That makes 48 days so far this year that H2S levels exceeded the air quality standard at the Liberty monitor. There have been 17 other such exceedances at ACHD’s air quality monitor in North Braddock Borough. Despite the rising number of H2S exceedances, ACHD has provided the public with no update on what’s causing the issue and what is being done to address it. While the department issued an enforcement order in April against U.S. Steel for H2S violations at its Clairton Coke Works, no further information has been released since. “The public deserves more details,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “This is an issue that obviously isn’t going away and ACHD needs to step up.” #H2S #hydrogensulfide #LibertyMonitor #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #airquality

After all these years with you fighting the good air quality fight, the difficult truth remains: Environmental advocacy is largely a David vs. Goliath situation. On one side of the fight, you have multi-million dollar – and sometimes even multi-billion dollar – companies with their slick corporate lawyers and robust public relations budgets. On the other side, you have residents and grassroots groups. This Giving Tuesday, we’re humbling asking for your financial support. Here are seven reasons to give to GASP: GASP helps ensure residents’ voices are heard. We made it our mission this year to help mobilize community members to speak out on air quality issues by helping to craft blogs, social media reports, and automatic forms to make submitting formal comments on things like Allegheny County Health Department’s newly approved (and improved) air quality fee schedule and Mon Valley Air Pollution episode rules. All totaled, GASP facilitated more than 700 public comments on these and other important air quality-related permits and regulations. GASP keeps you in the know on all things air quality. Our team prides itself on keeping you updated when air quality is in the news – or should be. So far this year, we’ve crafted nearly 150 blogs, more than 900 tweets, and countless Facebook and Instagram alerts. Our advocacy extends beyond the 9-5, Monday through Friday work week: The GASP team keeps track of the data and the issues to keep you in the know. GASP is a respected expert resource for local, state and national media. Speaking of air quality in the news…We work closely with our friends in the media, helping to provide expert analysis for nearly 50 news articles this year, including a story released just this past week that links air pollution exposure to increased incidence of mental health issues. While most of the press inquiries are from local and state reporters, GASP has even been sought out by national media outlets for our expert take on air quality matters. GASP has legal expertise. Did you know that GASP has two full-time lawyers? We do! John and Ned keep tabs on the regs, the permits, and the data. They’re the ones who keep our Air Permits Clearinghouse up to date. They submit public information requests and conduct file reviews to obtain important documents that can be a tool for community activists and fellow advocacy groups alike. This year, John and Ned have reviewed dozens of quality-related permits, rules, and regulations, submitting formal public comments on many of those. Those public comments often lead to meaningful changes that result in less air pollution permitted to be emitted. GASP does air quality education right. Despite ongoing COVID-19 protocols that prevented many indoor gatherings this year, GASP’s educators helped provide classrooms, libraries, and after-school programs with our popular air quality kits. We also hosted five (soon to be six) Clean Air Fair events to help kids understand what air pollution is, where it comes from, and how it impacts human and environmental health – but in a way that’s not boring or scary. Our kits feature things like real pig lungs and science experiments, and our Clean Air Fair events hosted by Dirty Girty the Poor Polluted Birdie, our brightly-colored, quirky mascot portrayed by the hilarious Dave English, a Pittsburgh puppeteer, educator and artist. GASP is prudent with spending. Real talk: We’re always a little suspicious of nonprofits with palatial digs and a surplus of swag. GASP strives to use the money entrusted to us as prudent as possible, which means spending it on the cause – not on overhead. We keep it tight: GASP employs a small, scrappy team and while our offices are perfectly suitable, they’ll never be considered swanky (and we’re totally fine with that). ] GASP has references to back all this up. Listen, we don’t want this list to come off as bragging. We’re not. Check out what our members have to say about our work and the difference it makes. If you are able to make a donation, please know that we are so appreciative. As always, those who would like to make a donation through the Give Big Pittsburgh platform can do so here. You can also feel free to make a donation on our website. If you would prefer, our office manager Kathy Lawson can also process credit card donations over the phone – just email her at kathy@gasp-pgh.org. Not in a position to make a donation but still would like to support GASP? We cordially invite you to sign up to be a GASP volunteer, to bookmark our website at www.gasp-pgh.org for the latest on air quality issues, and to join the conversation by liking us on Facebook, and following us on Instagram, and Twitter. We can’t say it enough: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Supporters like you have enabled GASP to be here for the long haul to help advocate for your right to clean air and a healthy, safe place to live. With your help, we’re looking forward to making even more strides for clean air in 2022. Yours for Clean Air, The GASP Gang #ACHD #airpollution #airquality #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment

Did you know that for every 10 minutes you idle your car or truck, you’re contributing about a pound of carbon dioxide – a primary contributor to global warming – into the air we all breathe? And did you further know that idling for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel and produces more smog and emissions than stopping and restarting your engine? That’s why GASP has long advocated for anti-idling laws and partnered with local businesses and communities to help remind folks to turn off their engines by providing “No Idling” signage. Most recently, we were delighted to partner with the City of Pittsburgh to create a Public Service Announcement to dispel the common misconception that idling is better for the car and the environment than shutting off and restarting your engine. “Not idling your car is a super simple way to help reduce air pollution,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “We hope the PSA puts that on people’s radar.” Here’s the video, check it out: #idling #airpollution #antiidling #emissions #airquality #antiidle

You came through big for GASP this Giving Tuesday, and I wanted to personally tell you: Thank you. Thank you for your financial support, which helped us put nearly $4,000 into our coffers. That money will be used to fund the educational and watchdog work that you’ve come to expect from us. While we are endlessly grateful for every donation – big and small – Giving Tuesday wasn’t *just* about money. This week, so many of you also gave us much-needed social media support, sharing and retweeting our posts to help spread awareness of GASP and the work we do on behalf of clean air. Most of all, thank you for caring. About GASP. About the state of our air quality. About our friends and neighbors who have – and are – suffering from air pollution. Thank you for fighting alongside us on behalf of the air we all share. Onward and upward! Sincerely, Patrick Campbell Executive Director #airpollution #airquality #GivingTuesday

And that’s just what’s happened in Pennsylvania regarding Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for large coal-fired power plants so we wanted to help break things down. You can get all the details and background on our recent blog about Pennsylvania’s illegal RACT determinations for those plants required by the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in its decision Sierra Club v. EPA. But the long and short of it is this: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) occasionally revises the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (also known as NAAQS) for ozone or oxides of nitrogen, a precursor of ozone. In Sierra Club, the court determined that an emission limit for NOx that was lower than the one set by the regulation was both economically and technically achievable because selective catalytic reducer-equipped Pennsylvania plants themselves – as well as SCR-equipped plants in nearby states –  regularly achieved lower NOx emission rates. In the order following its decision, the court required DEP and EPA to re-evaluate RACT limits for the coal plants’ NOx emissions so that those limits would satisfy the Clean Air Act’s RACT standard. How does this relate to us locally? On Dec. 2 the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) published notice of its re-determination of RACT for the Cheswick Generating Station, which was also required by the Sierra Club decision. This proposed re-determination will: decrease Cheswick’s emission limits for NOx from 0.12 pounds per million British thermal units (lb/MMBtu) to 0.090 lb/MMBtu under normal operating conditions decrease emissions limits for NOx from 0.35 lb/MMBtu to 0.27 MMBtu under all operating conditions, including startups, shutdowns, and malfunctions and, eliminate an exception to Cheswick’s NOx emission limit that purported to apply when the inlet temperature of the plant’s selective catalytic reducer (which is used to control NOx emissions) was below 600 degrees Fahrenheit “The Cheswick Generating Station is scheduled to cease operations in April 2022, so these decreased emission limits – although required by law – will have only a limited impact on local air quality,” GASP senior staff attorney John Baillie explained. ACHD is nevertheless accepting comments on the new limits through Jan. 11. GASP continues to follow this issue and will keep you posted. #SierraClubvEPA #CheswickPowerStation #RACT #JohnBaillie #Cheswickpowerplant #emissions #CleanAirAct #ReasonablyAvailableControlTechnology

GASP has long advocated for clean school buses and is pleased to tell you about an upcoming listening session hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding its Clean School Bus Program. The agency is seeking YOUR input on the program, which will offer $5 billion over five years to replace older, dirty diesel buses with those that are zero-emission or that use alternate fuels. The EPA will provide an overview of the legislation and also seek input from stakeholders on developing a successful program to achieve nationwide deployment of clean and zero-emission school buses. Eligible recipients for funding through this new program include state and local governments, certain contractors, nonprofit school transportation associations, Tribes, Tribal organizations, or Tribally-controlled schools. Webinar participants will have an opportunity to speak for up to two minutes to provide feedback. Depending on participation, not every attendee may have time to speak, but interested parties may also submit suggestions about program implementation to cleanschoolbus@epa.gov. “This is a tremendous funding opportunity that we hope agencies and operators in our region will take advantage of,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “We know that diesel exhaust causes everything from asthma attacks to heart attacks, stroke, and even premature death. So the sooner we transition to clean buses the better.” The session is slated from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Dec. 15. You can register here. #cleanschoolbuses #dieselemissions #dieselexhaust

We’re excited to share with you today the trailer for our friend Mark Dixon’s documentary film, “Inversion: The Unfinished Business of Pittsburgh’s Air.” GASP has been fortunate to work with the filmmaker and environmental advocate throughout the years and named him a Champion for Healthy Air in 2017. We very much look forward to when the documentary wraps and we can finally feast our eyes on what we know has been a years-long passion project. Mark has been pretty much everywhere air quality is discussed locally: If you’ve been to an Allegheny County Board of Health meeting or participated in a local clean air rally, you’ve likely seen him there as a speaker or in the thick of it, flanked by his camera. We wanted to note that the film is currently in production, and Mark has told us that he is currently focused on editing, interviewing, and fundraising. If you’d like to contribute to the film’s costs, please know that every dollar helps. You can reach out to Mark here. But that’s enough preamble, here’s the trailer for the film exploring the struggle for clean air in the greater Pittsburgh region: #InversionDocumentary #airpollution #MarkDixon #USSteel #Clairton #airquality

Editor’s Note: This blog was updated at 10:35 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021, to include information on an exceedance that occurred at North Baddock Tuesday. The associated chart was also updated. By 7 a.m. Tuesday, social media and SmellPGH users were sounding the alarm about it being another stinky morning in and around the ‘Burgh. As complaints rolled in about the overwhelming odor and physical impacts they caused, AirNow.Gov showed AQI NowCast values at Allegheny County Health Department’s air quality monitor in Liberty borough peaking at 149, which is considered unhealthy for sensitive populations. These complaints came in the wake of yet more exceedances of Pennsylvania’s 24-hour standard for hydrogen sulfide (AKA H2S AKA that rotten egg odor with which you may be all too familiar). For those keeping track: Yesterday and today will mark the 53rd and 54th exceedances so far this year at the Liberty monitor. There was also an H2S exceedance at ACHD’s air quality monitor in North Braddock Borough Tuesday – the 18th so far this year at that location. We also want to note: It wasn’t just H2S that remained a concern Tuesday. Concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were also elevated at the Liberty monitor during the early morning hours. ACHD’s air quality forecast and daily dispersion report for Tuesday indicates that an inversion was expected to break after 10 a.m., after which PM2.5 and H2S levels should drop off. However, ACHD’s forecast also notes that “poor” and “very poor” atmospheric dispersion – the atmosphere’s ability to transport pollution away from its source – are expected this evening and overnight. Our take: don’t be surprised if poor air quality returns after dark. GASP remains concerned about the mounting number of H2S exceedances, what might be causing them, as well as ACHD’s continued silence regarding this public health, quality of life, and environmental justice issue. “All we know is that the health department issued an enforcement action against U.S. Steel all the way back in April for H2S violations at its Clairton Coke Works plant. Since then, residents have suffered through 47 days on which concentrations exceeded regulatory limits,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. He added: “It’s unfortunate that demanding clean air for children, our seniors, and every human being in Allegheny County is considered an ‘extremist’ position by the Allegheny County Executive’s office. When it comes to the county’s public health, the buck ultimately stops with the Executive’s office, and it’s time for him to protect the residents he took an oath to serve.” Editor’s Note: GASP will continue to monitor the data and provide updates both here and on social media – so stay tuned. In the meantime, here are two charts for folks who’d like to take a deeper dive into the data: #H2S #hydrogensulfide #USSteel #alleghenycountyairquality #hydrogensulfideexceedance #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #RichFitzgerald #ACHD #ClairtonCokeWorks #airquality

Anyone who has lived in a community riddled with fracked wells knows Pennsylvania has struggled with properly regulating the oil and gas industry, which has contributed to high-profile pollution events, consent decrees, and even criminal charges against some of the Keystone State’s worst industry bad actors. Now, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering a purported new “Proposed Rule” that would impose emissions standards and limitations on certain new and existing facilities in the oil and natural gas production, storage, and transmission sectors. “We use the term ‘purported’ because the Proposed Rule did not include any actual proposed regulations despite taking up 154 single-spaced pages in the Federal Register,” GASP Senior Staff Attorney noted. So, what *did* EPA do? The agency disclosed its intention to regulate, re-regulate, or more strictly regulate emissions of volatile organic compounds ( also known as VOCs) and greenhouse gases (called GHGs – and methane is one) from oil and natural gas industry sources. Let’s break down some of those proposed changes. Leak Detection and Repair Requirements First, the EPA is proposing leak detection and repair (LDAR) requirements for new well sites that are contingent upon sites’ baseline methane emissions instead of their production volumes. That means well sites with established baseline methane emissions of 3 tons per year or less would be exempt from leak detection and repair requirements, while well sites with baseline methane emissions of more than 3 tons per year would be required to monitor for leaks of VOCs (and repair them if found) every calendar quarter. EPA is also considering requiring well sites with baseline methane emissions between 3 and 8 TPY to monitor for leaks of VOCs only semi-annually. EPA further proposes to require leak detection and repair monitoring at new and existing compressor stations on a quarterly basis (such monitoring at existing compressor stations currently must be performed only semi-annually). Vapor Recovery System Requirements The new proposed EPA oil and gas rule would also reduce emissions from certain liquid storage tanks using either a vapor recovery system or flare. For the uninitiated: Vapor recovery systems capture VOC emissions before they are released into the atmosphere. Flares destroy harmful VOCs before they can be emitted. Right now, existing tanks having the potential to emit 6 tons per year or more of VOCs are already subject to such a requirement. But existing batteries of storage tanks having an aggregate potential to emit 20 or more tons per year of methane *would* be subject to this requirement under the proposed rule. That’s not all: New individual storage tanks or batteries of storage tanks having a potential to emit at least 6 TPY of VOCs would also be required to reduce VOC emissions by at least 95 percent using a vapor recovery device or flare. Gas Sales Lines Availability The proposed rule would also eliminate the practice of natural gas flaring from new and existing well sites unless a gas sales line is not accessible to the well site. The Proposed Rule does not say (but does request comment regarding) what constitutes an accessible gas sales line. A Few Last Rules We Want to Tell You About The proposed rules would also: Eliminate emissions of VOCs and methane from new and existing pneumatic controllers.  Pneumatic controllers are devices that run on natural gas and are used to regulate pressure and temperature at well sites. Eliminate emissions of VOC emissions from new and existing liquids unloading operations, with a proposed exception for situations in which zero-emissions unloading is unsafe (in which case emissions still must be minimized).  VOCs can be emitted through evaporation during liquids loading and unloading operations. The Potential Air Quality Impact EPA projects that the proposed rule if implemented, will reduce the oil and natural gas sector’s emissions of greenhouse gases tremendously. Between 2023 and 2035, the agency projects: methane to be reduced by 41 million tons VOCs to be reduced by 12 million tons and hazardous air pollutants to be reduced by 480 thousand tons Why does it matter? Consider this: Not only are those air pollutants leading drivers of climate change, but they are also exacerbating the health impacts of climate change. So many studies have shown that people exposed to methane, VOCs, and other hazardous air pollutants can have an increased likelihood of developing cancer or experiencing other serious health impacts, including damage to the immune system, and neurological, reproductive, developmental, respiratory, and other health problems. How You Can Weigh In & Ensure Your Voice is Heard Please know that your opinion matters. You have until Jan. 31 to let the EPA know you support its intention to better regulate air pollution from the oil and natural gas industry. Just so everyone understands the process, EPA is accepting comments submitted in the following ways: Through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: It can be reached here and is our preferred method. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. By Email: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov. Include Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR– 2021–0317 in the subject line of the message. By U.S. Mail:  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2021– 0317, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460. It’s important to note that any comments must reference Docket ID # EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0317. Because we know how confusing this stuff can get, we want to make commenting on these new rules as easy as possible. The form below includes some sample verbiage that you can use and/or supplement and will be routed directly to the EPA. “Please remember that these public comment periods aren’t just for scientists and those who intimately understand air quality data,” Campbell said. “Your human experience is also important. We encourage everyone who has been personally impacted by emissions from the oil and gas industry to submit a comment so the EPA knows that behind all the cold science are real humans with real concerns.” Feel free to add your personal thoughts and experiences about dealing with emissions from the oil and gas industry: Editor’s Note: The public comment period is now closed. Thank you to all who weighed in on the proposed rule. Once EPA finalizes the regulatory text for the proposed rule, it should provide an additional opportunity to comment. It is likely that EPA’s finalized regulatory language will be published for comment in 2022. We’ll keep you posted, so stay tuned. #oilandgasemissions #methane #vaporrecoverysystem #greenhousegases #compressorstations #leakdetectionandrepairrequirements #VOCemissions #EPA

Well, that didn’t take long: The first exceedance of Pennsylvania’s 24-hour average hydrogen sulfide (H2S) standard is already in the books. Concentrations of H2S (known by its distinct rotten egg stench) exceeded the state’s 24-hour average standard Wednesday at Allegheny County Health Department’s air quality monitor in Liberty Borough, according to preliminary data. Last year, H2S concentrations at the Liberty monitor exceeded Pennsylvania’s 24-hour average standard 54 times – which was more than two times 2020’s numbers. There were 18 other such exceedances at Allegheny County Health Department’s air quality monitor in North Braddock Borough. Despite the regular occurrence of these exceedances, the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) was largely silent on the issue. While it issued an H2S-related enforcement action against U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works in April (and an associated press release), no further information has been provided – not on the action specifically or the H2S problem in general. “It’s a new year, and we hope that the health department takes a new approach to how it deals with public communications around air quality issues like this one,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “Residents deal with poor air quality regularly and they rightly are looking to their public health officials for information and alerts when they see the Air Quality Index creeping into unhealthy levels and when they smell that awful stench.” He continued: “The silence on the part of Allegheny County Health Department is a true shame. Residents tell us that ACHD’s silence on these issues makes them feel unseen and unheard. The silence is being taken as apathy.” #H2S #NorthBraddockmonitor #airpollution #hydrogensulfide #LibertyMonitor #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #airquality