Bad news to report today, friends. Here’s what’s going on: As you may recall, back in July, we blogged about the EPA’s   proposal to postpone compliance deadlines  in the revised National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for integrated iron and steel manufacturing facilities (the II&S NESHAPs), including U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock.  GASP also   spoke out against  the proposed postponement in September. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, EPA has decided to go ahead with its proposed postponement of the compliance deadlines in the II&S NESHAPs.  On Dec. 3,EPA published a   rule  in the Federal Register that finalized the postponement that it proposed earlier in the year.   As was the case for the postponement of deadlines for standards for coke ovens’ emissions of hazardous air pollutants, EPA relied on “infeasibility” and “national security” concerns to justify the delay.  “This is yet another decision by EPA to put corporate convenience ahead of public health,” said GASP’s Senior Attorney John Baillie. “It is a disappointment.”

Friends, we’re not gonna lie: We are absolutely abuzz over here in the GASP office! Why? Because you all showed up for us BIG on Giving Tuesday and we wanted to send out the loudest, most heartfelt THANK YOU to every single person who threw down a donation for clean air. While we're still tallying the final numbers, we can tell you something pretty amazing: We completely blew past our $1,500 goal!   Seriously, yinz are incredible! This outpouring of support reminds us of how we got started in the first place: GASP began as a small, scrappy, grassroots group of everyday folks. They weren't politicians or big shots - just neighbors, parents, and friends deeply concerned about the air quality where they lived, worked, and raised their kids.  Fast forward 56 years, and that fundamental support system hasn't changed much at all. Our mission—to improve air quality for everyone in the Pittsburgh region—is still being sustained by the very people who got this whole advocacy party started: Everyday heroes who care. Please know that your donation, whether $5 or $500, is vital to the work we do, funding everything from air quality monitoring and educational outreach to our legal and policy advocacy. PS: Stay tuned for the final total—we can't wait to share it! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Want to keep the momentum going? You can always make a donation  here!

Trump’s EPA on Dec. 1 announced that it is taking final action on the agency's July 2025 Interim Final Rule to extend several compliance deadlines in the Biden-Harris Administration's Clean Air Act rules for the oil and gas industry – commonly known as OOOOb/c.  As we blogged back in August , the standards in Part OOOOb are New Source Performance Standards made under the authority of Section 111(b) of the Clean Air Act. The standards outlined in Part OOOOc apply to existing sources, which would have previously been managed through state regulations mandated by the seldom-used Section 111(d) of the Act. It’s worth noting that EPA’s press release touted the action “will impact hundreds of thousands of oil and gas sources across the country and save an estimated $750 million over 11 years in compliance costs.” “It’s also worth noting that the term ‘public health’ is not mentioned once in the release,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “Sadly, placing industry fiscal considerations over environmental and public health has seemingly become routine in EPA’s decision making.” Here’s an excerpt from the release: In July 2025, EPA issued an IFR extending compliance deadlines in the 2024 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Emissions Guidelines for OOOOb/c. This IFR included extending the deadline to meet certain requirements related to control devices, equipment leaks, storage vessels, process controllers, and covers/closed vent systems for 18 months following the publication of the IFR in the Federal Register. This remains unchanged in today's final rule. Also remaining unchanged are the 18-month extensions given to states to create plans for reducing methane emissions from existing oil and natural gas sources and for the implementation of the 2024 rule's "super emitter" program, which requires third parties using EPA-approved remote-sensing technology to provide EPA with data on potential large leaks. Following a public comment period and a public hearing on the July 2025 IFR, EPA is extending the November 28, 2025, deadline for net heating value continuous monitoring requirements and alternative performance test (sampling demonstration) option for flares and enclosed combustion devices by 180 days. This addresses the supply chain, personnel, and laboratory limitations identified by commenters, which made compliance with the requirements in the 2024 final rule infeasible. The IFR previously had extended this to 120 days. To ensure clarity, EPA is providing 360 days from the effective date of this final action for owners and operators to submit all annual NSPS OOOOb reports that were originally due prior to this deadline. Subsequent reports are due no later than 90 days after the end of each annual compliance period. These changes do not alter any provisions specifying the annual compliance period. Today's final action also includes all responses to public comments received on the IFR, as well as testimonies from the public hearing. To read the final rule and related materials, visit EPA's website for the oil and natural gas rules .

Giving Tuesday is a global movement that celebrates radical generosity. If you've been meaning to support the fight for a healthier Pittsburgh, now is the perfect moment.  Because we’ve got a truth bomb for you: Pittsburgh is one of the most beautiful and resilient cities in the country, but (and it’s a big but) the air quality challenges—especially in places like the Mon Valley—are still a serious daily reality.  When you wake up to that rotten-egg smell (Hydrogen Sulfide or H2S for short) or to headlines about yet another pollution event at a local industrial facility, we want you to know GASP is already on the case. Your support - on Giving Tuesday and EVERY day - allows us do the hard, necessary work that big polluters abhor:  • Watchdog Work:  The devil, they say, is in the details. That’s why watchdog work is at the center of GASP’s mission. We review and provide formal comments to strengthen permits and regulations. We make public records requests, investigate and raise the red flag on issues like the air quality permit backlogs at ACHD and DEP. You can count on us to pay attention to the issues that matter most - in detail - and speak out on them. When necessary, we even initiate legal action.  •  Youth Advocacy:  Through programs like Fresh Voices for Clean Air, we're training high school students to become the next generation of clean air advocates, ensuring the fight continues.  • Community Air Monitoring:  We've set up a community air monitoring network in neighborhoods impacted by toxic diesel and industrial emissions that too often fly under the regulatory radar.  This work costs staff time, fees, and equipment, which is why a Giving Tuesday gift is so critically needed. Our big ask: Can you chip in $50 right now to help us put even more pressure on polluters? Truly, a gift of any size fuels our advocacy and community programs - especially at a time of historic regulatory rollbacks and attacks on science.  Thank you for standing with us today and every day.  Yours for clean air, The Gang at GASP

We find ourselves somewhat surprised to report that the federal government’s struggle against its own revised National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for coke ovens continues.  Quick background: The EPA promulgated the Revised Coke Oven NESHAPs in 2024.  Among other things, they required that coke oven operators monitor for benzene at their fencelines; imposed new limits on emissions of hazardous air pollutants from coke oven pushing, quenching, and battery stacks; and imposed new limits on leaking coke oven doors, lids, and offtake piping. Last spring, we   reported  that pursuant to Section 112(i)(4) of the Clean Air Act, EPA offered to delay compliance deadlines that were imposed on facilities by several revised NESHAPs that were promulgated during the waning months of the Biden Administration, including the Revised Coke Oven NESHAPs.   Section 112(i)(4) authorizes the President to delay compliance deadlines set by a NESHAPs when the technology needed to comply is not available and the delay is in the interest of national security.  Both U.S. Steel and Cleveland Cliffs (the operators of the Clairton Coke Works and Monessen Coke Works, respectively) asked for compliance extensions from the deadlines imposed by the Revised Coke Oven NESHAPs.   On July 8, 2025, EPA issued an   interim final rule  that would have extended those compliance deadlines for the full two years authorized by Section 112(i)(4), as U.S. Steel and Cleveland Cliffs requested.   The original compliance deadline was July 5, 2025; the new compliance deadline under the July 8, 2025, Interim Final Rule would have been July 5, 2027.  As you may recall, we spoke out  against the July 8, 2025 Interim Final Rule this past summer. Accordingly, in October we were pleased to   report  that it appeared that EPA would scrap the July 8, 2025 Interim Final Rule and go ahead with the original deadlines in the Revised Coke Oven NESHAPs: on Oct. 3, 2025, EPA withdrew the July 8, 2025 Interim Final Rule, stating that withdrawal “effectively reinstitutes the compliance deadlines set forth in the 2024 final rule,” to wit:  July 5, 2027. Cut to Nov. 21, 2025, when the president issued a   proclamation  that purports to give coke oven operators the full additional two years authorized by Section 112(i)(4) to comply with the deadlines in the Revised Coke Oven NESHAPs.   Should this Proclamation withstand the inevitable legal challenge, the compliance deadline for the Revised Coke Oven NESHAPs will (once again) be July 5, 2027.  “The government’s flip-flops on this beggar belief,” GASP Senior Attorney John Baillie said. “This latest switch sure looks arbitrary and capricious. It further underscores how public health concerns and even common sense seem to have been shoved into the back seat by rule makers in the administration.”

The EPA on Nov. 20 published a   proposed rule  that would redesignate Allegheny County from “nonattainment” of the 2012 National Ambient Air Quality Standard for fine particulate matter (the “2012 NAAQS for PM2.5”) to “attainment.”   EPA’s proposed rule is based on monitored air quality data that shows that all areas of the county attained the 2012 NAAQS for PM2.5 during the years 2018, 2019, and 2020.  The proposed rule also discusses more recent monitored air quality data, which shows that all areas of the county have continued to attain the 2012 NAAQS for PM2.5 since 2020. To attain the 2012 NAAQS for PM2.5, the three-year average of the annual arithmetic mean of monitored air quality data for an area must not exceed 12 micrograms per cubic meter (12 µg/m 3 ).   Among other requirements, to be redesignated from “nonattainment” to “attainment” of a NAAQS the air quality regulator for an area must submit a plan to EPA that shows that the area will continue to attain the NAAQS (which the Allegheny County Health Department has done). EPA’s proposed rule also identifies some of the emission controls that local sources used to reduce their emissions of PM2.5 since the promulgation of the 2012 NAAQS for PM2.5, facility closures that contributed to reductions in PM2.5 levels in Allegheny County, and federal and state regulations that contributed to those same reductions.   That part of the proposed rule is well worth a read.  “The proposed rule is the capstone of a lot of good work that has been done over the last decade to bring Allegheny County into line with the 2012 NAAQS for PM2.5,” said GASP’s Senior Attorney John Baillie. EPA is accepting comments on the proposed rule through December 22, 2025.  You can submit comments at   www.regulations.gov  or via email to gordon.mike@epa.gov ; identify your comments by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-2025-1777.

The Board of Health on Wednesday approved revisions to Allegheny County Health Department’s portion of Pennsylvania’s State Implementation Plan (SIP). What is a SIP? Here’s how ACHD explains its website: When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establishes a new National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) or revises an existing standard, it sets in motion a series of actions aimed at ensuring that air quality throughout the country meets those standards. State Implementation Plans (SIPs) are plans put together by states to help them meet the new or revised NAAQS. The EPA designates areas as meeting ("attainment") or not meeting ("non-attainment") the new NAAQS. If an area meets attainment, states are required to develop a general plan to maintain the NAAQS. If an area is classified as non-attainment, states must formulate a specific plan to meet the new NAAQS. These plans are known as SIPs and are developed by state and local air quality management agencies and submitted to EPA for approval. Find more information about SIPs. In this case, the updated coke oven regulations promulgated by EPA necessitated these revisions. An ACHD representative noted that the revisions were needed to align the SIP with requirements set forth in a 2024 consent decree reached between U.S. Steel, environmental organizations and the health department that lowered the limit on sulfur dioxide emissions from the battery stacks at Clairton Coke Works from 35 grains per dry standard cubic foot to 25 grains per dry standard cubic foot. The revision also corrected the number of coke oven batteries operating at Clairton Coke Works. As a result of that consent decree, U.S. Steel permanently shut down its oldest battery, number 15. In other business, the Board of Health also approved its 2026 meeting schedule: ●      12:30 p.m. Jan 14 in the Gold Room ●      12:30 p.m. March 18 at the Food Bank (further details TBA) ●      5:30 p.m. May 13 in the Gold Room ●      12:30 p.m. July 15 in the Gold Room ●      5:30 p.m. Sept. 16 in the Gold Room ●      12:30 p.m. Nov. 18 in the Gold Room

Good, nay, great news, friends: Allegheny County Council today finally voted to approve Allegheny County Health Department's proposed permit fee schedule increases necessary to fully fund our air quality program. The room was packed with residents and environmental advocates. The vote was 13-0. Council members Suzanne Filiaggi and Jack Betkowski were absent. The prelude to the public comment period and vote was...untraditional. We absolutely recommend watching the meeting (that action starts at around the 1:10 minute mark). “We want to say THANK YOU to council,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “This vote was long overdue and very much needed.” GASP also wants to take a moment to recognize YOU. Without your activism, comments, phone calls - your VOICE - we truly do not believe it would have been a yes vote today. THANK YOU! "Last night's vote was such a tremendous community win," Campbell said. "So many residents and advocates showed up meeting after meeting, made phone calls to council, crafted statements and shared information on social media. It's a amazing example of what we can accomplish when we all work together. Since ACHD announced the shortfall in June of 2024, this has been a concern for so, so many of us." Editor's Note: Here's how we got here: Here's some media links from the meeting last night: Allegheny County Council to hike fees on U.S. Steel, others (Public Source) Allegheny County Council approves increases to air-quality permit fees | TribLIVE.com

At long last, Allegheny County Council is poised to vote Nov. 18 on a long sought (and direly needed) air quality permit fee schedule that would fully fund the Allegheny County Health Department’s Air Quality Program. The news comes in the wake of Council’s Health and Human Services Committee meeting on Wednesday, when members recommended ACHD’s proposal be placed on the Nov. 18 agenda for a full vote. GASP will again be there to urge council to vote YES on ACHD’s original proposal, which - to be clear - was vetted by the Air Pollution Control Advisory Committee and the Allegheny County Board of Health  before being subject to a public comment period where it received robust support. We know so many of you were among those who showed their support for the funding measure during that public comment period and through attending council meetings, or writing or calling your rep to tell them how important a fully funded Air Quality Program is to our public health and well-being. But we need to ask yinz one last time: Could you - would you? - join us Nov. 18 in pushing for a YES vote from council? As a reminder, 10 affirmative votes are needed for the measure to pass. Not sure what to say and need a refresher? No worries - we got . Just need a couple quick talking points? Here are three reasons to vote YES that you can share with your representative on council : A yes vote upholds federal law:   ACHD has been delegated the authority to enforce both federal and state laws and regulations pertaining to the control of air pollution in Allegheny County and the federal Clean Air Act requires that ACHD have adequate funding and personnel to carry out that authority. The Clean Air Act also requires that ACHD’s program for Title V facilities charge fees that are sufficient to cover the cost of administering the program. A yes vote invests in our health:  Supporting front-line communities burdened by industrial pollution - we know you’ve heard from many of your constituents in these neighborhoods as you’ve mulled the merits of this proposal. A yes vote empowers ACHD staff:  It’s imperative to provide the men and women who work in ACHD’s Air Quality Program with the tools they need to do their jobs. Not only is it required by the Clean Air Act, but it will also undoubtedly help with staff retention, talent acquisition, and morale. We hope to see you all at 5 p.m. Nov. 18! Please remember that in order to address council, you must sign up to speak 24-hours in advance.  Here’s the link to sign up.

Remember the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (otherwise known as RGGI)? We blogged a number of times  about Pennsylvania’s attempted entry into program. As a reminder: RGGI is a cap-and-trade system that a number of states in the northeastern United States participate in.   Under the system, large fossil-fuel fired electric generating units are required to purchase credits to allow their emission of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), which they can trade. The idea? By gradually reducing the number of credits available for purchase in Pennsylvania, statewide emissions of CO 2 would be reduced over time.   In Pennsylvania, proceeds from the sale of CO 2 emission credits was to have been used to fund energy efficiency projects. We say “was” because as part of this week’s deal on the formerly stymied Pennsylvania budget, it was agreed that the regulations implementing RGGI in Pennsylvania would be abrogated, meaning that Pennsylvania will not participate in RGGI.  You may recall that Gov. Tom Wolf’s attempt to impose RGGI by regulations promulgated by the Department of Environmental Protection drew a legal challenge from [mostly, if not entirely] Republicans in the General Assembly based on the argument that the requirement to purchase CO 2  emission credits was a tax, and that under the Pennsylvania Constitution taxes may be imposed only by an act of the General Assembly.   The RGGI opponents’ argument was upheld by an order of the   Commonwealth Court , and DEP’s appeal of that order is currently pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, although that appeal would now seem to be moot. All of which is for the history books.   Gov. Josh Shapiro has, however,   pledged  to take as-yet-unspecified steps to make electric power generation in Pennsylvania both cleaner and cheaper while promoting job growth in the energy sector. A tall order, to be sure.   We’ll keep you posted on his efforts to do so as he makes them.