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Smoke rises from the Clairton Coke Works on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Clairton.
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Six Allegheny County facilities must adjust 'unacceptable' emissions plans, health department says

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Six Allegheny County facilities must adjust 'unacceptable' emissions plans, health department says

The Allegheny County Health Department is requiring that six of the 16 air quality mitigation plans submitted to the Board of Health under the Mon Valley Episode Rule be modified and resubmitted to meet the health department’s standards.

Under the rule, which was enacted in September, major industrial facilities in the Mon Valley were required to submit plans for how they would reduce emissions on days when the region is under either an air quality watch or warning.

The six facilities in violation are Clairton Slag, ELG Metals Inc., U.S. Steel Edgar Thomson Plant, TMS West Mifflin, U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works and TMS Edgar Thompson.

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“The Mon Valley Episode Rule is an important and innovative enforcement tool designed to protect people in an area that has long suffered from poor air quality,” health department Director Dr. Debra Bogen said in a statement last week. 

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The modification orders said that the plans submitted by these facilities — two of which are part of U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works — were deemed “unacceptable.”

The Edgar Thomson Plant had to submit two mitigation plans, one under U.S. Steel which operates the plant, and one under TMS International LLC. which provides outsourced industrial services to the plant like slag removal and scrap handling.

In the modification order, the health department outlined the areas in which each facility needed to alter its plans to be in line with the guidelines.

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For the plans from U.S. Steel for the Edgar Thomson Plant, the health department said that the proposed 4% reduction in particulate matter pollution was “insufficient.”

As a result, the facility must “resubmit a plan that will affect a greater reduction of its actual emissions” so that there will be an “appreciable effect on air quality” in the region, the order said.

Additionally, the report said that the facility’s plans were not specific enough in certain areas such as listing procedures for record keeping and identifying the control or reduction of specific emissions for various processes.

At Clairton Coke Works, the modification order included some of the same things as for the Edgar Thomson plant, like a lack of specificity.

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In the mitigation plans for the Clairton plant, the math for the estimated pollution reductions was done incorrectly, but when corrected by the health department came out to a reduction of about 3%.

Similarly to the Edgar Thomson Plant, the health department suggested that the new plans show a greater reduction in emissions.

In 2021, U.S. Steel was cited 10 times by the Allegheny County Health Department for various violations of health department code, including having visible emissions from the Clairton plant.

A request for comment from U.S. Steel was not returned.

Other facilities’ plans were rejected for reasons like not including procedures for record keeping, identifying “feasible” or “infeasible methods” for emissions reductions and failure to list specific actions that will be taken during air quality warning days.

The six that were given modification orders are required to submit new plans within 30 days or face a fine up to $25,000 per violation, per day, according to the modification orders. The facilities may also appeal the order within 30 days.

In the meantime, the facilities must follow the plans currently on file if any air quality watch or warning days occur prior to the approval of new mitigation measures.

“Everyone has the right to clean air, and our Air Quality program staff will ensure cooperation and compliance from all sources, for the health and wellbeing of everyone in the Mon Valley,” Dr. Bogen’s statement said. 

Originally, 16 facilities were designated as falling under the Mon Valley Rule. Magnus Productions, which operates the Braddock Recovery Facility at the Edgar Thomson Plant was issued an amended operation permit from the health department on Jan. 27, and is now also subject to the rule.

Magnus Productions has until April 27 to submit their plans, which will then be reviewed by the health department.

All of the facilities’ mitigation plans as well as the modification orders can be viewed in full on the health department’s website.

Hallie Lauer: hlauer@post-gazette.com

First Published: February 8, 2022, 11:00 a.m.
Updated: February 8, 2022, 1:53 p.m.

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Smoke rises from the Clairton Coke Works on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Clairton.  (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Smoke rises from U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thompson plant Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Braddock.  (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
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Smoke rises from U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thompson plant Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Braddock.  (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Smoke rises from U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thompson plant Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Braddock.  (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
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