The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comments to support indoor air quality management improvements to reduce disease transmission and improve public health. Building on the Biden-Harris Administration's Clean Air in Buildings Challenge, a key component of the President's National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan, the EPA is seeking information to support the widespread adoption of actions that lead to improvements in indoor air quality, with a particular emphasis on schools and commercial buildings. Comments are due Dec. 5. EPA will review information received during this public comment period to support the potential development, improvement, and implementation of technical assistance efforts, including tools, training, guidance, and other strategies to support sustained ventilation, filtration, air cleaning, and other indoor air quality improvements in buildings. The Agency is inviting comments from a broad array of individuals and organizations with knowledge and expertise relating to the built environment and health, indoor air quality, epidemiology, disease transmission, social sciences, and other disciplines, and from the general public. Comments must be submitted by December 5, 2022. For more info on how to submit a comment check this out: FR Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0794. Why is this so important? Improvements in indoor air quality (IAQ) through improved ventilation, filtration, and air cleaning can reduce the potential for airborne transmission of diseases including COVID-19, and achieve a range of other positive health and productivity impacts for building occupants. The air we breathe indoors can be impacted by many factors, including the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of a building, people's activities indoors, and the air quality outdoors. GASP lauded the EPA for taking further action to help curtail indoor pollution. “The pandemic has brought to the forefront many public health issues that have been on the backburner for too long,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “We know how important it is for us to have healthy homes, and an integral part of a healthy house is healthy indoor air. GASP is hopeful the public comments period will garner information that will help EPA adopt standards that will help better protect us all.”

UPDATE #3: As expected, concentrations of PM2.5 exceeded federal health-based standards at Allegheny County Health Department's air quality monitor in Liberty Borough. UPDATE #2: The Allegheny County Health Department issued the following Allegheny Alert at 6:24 a.m. today, Oct. 26. The Mon Valley Episode Warning, which lasted from October 22-26, has ended. Overall atmospheric conditions have improved in the Mon Valley, and are expected to continue to do so moving forward. The Air Quality Index in the area is now below the threshold level for particulate matter (PM2.5). UPDATE #1: The Allegheny County Health Department issued the following Allegheny Alert at 5:24 p.m. today, Oct. 25: Based on the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's forecast, the Mon Valley Air Pollution Warning will continue through at least tomorrow morning, October 26. The ACHD's Air Quality Program is monitoring the situation and will reassess conditions tomorrow. Staff will provide future updates to residents, as new information becomes available. Mon Valley residents awoke Tuesday to the stench of sulfur and rotten eggs, soaring concentrations of fine particulate matter, and a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day alert from the state Department of Environmental Protection, meaning levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are expected to exceed the federal health-based standard today. To put the stench into perspective, concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (or H2S) were so high this morning at Allegheny County Health Department’s air quality monitor in Liberty Borough that another exceedance of Pennsylvania’s 24-hour standard was guaranteed - the second day in a row for such an exceedance and the 16th so far this month. A quick word about H2S: It’s a colorless gas recognizable by its rotten egg odor and the concentrations we see 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. Levels of fine particulate matter at the Liberty monitor were even more concerning: During the 7 a.m. hour, PM2.5 soared to 137 ug/m3 - the highest reading so far this month, and October has been a pretty rough month. While the concentration dipped slightly since then, a Mon Valley Air Pollution Warning remains in place. In an Allegheny Alert issued Tuesday morning, Allegheny County Health Department officials said a reprieve from this latest bout of poor air quality may come as soon as tonight: The Mon Valley Episode Rule warning is still in effect. Very light winds and a strong inversion will contribute to code ORANGE levels of PM2.5 in the Liberty-Clairton area with the highest concentrations coming between now and 11 a.m. Air quality is expected to improve this afternoon and evening as the inversion breaks. GASP continues to follow this issue closely and will keep you updated. In the meantime, we graphed the H2S and PM2.5 concentrations for those who'd like to take a deeper dive into the data:

This past weekend in southwestern Pennsylvania was idyllic: There were unseasonably warm temperatures, peak fall color, and plentiful sunshine. But for those in the Mon Valley (and downwind of it), the past few days were marred – at times – by unhealthy air quality, malodors, and a still-in-place Mon Valley Air Pollution Warning. Considering the public received many messages concerning air quality over the past few days – some from the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) and some courtesy of sources outside ACHD’s control (namely, Apple Inc. and state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) air quality monitors) – we figured a recap was in order: FRIDAY: Some Poor Air Quality and a Lot of Confusion Mon Valley residents woke up Friday to high concentrations of fine particulate matter (known as PM2.5), the pollutant normally driving air quality to hit “unhealthy” levels. EPA’s NowCast AQI values were well in excess of 100 based on PM2.5 concentrations reported at ACHD’s air quality monitor in Liberty Borough. This means PM2.5 concentrations were in the orange, unhealthy-for-sensitive populations range. Around the same time, Apple’s (and iPhone’s) preferred air quality forecasting company – Breezometer – added a great deal of confusion to the situation. Starting Thursday afternoon, readings of coarse particulate matter (known as PM10) from DEP’s Beaver Falls air quality monitor started to show outrageously high values. While the DEP data page has since deleted the data – a sure sign the values were due to a monitor error – GASP staff noted a reading of 957 ug/m3 Thursday afternoon and a later reading of -63 ug/m3, suggesting to us that yes, the monitor was likely misbehaving. DEP later confirmed in media reports that this was, in fact, the case. Those erroneous values appear to have been published through Friday morning. While the EPA’s NowCast AQI was not factoring the Beaver Falls data into its calculations, Breezometer was. The result of this Apple-only issue was that while some local residents were suffering through poor air quality Friday, some others erroneously were seeing ‘middle-of-a-wildfire’ or ‘something-has-clearly-exploded’ types of AQI values. To its credit, ACHD responded, but somewhat inaccurately, which might have made the situation worse, or at least more confusing. An Allegheny Alert sent out Friday morning around 11:30 a.m. stated: This morning, multiple air quality/weather apps reported “unhealthy for sensitive groups” levels of particulate matter (PM2.5). Many apps try to predict what PM2.5 levels will be as the day goes on. When the levels are increasing, the apps show a higher PM2.5 level for the rest of the day. When there is a weather inversion, the apps over predict PM2.5 levels until late morning. Allegheny County monitors measure air quality hourly. They do not predict readings. Currently, and throughout the morning, our monitors have measured “good” to “moderate” air quality levels for PM2.5, SO2 and ozone. Members of the Air Quality Program will continue to monitor the situation. The core problem with this message was that it appeared to commingle the actual issue of high levels of PM2.5 at its Liberty monitor and the imaginary issue of high PM10 broadcast via Apple. In fact, EPA’s NowCast AQI was correctly showing “unhealthy for sensitive groups” values on Friday morning. It appears to us that Breezometer was incorrectly showing purple “very unhealthy” AQI values exceeding 200 for portions of Allegheny County. The result was that ACHD seemed to be downplaying actual poor air quality that ended up culminating with an exceedance of the federal health-based standard for PM2.5 at ACHD’s air quality monitor in Liberty Borough (based on official but preliminary data). Still with us? Good - let’s proceed with the rest of the weekend. SATURDAY: More Poor Air Quality But Somewhat of a Reprieve Just like Friday morning, Mon Valley residents woke up to high concentrations of PM2.5. Unlike Friday morning, ACHD outreach was clearer. PM2.5 levels coupled with predicted continued poor atmospheric conditions prompted ACHD early Saturday to issue a Mon Valley Air Pollution Warning. It stated: An Air Pollution Warning has been issued for the Mon Valley for the remainder of today and all of tomorrow. The 24-hour PM2.5 standard for the Mon Valley has been exceeded at an official monitoring station in the Mon Valley and is likely to continue. Young children, the elderly, and those with respiratory problems, such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis, are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and should limit outdoor activities during this time. Companies most significantly contributing to particulate pollution in the Mon Valley region are required to temporarily reduce particulate emissions. In addition, the DEP that day declared Sunday would be a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for fine particulate matter in the Liberty-Clairton area of Allegheny County. These predictions left GASP staff and likely others following these developments worried about just how bad air quality might get. As it turned out, while atmospheric forecasting looked bleak, hard monitor data wasn’t as terrifying. It was suboptimal for sure, but Saturday ended without any exceedances of the PM2.5 standard. SUNDAY: Where Did the Pollution Go? While PM2.5 values waxed and waned across ACHD’s air quality monitoring network, continued poor dispersion spurred the department at 4 p.m. Sunday to issue an updated message through Allegheny County’s public alert system: The Mon Valley Air Pollution Warning will continue through at least tomorrow morning, October 24. The ACHD’s Air Quality Program is monitoring the situation and will reassess conditions tomorrow after the weather inversion breaks. Staff will provide future updates to residents, as new information becomes available. Young children, the elderly, and those with respiratory problems, such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis, are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and should limit outdoor activities during this time. But like Saturday, Sunday ended without any of ACHD’s air quality monitor site showing PM2.5 levels that exceeded the federal standard. What happened? There are three related issues we hope ACHD and the public will consider when assessing these past few days: The average wind direction at Liberty from 1 p.m. Thursday through 1 p.m. Saturday was 195 degrees (south-southwest, which is the wind direction that blows emissions from U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke facility directly toward ACHD’s Liberty monitor). Since then (1 p.m. Saturday through 1 p.m. today), the average wind direction was 91 degrees (due east). Translation: While atmospheric dispersion has been very poor the past two days, what little wind we’ve had could have pushed Mon Valley emissions away from ACHD monitors. It’s not clear if the wind, the Mon Valley Air Pollution Mitigation Plan actions, both, or neither affected PM2.5 levels these past few days. Given that there have only been a few Mon Valley Air Pollution Warnings declared since the regulation was adopted, we hope ACHD and industry will examine and share findings about these instances. In light of the past days’ forecasts predicting prolonged and exceptionally poor atmospheric dispersion, we applaud ACHD for keeping the Warning in place through at least Tuesday morning given the threat that has existed to public health. GASP also wants to remind folks that ACHD monitors do not cover every square inch of Allegheny County - ACHD acting to protect all residents and residents actively reporting issues are both imperative. That said, we encourage residents who have been impacted by poor air quality to make reports to ACHD every time. As a reminder, here’s the link to submit them online. TODAY: Ugly Forecast, Waiting to See While ACHD monitor data show levels of fine particulate matter subsided Sunday into Monday, today’s forecast of continued poor air dispersion means concentrations of PM2.5 and other pollutants could again surge before they subside. As we mentioned, the Mon Valley Air Pollution Warning has been extended through Tuesday morning. GASP staff continues to follow this issue and will keep you posted. In the meantime, we graphed the air quality data for those who’d like to take a deeper dive:

Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) entered into a consent agreement with the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) to settle air quality violations related to operating permits for natural gas-fired generators and boilers at its four garages. The consent agreement with PRT (formerly the Port Authority of Allegheny County) came with a $2,090 civil penalty and was one of several enforcement actions posted ACHD’s enforcement docket this month. The Aug. 16 order indicates that PRT failed to notify ACHD prior to removing the natural gas-fired equipment and also did not apply for installation permits before their replacement. You can read the entire consent order here. ACHD also took the following enforcement actions: TMS International Agreement Calls for $4,800 Penalty for Exceeding Permit Limits ACHD entered into a consent agreement with TMS International June 27, ordering the company to pay a $4,800 civil penalty for exceeding permit restrictions related to the Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) methanol. A little about TMS: The company owns and operates a slag processing facility located adjacent to U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock, performing screening, magnetic separation, and materials conveying operations. The facility is a minor source of all criteria pollutants, but a major source of methanol. TMS is subject to Title V Operating Permit requirements because it is co-located at U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Plant. You can read the settlement agreement here. The underlying enforcement order, dated April 22, called for a $7,200 fine. ACHD Notifies Magnus Supply That Mon Valley Episode Mitigation Plan Needed ACHD on June 6 issued an enforcement order against Magnus Supply Company for failing to submit a Mon Valley Air Pollution Episode Rule mitigation plan as required - ordering the company to remit one within 14 days of the notice. According to the order, ACHD first notified the Braddock-based company on Jan. 28 regarding the April 27 deadline to submit the mitigation plan. The department followed up with Magnus on May 17 before issuing the enforcement order in June. While the docket includes no further information about the case, ACHD’s web page dedicated to the Mon Valley Episode Rule was updated to include a document showing Magnus submitted its plan on July 19. In that Notice of Disapproval dated Aug. 18, ACHD deemed Magnus’ mitigation plan as “unacceptable” and ordered it to resubmit. The department noted that the July 19 plan would stay in effect until ACHD approved the newly submitted document. No further information is available on the ACHD website to indicate whether or not Magnus Supply complied with the order or if a civil penalty was ultimately issued. NCP Issued Notice of Violation for Failing to Report Breakdown ACHD on June 23 issued a Notice of Violation against Jefferson Hills-based North Central Processing for failing to report equipment breakdowns that occurred on and prior to May 25. The NOV indicates that ACHD received a complaint about high-opacity visual emissions emanating from the facility’s baghouse. According to the document: The North Central Processing representative informed the ACHD that they had a hole in their bag on and had had an additional issue with holes in the baghouse filters two weeks prior. A breakdown report was not called into ACHD within 24 hours of either breakdown. Upon contacting North Central Processing and explaining the Article 21 breakdown reporting requirements, the facility submitted the appropriate follow up breakdown reports. ACHD Issues Warning Letter to Construction Companies Over Dust Issues at Hawkins Village Redevelopment in Rankin ACHD this summer put two construction companies on formal notice that they had violated local air pollution control rules by allowing dust to migrate across the property line from demolition and material handling activities at the former Hawkins Village site. Warning of Violation letters were sent to Triton Holdings (July 15) and Mistick Construction (Aug. 11) stating that, “In the future, if you or your company fail to comply with ACHD or federal regulations, you may be subject to civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation per day and summary criminal penalties upon conviction of up to $2,500 per violation per day.” No further information on either case was available on the ACHD website. Shields Asphalt Paving Issued Notice of Violation for Open Burning (Two Years Later) The Allegheny County Health Department on Aug. 11 issued a Notice of Violation to Shields Asphalt Paving for an open burning violation stemming from a Nov. 25, 2020 incident. The notice stated: On November 25, 2020, the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) received a complaint regarding open burning at 5969 William Flynn Highway, Bakerstown, PA 15044. Shields Asphalt Paving, Inc. (Shields Paving) operates the Gibsonia office of their paving company (there). ACHD met with Shields Paving representatives and performed an inspection. An active burn area that included felled trees in excess of 15 feet long was observed during the inspection. Shields Paving did not hold an ACHD open burning permit at the time of the inspection. No civil penalty was noted and no other action was required. It was unclear why it took two years for the department to issue the notice. ACHD Takes Enforcement Action Related to Abrasive Blasting, Asbestos Violations Just by way of background: Allegheny County Health Department’s rules require an asbestos survey (a thorough inspection to determine the presence of asbestos) for certain renovation and demolition projects and depending on the quantity of asbestos identified, proper notification, specific work practices, and proper disposal of asbestos-containing material are required. The notification requirements for facility demolition and renovation activities are dependent upon the amount of asbestos-containing (ACM) material at the site. If less than 160 square feet of ACM is identified in the facility, a properly completed notification must be submitted 10 days before demolition or renovation activity begins. If the amount of ACM is 160 square feet or more, a properly completed permit application must be submitted with appropriate payment at least 10 working days before the asbestos abatement begins. A licensed asbestos contractor must remove all ACM identified as described in the permit. Demolition or renovation activities may proceed once ACHD has performed a final clearance inspection. But back to those asbestos enforcement actions: ACHD issued a stop work order to Oakwood Park Apartments/NDC Asset Management Aug. 22 for failure to obtain the proper asbestos abatement clearances for construction work located at 1600 Settlers Drive in Oakdale. You can read the enforcement document here. ACHD issued a notice of violation letter to Pittsburgh Brewing Company Aug. 10 for failing to submit an abrasive blasting notification form prior to commencing renovations at 150 Ferry Street in Creighton. The notice of violation stemmed from a complaint made to ACHD on June 29 regarding fugitive emissions at the property. The letter notes that no further action is needed. Editor's Note: Allegheny County Health Department began posting enforcement actions to its website in 2020. You can view ACHD's air quality enforcement page here.

GASP crunched the numbers and can tell you definitively that in the Mon Valley (and downwind of it) the stench has been UNRELENTING this week. As we reported last week – and sadly all too often this week – the 24-hr average concentration of hydrogen sulfide at Allegheny County Health Department’s air quality monitor in Liberty Borough first exceeded the state standard on Oct. 5 during the 8 p.m.-9 p.m. EDT hour. Since then (through 9 a.m. EDT today, Friday, Oct. 14), the rolling 24-hr H2S average has only been below the Pennsylvania standard for 32 out of 205 hours. That is only 16 percent of the time over 8.5 days. Sticking with just this week, the 24-hour H2S average at Liberty has only been below the standard for 3 hours since 3 a.m. EDT Sunday. As for exceedances of the 24-hr standard overall, today makes nine of the past 10 days and six in a row. And that’s to say nothing of the insane one-hour H2S values last week. Concentrations exceeded Pennsylvania’s one-hour standard at the Liberty monitor for the first time since 2015. Here’s a little perspective on that: H2S levels exceeding the state one-hour standard have only occurred nine times in the past 20 years, according to ACHD monitor data. Or – keeping with today’s “hourly” theme – H2S levels last week were among the 11 worst hourly concentrations out of more than 180,000 hours since 2001. GASP remains concerned about these sky-high H2S concentrations. That’s because exposure to the levels of the colorless gas (that’s recognizable by its rotten egg odor) we see 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 wondering, “What is the source of all this H2S?” a recent ACHD study concluded it’s none other than U.S. Steel. For those who might have missed it, the 31-page study found that years’ worth of H2S exceedances in the Mon Valley “can be attributed entirely to emissions from US Steel’s Clairton coking facility.” 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. Meanwhile, other than a pair of barebones public alerts issued last week, our health department officials have remained silent. Since announcing at 11:31 a.m. last Friday in an Allegheny Alert that “levels were expected to decrease” health leaders have said nothing about this continued public health and quality of life issue. So today GASP is AGAIN calling on ACHD for a substantive public update addressing what actions it is taking to put a stop to this issue. “People continue to suffer and every day they don’t hear from Allegheny County Health Department, the more public trust is eroded,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “We’ve said it before and it bears repeating now: This has been a failure of leadership and residents deserve better.”

GASP joined fellow environmental advocates Wednesday to again send a message to the Allegheny County Board of Health: The health department’s public outreach in the wake of July power outages at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works lacked transparency and empathy and failed residents concerned about their health. Here’s what GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell told the board in his comments: I’m here to highlight ACHD’s failed public response to the July outages at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works and its continued failure to demonstrate meaningful transparency and empathy to Allegheny County residents – especially people living in environmental justice communities. The July 4 power outage at the Clairton Coke Works was no minor incident as the emergency procedure required flaring of coke oven gases and resulted in the release of 11.6 tons of sulfur dioxide. The only response from ACHD to date was one Allegheny Alerts sent the morning of July 4 stating “it is believed that the power outage will either not affect or only minimally affect plant emissions.” Like the fires in 2018 and 2019, this is one more incident where ACHD had an opportunity and obligation to provide up-to-date information to let the public know what was going on and squandered it. You’ll see the on-the-ground, real-time images of what it looked like that morning to people living near the Clairton Coke Works. Imagine what it was like to open your doors on that morning to that scene and wonder what on earth was going on and whether you needed to evacuate to protect your family. Further details emerged only after GASP filed a right-to-know law request to get a fuller picture of what occurred July 4. The documents revealed there were actually two outages – one on July 2 and a second on July 4. Both were caused by electric issues and it took U.S. Steel 41 hours to get the facility back online following that second outage. That’s why GASP is, again, asking ACHD to provide residents with answers to questions like: “Why weren’t more updates shared with the public despite the Coke Works being offline for 41 hours?” “What are the significant electrical issues at the Clairton Coke Works?” “Were the July 2 and July 4 incidents connected? If so, had U.S. Steel taken action on July 2, could the second outage have been prevented?” and: “What’s being done to prevent power outages like the ones that knocked pollution control equipment offline from happening again?” Use your oversight authority to demand that ACHD transparently communicate with the public to restore residents’ trust in them. The meeting’s public comment period also included powerful testimony from Ana Hoffman of Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATELab, who showed the board still images and video of the Clairton Coke Works during the outage – media that showcased flares blazing and huge plumes of dark smoke spewing from the facility. And she reiterated the importance of transparency, demanding answers from health officials. In other business: The board voted to approve a revision to its air quality regulations that will impose a new set of “Reasonably Available Control Technology” (RACT) requirements on major sources of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Allegheny County. Because this is the third time new RACT rules have been required, they are referred to as “RACT III.” We have an explainer about RACT III on our blog. The board also voted to approve final revisions to Allegheny County’s Coke Oven regulations. You can read GASP’s comments and learn more about those here. The next Allegheny County Board of Health meeting is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 2.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently began field activities as part of its environmental investigation at the former Erie Coke Inc. property located at 925 E. Bay Drive in the city of Erie. This phase of the investigation will assess the extent of contaminants in soils, groundwater, surface water, and sediments at the site, officials said in a press release issued Friday. “The investigation of this site is a big undertaking and one that will take time,” said DEP Northwest Regional Director Erin Wells. “The information gathered is critical to DEP, the community, and ultimately the reuse of the site.” Since DEP announced in January that it would begin conducting further environmental investigation at this site, several steps have been completed as part of the process authorized under the Pennsylvania Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act (HSCA). To date, DEP has finalized a scope of work for the project, assigned a DEP-approved contractor, and finalized a work plan for the investigation. For the uninitiated: After Erie Coke shut down in December 2019, DEP successfully sought a court order to freeze $1 million of Erie Coke’s finances for use of removing waste from the site. When those funds were exhausted, DEP requested U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) involvement to address waste remaining in tanks, containers, and piping, which posed an immediate threat to public health, welfare, and the environment. Since then, the EPA has removed and disposed of waste, demolished buildings, recycled appropriate scrap materials, and is actively mitigating risks associated with remaining tanks, containers, and piping posing the greatest threat to public health, welfare, and the environment. The EPA expects removal actions at the former Erie Coke property to be completed in October. Over the next few months, DEP contractors will conduct a boundary survey, clear and remove vegetation to access sample locations, perform soil borings, conduct a geophysical survey, and sample groundwater, surface water, soils and sediment. DEP also created a website dedicated to providing information on the site and the investigation. The website includes a timeline for steps included in the process, answers to frequently asked questions, and links to documents such as the completed work plan, which is also available in hard copy format at the Raymond M. Blasco M.D. Memorial Library. GASP staff worked diligently with the community group Holding Erie Coke Accountable during the last year of the facility’s operations to educate and rally residents. You can read more about our work in Erie here. “While we’re glad to know that the site is being remediated, it’s unbelievably unfortunate that the DEP was forced to pick up the tab thanks to the social, fiscal, and corporate irresponsibility of Erie Coke’s owners,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “We hope company officials will be held accountable for the mess they created and then abandoned.”

We have some good news on the environmental justice front to share with you today: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced recently that it is establishing a new national office charged with advancing both environmental justice and civil rights. Here’s what the associated press release said: The creation of the new Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights delivers on President Biden’s commitment to (elevating) these critical issues to the highest levels of the government and solidifies the agency’s commitment to delivering justice and equity for all. The new office will dedicate more than 200 EPA staff in EPA headquarters and across 10 regions toward solving environmental challenges in communities that have been underserved for far too long. These staff will engage with communities with environmental justice concerns to understand their needs, as well as Tribal, state, and local partners; manage and disburse historic levels of grants and technical assistance; work with other EPA offices to incorporate environmental justice into the agency’s programs, policies, and processes, as allowed by law; and ensure EPA funding recipients comply with applicable civil rights laws. The office will be led by a U.S. Senate-confirmed Assistant Administrator, to be announced at a later date. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said the new office stems from the Biden Administration's commitment to environmental justice and civil rights initiatives, saying: “We are embedding environmental justice and civil rights into the DNA of EPA and ensuring that people who’ve struggled to have their concerns addressed see action to solve the problems they’ve been facing for generations.” How so? According to the release, the new office will oversee the implementation and delivery of a $3 billion climate and environmental justice block grant program created by the Inflation Reduction Act, a critical component of the law’s historic $60 billion investment in environmental justice. The office also will ensure EPA’s implementation of other funding programs provided by the Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and regular appropriations meet or exceed the President’s Justice40 Initiative. The new office is the latest significant action under President Biden’s aggressive approach to embed environmental justice, civil rights, and equity across the government and follows the launch of several initiatives designed to address the impacts faced by those living in underserved communities overburdened by pollution. By way of background: The EPA created the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights Office by merging three existing programs at the agency: the Office of Environmental Justice, External Civil Rights Compliance Office, and Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center. The new office will: Improve and enhance the agency’s ability to infuse equity, civil rights, and environmental justice principles and priorities into all EPA practices, policies, and programs. Support the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies regardless of race, color, national origin, or income. Engage communities with environmental justice concerns and increase support for community-led action through grants and technical assistance. Enforce federal civil rights laws that, together, prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin (including on the basis of limited-English proficiency); sex; disability; or age by applicants for and recipients of federal financial assistance from EPA. Provide services and expertise in alternative dispute resolution, environmental conflict resolution, consensus-building, and collaborative problem-solving. “The creation of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights is welcome news,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “We hope the office will be able to help deliver meaningful environmental improvements to the towns that need it most - ones like Clairton, Braddock, and other local frontline communities.”

For years, Mon Valley residents who live in the shadow of U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works facilities have attended Allegheny County Board of Health meetings to demand action on emissions issues. Some residents, like David Meckle of Glassport, have long blamed their dying trees and lackluster gardens on years - decades - of steelmaking-related soil contamination. Now, research from geologists at the University of Pittsburgh shows that historic coking and smelting dropped toxic metals in Pittsburgh’s soil - particularly in the East half of the city. Here’s what a recent PittWire story had to say about the findings, which were recently published in the journal Environmental Research Communications (and can be read here): “Pittsburgh’s steel industry may be largely in the past, but its legacy lives on in city soils. New research led by Pitt geologists shows how historical coking and smelting dropped toxic metals in Pittsburgh’s soil, particularly in the eastern half of the city. While the most severe levels of soil lead come from concentrated sources, those aren’t the only factors that can make dirt harmful to garden or play in, especially in a city with industrial history like Pittsburgh. Concentrations of soil metals were generally higher in the east end of the city, likely a result of wind patterns, and the city’s geography also plays a role, the team found. Levels were higher in the two large, flat valleys that crisscross Pittsburgh: the historical paths of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. These valleys still influence local weather patterns, serving as the site of temperature inversions that trap pollution close to the ground. Along with worsening air pollution, the team theorizes, inversions may have given heavy metals from historical industrial sites a chance to settle from the air into the soil.” By way of background: The geologists searched for pollutants including arsenic, cadmium, zinc, and copper. “While lead tends to dominate conversations about soil metals, others often fly under the radar — like cadmium, which can replace the calcium in bones and increase the chances of a fracture,” the PittWire story continued. Learn more in this story in PublicSource and Inside Climate News: Toxic metals entered soil from Pittsburgh steel-industry emissions, study says, PublicSource

Hey GASPers, did you hear that the PA GreenGov Council is hosting its first-ever Sustainability Summit next week? There are a ton of interesting topics on tap for the weeklong virtual event that kicks off this Monday, Oct. 3. Gov. Tom Wolf announced the summit just this week - here’s what it said: “We have a responsibility to future generations that requires us to act now to protect our environment and keep Pennsylvanians safe from the dangers of climate change,” said Gov. Wolf. “The GreenGov council is driving my administration’s work to support a healthier climate while lowering costs for taxpayers, and I thank them for their leadership and advocacy. Pennsylvania is proud to take the lead on advancing climate sustainability and resiliency, and this summit will promote collaboration to make our work go further and accomplish more.” The Summit will bring together Pennsylvania’s leading sustainability experts, elected officials, state-agency leaders and policymakers for an exciting and informative series of conversations and presentations on the energy conservation and sustainability progress the commonwealth has made as well as the challenges it will face in the future. This event is free, open to all, and virtual, making it easy to attend and participate. “Pennsylvania has made significant progress in the areas of energy conservation and sustainability,” said PA GreenGov Council Director Mark Hand. “The Sustainability Summit and 2022 Sustainability Week activities will give attendees insight into the policies, programs and funding initiatives that have contributed to our success and will help advance energy efficiency and climate resiliency and create a more sustainable future for Pennsylvania.” In 2019, Governor Wolf signed Executive Order 2019-01 to establish Pennsylvania’s first climate goals, as part of his strategy to fight climate change and protect Pennsylvania from climate dangers. Those goals call for a statewide reduction in net greenhouse has emissions 26 percent by 2025, with a further 80 percent reduction by 2050 from 2005 levels. That executive order also established the PA GreenGov Council, which develops strategies to help state government reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the three years since the creation of the GreenGov Council – which is co-chaired by the departments of General Services, Environmental Protection, and Conservation and Natural Resources – commonwealth agencies under the governor’s jurisdiction have reduced energy usage by 12.3 percent for a savings of more than $8 million. The Sustainability Summit will be a full-day event featuring opening remarks from DCNR Secretary Cindy Dunn and a line-up of six informative and interactive sessions. Throughout the rest of the week, noontime sessions on Tuesday through Friday will focus on specific sustainability topics, and feature opening remarks from PA Department of General Services Acting Secretary Joe Lee, PA Department of Environmental Protection Acting Secretary Ramez Ziadeh and other commonwealth officials. Note: While the event is free, registration is required and can be accomplished online. Sound interesting? Here’s what you need to know if you want to go.