Editor's Note: An Allegheny County Health Department hearing officer on Sept. 4 issued an order to dismiss U.S. Steel's appeal. You can read that document here.
U.S. Steel has appealed the Nov. 21 Title V Operating Permit issued by the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD), alleging it imposes numerous unlawful enforceable conditions and that regulators exceeded their authority when creating myriad emissions limits at the plant.
The appeal was filed Dec. 21 but just uploaded to the ACHD legal docket Thursday afternoon. GASP staff is reviewing the appeal, which you can read for yourself here.
“Why ACHD waited more than a month to make the appeal public is beyond us,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “It’s another example of how transparency is an afterthought for the department.“
This is the second legal challenge mounted by the company in recent weeks related to air quality regulation at the Clairton Coke Works.
U.S. Steel on Jan. 17 filed a petition regarding ACHD's air quality enforcement procedures that led to a portion of the stipulated penalties it was assessed last year.
GASP is currently reviewing the order and has submitted a public records request to ACHD seeking voluminous documents, videos, and photographs referenced in the order that were not published with the appeal document itself.