Stronger penalties sought for pollution violations
By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com
State Rep. Austin Davis, D-McKeesport, introduced legislation this week that would enact larger fines for industrial sites that exceed pollution thresholds.
Davis, who represents Clairton as well as several other Mon Valley communities, called the legislation “a sweeping response to the negligence before and after the Clairton Coke Works fire in December of 2018.” It would require industrial facilities to create a municipal warning system for when pollution regulations have been violated.
The fire, which occurred Dec. 24, left the desulfurization system at Clairton Coke Works, the largest coke plant in the nation, inoperable for 100 days. U.S. Steel, which owns the plant, and the Allegheny County Health Department did not report the fire to the public until Jan. 9, or the fact that the plant was leaking or at risk of leaking sulfur dioxide (SO2) particles into the air.
In the 100 days with no desulfurization processes occuring, there were 10 hourly exceedances of the federal standard for SO2 emissions, according to ACHD, which repeatedly stated that Mon Valley residents in more than 30 communities — especially those with asthma, bronchitis or emphysema, as well as children and the elderly — had to limit outdoor activities as a result of the emissions violations.
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