Editor’s Note: GASP has received questions from members who received letters in the mail regarding this class action settlement. If you have questions about your rights under the settlement, we recommend that you get in touch with those lawyers, who represent the class in question.
U.S. Steel is poised to pay $6.1 million to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding dust and other noxious emissions from its Edgar Thomson facility in North Braddock.
The complaint filed in 2022 stated:
“(U.S. Steel) owes and continues to owe a duty to the public to prevent and abate the interference with and the invasion of, the free use and enjoyment of public air and spaces by emitting fugitive dust and noxious odors into the ambient air.”
According to the settlement agreement, which can be viewed here, here’s how that money will be spent:
$1.5 million will be paid out to those who are opt-ins, which includes a $5,000 payment to lead plaintiff Alyssa Finley (with attorneys fees not to exceed $1.6 million).
$2.25 million will be used to build two wheel wash stations to clean vehicles exiting the facility
$1.6 million will be used to pave the onsite street informally known as Burma Road
$740,000 will be used to purchase to street sweepers for use at - and in the vicinity of - the Edgar Thomson facility
Here’s what else you need to know about the settlement:
Notice has been sent to residents eligible to opt-in or out of the settlement and an informational website has been published.
Opt-ins and objections must be postmarked by March 17.
Claim forms must be postmarked by March 31 to be eligible to compensation through the settlement
Class members are defined as those who owned, occupied, or leased residential property within a 1-mile radius of the Edgar Thomson facility.
A final settlement fairness hearing is slated for 9:30 a.m. April 15.
Editor’s Note: The upgrades required by this agreement are in addition to the emissions mitigation measures mandated by a settlement reached between U.S. Steel and federal and local regulators. You can read more about all that here.