Future of $3B U.S. Steel project roils Mon Valley as health department considers permit

Company, union contend mill is needed progress; environmentalist and residents say otherwise.

By JAMES ENGEL
TribLive

It was a house divided in Braddock on Tuesday afternoon as residents, advocates and business boosters made their case to the Allegheny County Health Department over a permit that will determine the future of $3 billion hot strip mill proposal at U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works.

The public hearing at the Carnegie-One Braddock library saw the company, union and business promoters square off against environmental advocates and numerous nearby residents, who said the pollution generated by the project could prove life altering to the communities near the 151-year-old mill, which straddles Braddock and North Braddock.

The hot strip mill, designed to roll heated steel slabs into thin coils as part of the final stages of production, would replace its 87-year-old counterpart upriver at U.S. Steel’s Irvin Works in West Mifflin. It’s a move both union and company have said is a long overdue effort to modernize the aging Mon Valley Works.

It is one of the prime investments promised by Nippon Steel following its $15 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel last year.

While the project — powered by coke ovens and natural gas — would lower overall emission rates in the Mon Valley after the strip mill at Irvin is idled, it would hike up rates of several pollutants locally around Braddock, according to Allegheny County Health Department data.

That includes a potential 43% increase in PM 2.5 — tiny bits of particulate matter known to be harmful to the lungs — and a 98% increase in NOx and NO2, other pollutants caused by burning fossil fuels, the data showed. They also are harmful to the respiratory system.

Tuesday’s meeting was an effort to gather public input on the company’s proposal as the health department weighs an air quality permit for the project.

Herkeisha Sales, a lifelong Braddock resident who helps run the Braddock/North Braddock Little League, weighed the options as she stood at the microphone before the more than 100 people who had gathered in the library’s auditorium.

She recognized the region’s historically poor air quality — saying she’d “smelled it all” during her decades spent in the Valley — but acknowledged that U.S. Steel has played an important role in providing for the communities where it produces.

The company had voluntarily helped the Little League organization maintain its facilities over the years.

“I can’t deny how great they’ve been to us,” she said. “I want my grandson to grow up here and be able to breathe.”

Ultimately, Sales said she had faith the company would “do the right thing,” saying the community should “give them a chance.”

But environmental advocates like Matthew Mehalik, executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Breathe Project, said the hot strip mill would only increase the burden on communities that have historically suffered some of the region’s worst air quality and the resulting health effects.

“Adding more (pollution) to these communities is outrageously unfair,” he said.

Mehalik and others asked that the county require continuous, fenceline air monitoring at the site.

Braddock and its environs rank near the 96th percentile in the state in terms of pollution burden, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The area also ranks among the worst in the state in counts of populations affected by asthma and other health issues.

Sarah Murphy, a North Braddock resident, said she had received an email from lobbying firm Salvo Strategies urging her to sign a pre-drafted support letter to the health department in favor of the hot strip mill.

“It only takes a few minutes!” the email read. “Once you click submit, the pre-drafted letter of support is sent directly to the Allegheny County Health Department.”

Instead, Murphy — who said her family had resided in the Mon Valley for more than a century — spoke about concerns she had about how the pollution would affect children and new mothers.

Jack Maskil, president of United Steelworkers Local 2227, which represents employees at the West Mifflin Irvin Works, said the start up of the strip mill at Edgar Thomson would happen in phases as its aged predecessor in Irvin is slowly idled.

“My members are neighbors, too. They coach, volunteer and raise their families in these communities,” Maskil said. “A modern mill, modern controls and union workers on the job — that’s how we protect both the air and the livelihoods of this valley.”

Maskil echoed many of the sentiments of company and union advocates, who say the mill will cement the future of steelmaking in the Mon Valley, contribute to the local economy and provide well-paid union jobs.

Elected officials divided, too

But elected officials throughout the region were divided over the proposal — even within the same municipalities.

Braddock Mayor Delia Lennon- Winstead, North Braddock Mayor Cletus Lee and West Mifflin Mayor Chris Kelly and Glassport Mayor Anthony Colecchi all championed the project, while Forest Hills Mayor Patricia DeMarco and Homestead Mayor Mary Nesby panned the idea.

“I refuse to believe that our community has to choose between making a living and being able to live,” Nesby said.

Despite the position of their mayors, North Braddock Councilman Nathan Mallory and Braddock Councilwoman Patricia Kelley both said they felt their boroughs would take the brunt of the pollution from the Mon Valley, with Kelley saying she wanted her community members to be “considerations, not casualties.” Braddock Councilwoman Collette Walsh said she also worries about the impact on the local environment.

Allegheny County Council President Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis, who represents Braddock and North Braddock, attempted to strike a middle ground. She said the municipalities would likely need the revenue generated by U.S. Steel and urged the health department to implement more air quality monitoring and “emphasize local community voices.”

County Councilman Aaron Adams, who represents much of the rest of the Mon Valley, offered more full-throated support for the proposal .

“When a major employer succeeds, the benefits reach far beyond its gates,” Adams said. “We cannot create unnecessary obstacles and place barriers in the way of investments.”

The county health department will continue to accept written comments through Nov. 17.