(PITTSBURGH) - Five years after the 2018 Christmas Eve fire at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works, co-plaintiffs Allegheny County Health Department, PennEnvironment and Clean Air Council have reached a multi-million dollar agreement with U.S Steel. The co-plaintiffs and U.S. Steel will file documents with the federal court seeking judicial approval of the agreement reached between the parties next week.
The agreement resolves the case that alleged thousands of air pollution violations stemming from the 2018 Christmas Eve fire and the subsequent 102 consecutive days of illegal emissions of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. Violations caused by two subsequent breakdowns at the Clairton Coke Works, in June 2019 and July 2022, were also included in the suit.
The agreement mandates that U.S. Steel will pay $4.5 million in supplement environmental projects. Jefferson Regional Foundation will receive $2.25 million and the Allegheny County Department of Economic Development will receive $2.25 million to be used to fund public health projects directly benefiting Mon Valley communities experiencing poor air quality near the three U.S. Steel Plants. U.S. Steel will also pay a penalty of $500,000.00 to the Allegheny County Department of Health’s Clean Air Fund, as well as a $3 million reimbursement to the non-profit National Environmental Law Center for attorney fees and costs of expert witnesses over the course of the five-year case.
County Executive Sara Innamorato said: “This settlement is a win for the people of Allegheny County. We all deserve clean air, and when polluters violate clean air standards, they must be held accountable. I want to thank all the co-plaintiffs and the team at the Allegheny County Health Department who diligently worked on this case for more than five years to find a resolution that delivered economic investments for the Mon Valley and put critical pollution controls into place that benefit everyone in the region.”
The settlement also mandates millions of dollars in investments by U.S. Steel in pollution control and plant reliability upgrades to prevent future breakdowns of essential pollution control systems. U.S. Steel spent $17.5 million to replace deteriorating equipment and dramatically upgrade preventive maintenance programs after this suit was filed, and must now complete two additional capital projects, totaling $19.5 million, to prevent system outages. U.S. Steel will also permanently shut down Battery 15 and will accept more stringent permit limits on the allowable emissions of hydrogen sulfide in the treated coke oven gas it uses as fuel.
U.S. Steel must pay automatic penalties for any future outages which would allow the emission of an unlawful amount of SO2, no matter the cause. These penalties increase with the seriousness and duration of an outage, to as much as $112,500.00 per day. The agreement expressly states that any sale of the company requires the purchaser to agree to assume all outstanding terms, conditions and obligations of the proposed consent decree.
U.S. District Judge W. Scott Hardy cannot approve the settlement until a legally required 45-day review period ends. This period allows the EPA to offer any comment on the proposed resolution.