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

Longtime Clairton resident Art Thomas didn’t mince words Wednesday when he spoke before the Allegheny County Board of Health, telling members that if he was a teacher, he would assign the health department an F grade for air quality enforcement. Mr. Thomas was one of many who spoke out at the meeting to demand better from public health officials on air quality matters, asking them to improve the frequency and substance of public communications surrounding air pollution issues and to beef up efforts to stem emissions from the county’s industrial bad actors – with U.S. Steel being called out specifically. GASP’s Executive Director Patrick Campbell joined Mr. Thomas and others to speak out Wednesday. Here’s what he told board of health members: At the start of this new year, I suspect we are all even more keenly aware of the preciousness and precariousness of life. I suspect you already know that. And I suspect that is why each of us recognizes the burden of responsibility to the world around us, to our loved ones, to ourselves, and to the respected institutions that mirror our passions and priorities. Those of you sitting on this board made a decision to volunteer your time and talent to advise the county on issues related to public health. You knew you could help make a difference and your charge among other things is, “to prevent or fix conditions that constitute a threat to public health.” While we have made some progress, Allegheny County residents still suffer unhealthy air quality far too often for officials to take a victory lap. Residents have stood before you many times telling their stories. They’ve told you about rushing their children to the emergency room for acute asthma symptoms, about waking up gasping for air in the middle of the night, about worrying whether or not to let their kids play outside on days when air quality is particularly bad. It’s a tragedy because life is far too precious and precarious to miss a single minute, fearful of poor air quality. I’m here again to ask you to take action on an issue that’s had very real effects on quality of life and public health: The alarming number of H2S exceedances that continue in the Mon Valley. In 2021, there were 54 exceedances of PA’s 24-hour average for H2S at the Liberty monitor. There were 18 others at the North Braddock monitor. That’s more than twice the number of exceedances over 2020. Despite residents’ pleas for transparency, ACHD has remained silent. All the community knows is that ACHD issued an H2S-related enforcement action against U.S. Steel in April 2021. There’s been no communication about what’s causing the exceedances or what’s being done to stem them. No additional details have been released regarding that enforcement action, either. I am asking you today to do all you can to provide more frequent and substantive updates about what the department is doing to help ensure public health, residents’ health, and quality of life are protected. It seems worth mentioning that we already have the first H2S exceedance in the books for 2022 at the Liberty monitor. The first of the year happened the day before the board of health meeting. Powerful testimony was also given by our friend mark Dixon, a local environmental activist and filmmaker who recently released the trailer for his upcoming documentary, “Inversion: Pittsburgh’s Unfinished Business of Pittsburgh Air.” Here’s what he had to say: “Hello. My name is Mark Dixon and I live in Squirrel Hill South in Pittsburgh. Rachel Filippini recently left her role as Executive Director of the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP), and I commend her for her service to our community. Oliver Morrison at PublicSource wrote an article about her departure and requested comment from Allegheny County. I am speaking up today out of concern for the deeply disappointing statement released by Amie Downs, spokesperson for County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. The statement highlights a profound and troubling misunderstanding of the essential role of community members and organizations in advocating for a clean environment. Per the PublicSource article, the county statement states re: it’s ‘increasingly aggressive measures.’ ‘We also understand that for the activists, these actions and substantial progress will never be enough,’ the statement reads. ‘If there aren’t complaints and issues raised by those extremists, then they are less able to raise funds to continue their operations.” I was deeply disturbed by this negative characterization of community members as extremists. What I believe is actually happening is that community members are simply seeking clean air, and sometimes raise funds to hire professional staff, including lawyers, to ADDRESS issues that the County has not sufficiently resolved for DECADES. Despite some air quality improvements, our region remains one of the most polluted in the nation. Furthermore, over 68,000 complaints have been submitted via the SmellPGH app since 2016, averaging over 900 per month – submitted for free by community members. Are we extremists if we don’t want to breathe foul-smelling SO2 or H2S emissions many times each month? Are we extremists if we don’t want to live with some of the worst air in the nation? Are we extremists if we don’t want especially young, poor, sick, or vulnerable populations to suffer from foul air? Are we extremists if we send money to an organization seeking to represent our interests to a county that celebrates lackluster progress and discounts the testimonies of countless residents clamoring for change? Perhaps most disappointing, however, is the utter silence of the ACHD leadership and board in response to this statement by the county. You may not have considered how offensive it is to be regarded as “extremists” by your own government when you just want to breathe clean air, but now you know. It is deeply offensive and troubling. I will yield the rest of my speaking time to the ACHD board so that you may consider a vote to formally register your disapproval of the language used by the County to characterize air quality advocates as extremists. Do you disapprove or not? Please discuss. And thank you for your consideration. It’s also worth noting that board of health members did not choose to weigh in, moving on to the next speaker without any comment at all. But at the end of the meeting, Board Member Dr. Edith Shapira *did* take a moment to thank all who addressed the board. We would be remiss if we didn’t also mention tremendous public comments from our friends at Allegheny County Clean Air Now (ACCAN), Breathe Project, and Clean Air Council. Paul Gough of the Pittsburgh Business Times has a great writeup on their poignant testimony – we encourage you to read it if you’re able. If you’re not able to access that story, no worries: You can read Breath Project Executive Director Matt Mehalik’s comments here. You can read ACCAN member Angelo Taranto’s comments here. And you can read CAC’s Jay Ting Walker’s comments here. In other business: Bogen provided an update on the newly enacted Mon Valley Air Pollution Episode rule, indicating that all 16 regulated facilities submitted the required mitigation plans and that Air Quality Program staff members were in the process of reviewing them. She noted the plans became effective upon submission but indicated that ACHD would provide guidance to operators if changes were required. She also told the board that ACHD expected U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works operating permit renewal to be posted for public comment by the end of the month and that a public hearing would be scheduled. Rest assured that GASP legal staff is ready to review the document and provide comments. Stay tuned, we’ll share more details on our blog when we have them. Bogen said ACHD is still seeking candidates for the Deputy of Environmental Health position vacated by Jim Kelly in June. #H2S #airpollution #H2Sexceedance #USSteel #LibertyMonitor #H2Sviolations #ClairtonCokeWorks #MonValleyAirPollutionEpisodeRule #airquality

GASP on Monday lauded Gov. Tom Wolf’s veto of a Senate resolution that would have put a pin in Pennsylvania’s opportunity to enter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (otherwise known as RGGI). “GASP is appreciative of Gov. Wolf for the veto. We have long known that Pennsylvania contributes a disproportionate volume of climate change-causing air pollution in the United States and the time to address the issue is quickly running out,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “There is no denying that we are in a climate emergency. It’s imperative now more than ever that we must take drastic, aggressive action to reduce these air pollutants driving climate change.” Here’s the press release Wolf’s office issued this afternoon: Gov. Tom Wolf today vetoed and disapproved Senate Concurrent Regulatory Review Resolution 1, which would have disabled the commonwealth’s opportunity to enter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and effectively achieve climate goals and reduce carbon emissions. The concurrent resolution is also procedurally defective, as the General Assembly failed to adopt it within the statutory timeframe prescribed in the Regulatory Review Act. Pennsylvania is facing a climate crisis. RGGI is a solution that would stimulate the economy to the tune of $2 billion​ while reducing harmful greenhouse gases. This is a plan that 72 percent of Pennsylvanians support. By reducing air pollution, it would improve public health with 30,000 fewer respiratory hospital visits. Gov. Wolf’s Senate Concurrent Regulatory Review Resolution 1 veto message: “I am vetoing, disapproving, and returning the Concurrent Resolution because Final Form Regulation 7-559 is a vital step for Pennsylvania to reduce carbon emissions and achieve our climate goals.  Addressing the global climate crisis is one of the most important and critical challenges we face. Final Form Regulation 7-559 authorizes Pennsylvania’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) under the authority of the Air Pollution Control Act.  While the Republican-controlled General Assembly has failed to take any measures to address climate change, by joining RGGI, my Administration will take a historic, proactive, and progressive approach that will have significant positive environmental, public health, and economic impacts. In addition to the environmental benefits, participating in this initiative will allow Pennsylvania to make targeted investments that will support workers and communities affected by energy transition.” With power generation being one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, joining RGGI is a commonsense solution that would have an immediate impact on Pennsylvania’s climate and public health. Governor Wolf has prioritized addressing climate change, one of the most important global challenges of our lifetime. In 2019, the governor set Pennsylvania’s first statewide climate goals, aiming to reduce greenhouse gases by 80 percent by 2050. Participating in RGGI would help toward achieving these goals. Learn more about the Wolf Administration’s efforts to address the climate crisis in the Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan. #GovTomWolf #methane #FinalFormRegulation7559 #greenhousegases #RegionalGreenhouseGasInitiative #RGGI #ClimateChange #emissions #ClimateCrisis

Remember back in September when famously litigious U.S. Steel asked an Allegheny County Health Department hearing officer to put the kibosh on long-sought updates to local coke oven regulations expected to help better protect public health? U.S. Steel already took a bow, telling the Pittsburgh Business Times in an “exclusive” story Friday that it had won the case. But GASP staff took a look at the Dec. 6 ruling and think it’s a draw at best. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, let’s all get caught up on the recent past: In September, attorneys for U.S. Steel asked ACHD’s hearing officer to order ACHD to stop pursuing the proposed rulemaking regarding coke oven battery emissions and to rule that it does not comply with a high-profile, controversial settlement agreement and order the company and department entered into in 2019. That agreement came in the wake of a 2018 Clairton Coke Works fire that knocked out air pollution control devices and contributed to abysmal air quality for weeks. Why is it important? We’ll let our senior staff attorney John Baillie break it down: “That settlement agreement resolved four enforcement orders that ACHD issued as a result of violations of emissions limitations at the Clairton Coke Works,” he explained. “Among other things, the Settlement Agreement provided that new regulations pertaining to the Clairton Coke Works be ‘technically feasible.’” What is “technically feasible” is based on three criteria U.S. Steel and ACHD agreed to in that settlement (fair notice: this is where things get a little more complicated): Requirements must take into consideration the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s statistical Upper Prediction Limit methodology across all batteries based on inspections between Dec. 24, 2013 to Dec. 23, 2018; More stringent standards must be supported by a demonstrated compliance rate of not less than 99 percent for all regulated emissions points on the Clairton batteries over any consecutive 12-month period during a five-year period on a battery-by-battery basis; and More stringent standards must be supported by a demonstration that the standard correlates with a measurable reduction in hydrogen sulfide and benzene levels at the Liberty Monitor, an ACHD-run air quality monitor located approximately 1.5 miles north of the Clairton Coke Works. What was being proposed in those regulations? In November 2020, ACHD published proposed revisions pertaining to coke ovens, which included: reduced limits for sulfur compounds in the coke oven gas produced by coke ovens; the inclusion of five new sulfur compounds (in addition to hydrogen sulfide) in the determination of the amount of sulfur in coke oven gas; making definitions relating to visible emissions from pushing operations broader; The imposition of new limitations of topside emissions from coke oven batteries. ACHD contended that these revisions were required to bring its coke oven regulations up to par with state and federal requirements; U.S. Steel opposed the revisions based on the notion that ACHD did not show they complied with the “technically feasible” requirement in the 2019 settlement agreement. And the ruling? “His decision split the difference,” Baillie explained. As for U.S. Steel’s “win?” The hearing officer determined that the proposed revisions relating to reduced sulfur limits and the inclusion of new sulfur compounds in the calculation of compliance with those limits were not required by state or federal law, and thus invalid because ACHD attempted to impose them without complying with the 2019 settlement agreement. But ACHD got a win of its own: The hearing officer determined that the revisions relating to pushing emissions and topside emissions were required by state law, and thus valid despite ACHD’s not having complied with the 2019 settlement agreement. For those who might not be intimately familiar with the coke-making process: Pushing emissions occur when coke is unloaded or “pushed” from the coke oven battery. Topside Emissions means any smoke and/or particulate matter emissions from one or more points on the top side of a coke oven battery (excluding charging emissions, which are generated from “charging” or transferring coal into the coke ovens). “We just want to make sure that when we talk about who won and who lost, we remember why tighter coke oven regulations were necessary in the first place: To better protect public health in the Mon Valley, where residents continue to suffer from high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide pollution that are attributable to emissions from the Clairton Coke Works,” GASP’s Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. He continued: “We urge ACHD and U.S. Steel to work together to devise new regulations that bring this pollution to an end and that comply with their 2019 settlement agreement so that residents can get a reprieve from industrial pollution that’s plagued the Mon Valley. Nobody is a winner in this scenario until air quality and in turn, public health is improved.” Editor’s Note: You can read the 17-page ruling in its entirety here. #H2Sexceedances #cokeovenregulations #hydrogensulfide #USSteel #AlleghenyCountyHealthDepartment #ACHD #ClairtonCokeWorks #airquality