Steel Mills

Another Emissions Violation Fine for U.S. Steel

May 13, 2019

U.S. Steel Corp. has been hit with another penalty by the Allegheny County Health Department due to emissions violations at its Clairton Coke Works. A fine of $337,670 was levied against the company for excessive visible emissions from its coke batteries during the first quarter of 2019, along with a penalty of $5,750 for a failed stack test that occurred in 2017 that was resolved in late 2018.

The coke works has a history of emissions violations, with U.S. Steel paying civil penalties totaling more than $4 million between 2007 and 2016.

The latest, and fourth, civil penalty since June 2018 is not related to other issues and penalties last year or to the fire at Clairton on Dec. 24, 2018. The prior penalties include:

June 2018 enforcement order and civil penalty of more than $1 million for decrease in compliance
October 2018 civil penalty of $620,316 for 2nd quarter violations in 2018
April 2019 civil penalty of $707,568 for 3rd and 4th quarter violations in 2018

U.S. Steel is appealing these actions by ACHD, but is also facing two lawsuits for emissions violations. A lawsuit by the PennEnvironment and Clean Air Council was filed in the U.S. District Court on April 29 for alleged Clean Air Act violations in connection with the December fire. A similar suit against ArcelorMittal’s Monessen Coke plant by the PennEnvironment was settled for $1.8 million in December 2017.

The company is also facing a class action suit filed earlier in April by a resident in the area, alleging that U.S. Steel failed to notify residents immediately of the emissions danger resulting from the fire and was negligent and reckless by continuing operations while attempting to make repairs.

U.S. Steel announced in May that it will build a new cogeneration plant at Clairton that will help address emissions and particulate matter from the coke operations. At AISTech 2019 on May 7, CEO David Burritt said the company has made significant progress in correcting problems at the plant. With the new sulfurization process now in place, Clairton is fully in compliance with the emissions regulations, said Burritt. The new technology utilized in the co-generation facility is expected to reduce particulate matter even further.

“The work is ongoing; we continue to do the best we can to make the climate better and the environment better,” said Burritt.

The Clairton facility dates back to 1904 and had three 1950s batteries replaced with a modern C battery in 2012. “It is a very good facility when it runs well,” he added.