The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) issued the demand for stipulated penalties on March 12. The associated violations are from the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2020 (April 1, 2020 – Dec. 31, 2020).
How did ACHD come up with the penalty amount? The high-profile settlement agreement between the department and U.S. Steel in 2019.
According to the demand, 90 percent of the penalties – $345,105 – will go toward the Community Benefit Trust established as part of the settlement. That trust benefits five Mon Valley communities: Clairton, Glassport, Liberty, Lincoln and Port Vue.
The remaining 10 percent – or $38,345 – will be payable to the Allegheny County Clean Air Fund.
“U.S. Steel was literally just bragging at a public hearing yesterday about what it deemed as its stellar environmental stewardship and record,” GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said. “Unfortunately, that spin comes as no surprise – just more gaslighting from the most egregious air polluter in the Mon Valley.”