean Air Council Executive Director and Chief Counsel. “Clairton has a long and storied history of non-compliance – this isn’t a new problem. They should be held accountable for flouting the laws meant to keep all of its neighbors safe and healthy.” Court Gould, Executive Director of Sustainable Pittsburgh, remarked, “For the new year, Sustainable Pittsburgh identified seven tipping points that are accelerating a more Sustainable Pittsburgh region. One such tipping point is that regional and enterprise-based competition for talent and investment turns upon the currency of quality of life—healthy people, supportive communities, clean air, clean water, and natural amenities. Leadership in our region increasingly recognizes that going even further than simply regulatory compliance is imperative for our region to prosper and compete on the global stage.” “Clairton is number three on our Toxic Ten list,” said Stephen Riccardi, Western Pennsylvania Field Associate for PennEnvironment. “PennEnvironment has made calling out the actions of coke producers, like those who own Clairton, a priority. We support this latest effort to hold the facility’s owners responsible for the toxic emissions they pump into the air on a daily basis. Actions like this are an important step toward protecting the health of our region.” “Clairton is the largest producer of coke in the nation, it is obligated not to break the law, and should have the well-being of their workers and those who live nearby as a top priority,” said Rachel Filippini, executive director of GASP. “The emissions from coke ovens are among the most toxic out there – linked to heart and lung disease, cancer, adverse birth outcomes, and premature death. It’s time for Clairton and other industrial facilities across our region to comply with the law. “Toxic emissions have real health impacts on the communities that surround facilities like Clairton,” said Thaddeus Popovich, co-founder of Allegheny County Clean Air Now. “Every single day, hardworking families bear the brunt of a facility’s refusal to follow health guidelines – whether it’s having to close your windows on a warm spring day or having to deal with exacerbated asthma or even worse. We’re pleased to see efforts to hold Clairton accountable for its actions, and hope this signals a healthier and more responsible chapter in their operations.” “Residents that live near the Clairton facility have a cancer risk due to air pollution that’s 20 times higher than the average American. When you pair that statistic with the fact that the coke works has been in violation of air guidelines at least once a day for the past two and a half years, it’s clear there’s a problem,” said Cassi Steenblok, Program Organizer with Clean Water Action. “It’s time for Clairton’s owners to recognize they have a role to play in strengthening our community – and first and foremost, that means looking out for the health of their employees and their neighbors.” #airpollution #USSteel #permits #NoticeofIntent #PennFuture #violations #ClairtonCokeWorks #airquality

In October, the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) issued the draft Title V Operating Permit for the ATI Allegheny Ludlum steel mill in Brackenridge. This Major Source of air pollution has never had a Title V permit in the 15 years that ACHD has had the authority to issue them. A Major Source’s Title V Operating Permit is like a snapshot that includes all emissions limits and standards to which the air pollution source is subject, as well as all operating, monitoring, and reporting requirements that apply, at the time of the permit’s issuance. By including all the requirements in one comprehensive document, Title V Operating Permits help air pollution source operators comply with such requirements, and they help regulators (and when necessary, members of the public) enforce them–all with the ultimate goal of reducing air pollution. Group Against Smog and Pollution and the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) reviewed the draft permit and found many points of serious concern, including: Testing, monitoring, and record-keeping requirements insufficient to demonstrate compliance with the permit; Failing to impose certain limitations and restrictions that apply because the facility could be a Major Source of hexane; Using the permit to avoid New Source Review and Prevention of Significant Deterioration requirements which would allow illegal emissions; and failure to give the public appropriate notice and opportunity to comment on changes to the permit. You can read GASP’s comments in their entirety. This permit took far too long to be issued and is in need of much improvement. (Both ACHD and the Southwest Region of the Department of Environmental Protection have unacceptable backlogs in Title V permits, and you can learn more about that issue here.) Reducing air pollution by ensuring companies and regulators are fully implementing the proper laws is a task GASP takes as a top priority. Permits for other Title V sources in our region can be found here, and our public comments on many other facilities are located here. Check in with our blog for updates on how the permit changes after ACHD responds to our comments. #airpollution #EnvironmentalIntegrityProject #TitleV #ATI #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #DEP #ACHD #airquality

On Oct. 18, 2017, GASP sent a letter to Harsco Metals to provide notice that GASP intends to file a citizen suit against Harsco, based on its failure to apply for a “major source” operating permit for its slag processing facility located on the premises of Allegheny Ludlum’s Brackenridge Works in Natrona Heights. Title V of the Clean Air Act requires every “major source” of air pollution to obtain an operating permit that includes all of the applicable clean air requirements. A “major source” operating permit is like a snapshot that includes all emissions limits and standards to which the source is subject, as well as all operating, monitoring, and reporting requirements that apply. By including all the requirements in one document, “major source” operating permits help air pollution source operators comply with such requirements. They also help regulators and members of the public enforce them. The term “major source” includes “any group of stationary sources located within a contiguous area and under common control” that “emits, or has the potential to emit, one hundred tons per year or more of any pollutant.” Collectively, the Brackenridge Works and Harsco’s slag processing plant emit, or have the potential to emit, more than one hundred tons per year of several air pollutants, including particulate matter, particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter, particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds. These types of air pollution are known to cause respiratory irritation, asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes, and premature death. Because Harsco’s slag processing plant is located on the premises of the Brackenridge Works, it and the Brackenridge Works are presumed to be under ‘common control’ for air permitting purposes. Accordingly, Harsco qualifies as a ‘major source’ for air quality permitting purposes and must obtain a ’major source’ operating permit. In 2012 and 2013, ACHD requested that Harsco submit an application for a “major source” operating permit, but it failed to do so. Unfortunately, this is just one of many examples of facilities in the region lacking a necessary permit to operate; learn more about these missing or delayed permits on our web page here: http://bit.ly/2dFllO3 Through this citizen suit, GASP seeks to enjoin violations, ensure future compliance, impose penalties for violations, recover attorney fees and costs of litigation, and obtain any other appropriate relief. #CarbonMonoxide #airpollution #HarscoMetals #NoticeofIntent #particulatematter #airquality

March 23, 2017 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Groups File Notice of Intent to Sue Owners of Steel Plant Over Illegal Air Pollution Pollution from Pittsburgh-area Allegheny Ludlum Plant Far Exceeded Clean Air Act Limits, Threatening Public Health PITTSBURGH — Four environmental organizations today provided notice that they intend to sue owners of a steel plant in Western Pennsylvania for violating the federal Clean Air Act by releasing far more air pollution than an air quality permit for the plant allows. The Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP), PennEnvironment, the Environmental Integrity Project and the Clean Air Council are taking action against the Allegheny Ludlum plant in Brackenridge, about 20 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. “Allegheny Ludlum has been breaking air pollution laws for 15 years, and we’ve all been breathing their illegal emissions,” said Rachel Filippini, Executive Director of GASP. “Our region is already struggling to attain National Ambient Air Quality Standards, so there should be no tolerance for companies that play loose with the laws and with our health.” The steel plant has exceeded legal limits from a 2002 permit for nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, particulate matter (or soot), and carbon monoxide since installing a new pair of electric arc furnaces in 2003 and 2004. These types of air pollution worsen ground-level ozone (also known as smog) and increase the risk of heart attacks, lung disease, and asthma hospitalizations. Importantly, Allegheny County, where the plant is located, is out of compliance with federal standards for ozone and particulate matter. But instead of cracking down on the air pollution from the plant, the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) last year tried to let the owners of the plant off the hook by issuing a new draft permit that would significantly raise the allowable levels of pollution. The plant is owned by Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Ludlum, LLC, ATI Flat Rolled Products Holdings, LLC, and Allegheny Technologies Incorporated. To stop the dangerous emissions, a coalition of environmental organizations objected to the county’s proposed changes to the permit last fall. And then today, the groups filed a notice of intent to sue Allegheny Ludlum for violating the terms of the 2002 air pollution control permit for the plant. “This is about protecting the health of everyone who lives downwind from this plant,” said Patton Dycus, Senior Attorney for the Environmental Integrity Project, which represents GASP and PennEnvironment in the legal action. “Illegal air pollution is not something that we should ignore, because it can literally kill–especially the elderly, young and people suffering from lung or heart diseases.” Joseph Otis Minott, Executive Director of the Clean Air Council, said: “Longstanding noncompliance with air emissions limitations is unacceptable as a matter of law and policy. The facility has imposed an unnecessary health burden on a county already suffering from considerable air pollution problems.” “Clean air is a right, not a privilege,” said PennEnvironment’s Pittsburgh organizer Stephen Riccardi. “We owe it to the children of Pittsburgh, those who suffer from respiratory problems and future generations to do everything in our power to rein in illegal polluters who put them at risk.” There is no doubt that the plant has been violating the terms of its 2002 air pollution control permit, because both Allegheny Ludlum and county health department officials have recently noted in public records that the plant has not met its permit limits. Although the 2002 permit required Allegheny Ludlum to test the emissions from its electric arc furnaces in 2016, Allegheny Ludlum failed to do so, which prevented local residents and environmental organizations from obtaining more information about the continuing violations at the plant. The Clean Air Act allows concerned citizens to sue polluters when government regulators refuse–or do not have the resources–to enforce the law. At least 60 days before such a suit is filed, citizens must provide notice of their intent to sue. In this case, the environmental groups plan to sue Allegheny Ludlum to require the company to pay penalties and take action to come into compliance with the plant’s permit, either by installing up-to-date equipment or by improving operations to reduce pollution. The county has yet to issue a type of Clean Air Act permit for the plant, called a “Title V” operating permit, although it was required to do so almost 15 years ago. Those permits are supposed to contain monitoring requirements that allow citizens and regulators to regularly ensure that facilities are meeting their limits. The county’s 2002 permit for the plant’s electric arc furnaces does not include the kind of monitoring requirements that would be mandated by a Title V permit, which would have brought the violations to light much earlier. The Environmental Integrity Project is a 15-year-old nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, based in Washington, D.C., that is dedicated to the enforcement of environmental laws and holding polluters and governments accountable to protect public health. GASP (Group Against Smog and Pollution) is a Pittsburgh-based environmental non-profit founded in 1969 and dedicated to improving air quality in southwestern Pennsylvania and surrounding regions. Clean Air Council is a member-supported, non-profit environmental organization serving Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic Region. The Council is dedicated to protecting and defending everyone’s right to a healthy environment. For over 50 years the Council has worked through a broad array of related sustainability and public health initiatives, using public education, community action, government oversight, and enforcement of environmental laws. PennEnvironment is a citizen-based environmental advocacy group working to promote clean air, clean water and protect our natural heritage. T o find out more, visit www.PennEnvironment.org. Media contacts: Tom Pelton, Environmental Integrity Project, (202) 888-2703 or tpelton@environmentalintegrity.org John Baillie, Group Against Pollution and Smog (GASP),  (412) 924-0604 ext. 202 or john@gasp-pgh.org Chris Ahlers, Clean Air Council, 215-567-4004 x 125 or cahlers@cleanair.org David Masur, Penn Environment, (215) 732-5897 ext. 1 or davidmasur@pennenvironment.org #airpollution #AlleghenyLudlumPlant #ATI #RachelFilippini #emissions #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #groundlevelozone #ACHD #airquality