12-19-2023
Dear Sirs.
A lame-duck Allegheny County administration and Board of Health suddenly have chosen to put three important and highly controversial permits for major sources of air pollution out for public comment at a time of year when residents are preoccupied with plans for the year-end holiday season, and in the heart of winter, when weather is a barrier to attendance at the public hearings — scheduled for January 10 and 17.
Allegheny County Health Dept. (ACHD) has a long history of delay and inaction on permits that provide the basis for its oversight of our region’s worst polluters. Waiting until now to make this announcement is highly suspect.
We are calling for Allegheny County Government (ACHD, Allegheny County Executive, and Allegheny County Council) to postpone the deadline for comments on these permits for the following reasons:
- US Steel, the current owner of the CCW and the Irvin Works has proposed a sale of its assets to Nippon Steel. This situation creates risks for trying to get permits into place during a time of transitional ownership of these facilities.
- Allegheny County government is in transition, with a new Allegheny County Executive, and new members of Allegheny County Council, to be seated on January 2, 2024. These new leaders should have the opportunity to review and assess these permits as well as the processes for public engagement.
- ACHD and the current County Executive are elevating the risk that these permits may not get the scrutiny that they deserve, potentially placing county residents at risk of exposure to toxic air pollution, especially residents of environmental justice communities that surround these facilities.
- ACHD Board of Health member terms are coming to an end; a new board needs to be seated, and this new board should be given sufficient time to perform the necessary due diligence.
- ACHD is operating without a permanent director, and the interim director’s lack of public health experience raises the risk that the draft permits do not optimize ACHD’s recommendations for oversight.
- U.S. Steel’s poorly maintained Clairton Coke Works (CCW), the largest source of pollution in Allegheny County, had its permit rejected by EPA Region 3 in the late summer of 2023 due to severe deficiencies noted by several legal and technical experts and affirmed by the EPA. CCW has been fined over $10 million for not even meeting its old, outdated, permit’s requirements. The updated draft must be examined carefully given these past deficiencies.
- The U.S. Steel Irvin Works has operated without updated permits for years.
- The CCW is involved in a federal lawsuit stemming from the 101 days of unlawful operation of the facility following an explosion and fire at the facility on December 24, 2018. This lawsuit is pending settlement that may be announced any day now, and the terms of the settlement may have strong implications for any future operations of the CCW. Any permit should reflect these settlement requirements. Proceeding before this settlement would ensure the permit would be out-of-date with expected relevant provisions of any agreement.
- The U. S. EPA is expected to announce new standards for fine particles (PM 2.5) even by year-end, after public hearings in March 2023. There was broad consensus among public health professionals and a resolution by Allegheny County Council calling for more strident standards for PM 2.5 emissions. Permits for these facilities should not be finalized at a time when these standards are in transition. Instead, they should be reviewed after the new standards are announced.
- The ATI facility has never had an operating permit before, despite the facility’s operation in the region for decades. This situation has been an ongoing outrage. Hearings for this permit were conducted in Natrona Heights in November of 2017, and ACHD has sat on the permit until now. The fact that it is released now further underscores the perception that this is being done to evade scrutiny and overwhelm residents in a rushed public comment process during a time of transition.
- ACHD’s public comment page has not been operational. This is the site where participants get information about the permits and the hearings. The fact that these resources are offline during this period is reason enough for a delay since it inhibits the ability of the public to review the documentation.
- Each of these permits is highly technical and complex and requires a great deal of expertise to analyze. Placing all three of the permits out for public review at once during this time of year and during a transition further illustrates how the process weakens oversight and review.
- Each of the facilities are located in environmental justice communities. People in these communities have borne the burden of pollution for generations and have been excluded from proper community engagement in the past. This time of transition should provide an opportunity for genuine inclusion.
Sincerely,
Howard M Rieger, Ph.D.
Convener, SWPA Resident-Led Air Quality Town Halls
SWPATHS.ORG
hmrieger@gmail.com