Some Braddock residents and environmental activists want the Allegheny County Health Department to tighten air pollution restrictions on U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works when it issues the company’s next operating permit.
But At a public hearing on Wednesday, U.S. Steel employees and other residents disagreed with them, saying the proposed permit goes too far and places arbitrary emissions limits on the plant.
The Edgar Thomson Works is one of the longest-operating steel mills in the region and has long been a source of pollution in Braddock and other east Pittsburgh communities. The advocacy group PennEnvironment named it as one of the“toxic ten” highest-polluting facilities in Allegheny County.
“When I grew up, every morning people would be out sweeping the streets because of all the pollutants that came from the mill. We didn’t give it much thought because nobody had any idea how damaging it was going to be in the future,” Braddock filmmaker Tony Buba said at a rally before the hearing.
“Now you don’t get those heavy pollutants like you used to when I was a kid, when your nostrils would just be full of that black soot,” he said. “Now, the pollutants are so fine they go right through into your system.”
Title V of the federal Clean Air Act requires major sources of air pollution to acquire a permit from a state or local air pollution control agency and remain in compliance with its terms. U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works first applied for a new Title V permit starting in 2020.
Comments voiced at the hearing Wednesday reflected the opinions of people who said they believe the proposed permit imposed too many restrictions on U.S. Steel, and those who maintained that it wouldn’t impose enough.
Brett Tunno, an environmental engineer at U.S. Steel headquarters, said he saw “several” issues with the current draft, including the addition of about 100 new limits on emissions from the plant.
“Per the Clean Air Act, the Title V program is not intended to create new emission limits or substantive requirements,” Tunno said. “The Title V permit process was designed as a tool to compile all existing applicable permit requirements into one operating permit and to fill in gaps for monitoring, record keeping, and recording.”
Zachary Barber, a clean air advocate with PennEnvironment, said the proposed pollution limits might not be enough to keep people safe and healthy.
“It’s unfortunate that for generations we’ve had to live with the harmful health impacts of this facility, and it’s time that we take action to rein in those emissions,” he said. Barber noted that the plant typically emits chromium, manganese and lead, which have been linked to cancer and other medical conditions.
“Unfortunately, many of the proposed pollution limits for this facility are still too high and would continue many of these unsafe levels of pollution,” Barber said.
In May, U.S. Steel was ordered to pay a $1.5 million penalty for air pollution violations at Edgar Thomson Works dating back to 2016. As part of a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the county health department, the company was also tasked with making facility improvements.
Barber and others recommended mandated upgrades to failing equipment, installing cameras and sensors to monitor pollution events in real time and requiring the company to follow a written and enforceable compliance plan.
“I’m calling on the Allegheny County Health Department to require U.S. Steel to develop and implement a plan to bring the facility into full, sustained compliance with its Clean Air Act requirements rather than continuing to violate and then pay fines — paying to pollute,” said Amy Portenlanger of Pittsburgh.
Some Braddock residents said they worry that a stricter operating permit could encourage U.S. Steel to leave the community. Many cited the company’s financial support for local sports teams and holiday celebrations, as well as its role as a major employer in the area. Edgar Thomson Works employs more than 800 workers.
“U.S. Steel is Braddock, and Braddock is U.S. Steel,” said Braddock Mayor Delia Lennon-Winstead.
Others noted that air quality in Pittsburgh has improved since Edgar Thomson Works opened in the late 19th century. All eight Allegheny County air quality monitorsmet federal air quality standards for the first time in 2021 andagain in April of this year.
Kelly Horvath of Swissvale disputed U.S. Steel’s “good neighbor” reputation in the area. She said “overpowering” bad smells from the steel mills often wake her up in the middle of the night and cause her asthma attacks.
“All of the money that you’re putting into the community is not worth the health problems that we are suffering from. And if it’s bad in my neighborhood, it is even worse for the people that live around this mill,” she said.
In a statement, U.S. Steel spokesperson Amanda Malkowski said the company disagrees with the addition of new emissions limits.
“U.S. Steel submitted the Title V permit renewal application for the Edgar Thomson facility to the Allegheny Health Department in October 2020,” she said. “While it is customary for sources and regulatory agencies to collaborate during permitting, for the almost two years that ACHD had the application, the department did not reach out to U. S. Steel to discuss the draft permit.
“ACHD finally reached out to U. S. Steel just four days before submitting the permit for public comment,” she said. “ U. S. Steel believes that the process would be much more efficient for the public, ACHD and U. S. Steel if ACHD worked collaboratively with U. S. Steel.”
County residents can submit public comments by emailing aqpermits@alleghenycounty.us. The public comment period ends at 11:59 p.m. on June 30. Residents also can report air quality concerns to the health departmenthere.
