Steelmaker appeals latest penalty over Clairton emissions

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Amy Sisk reports for StateImpact Pennsylvania and WESA, Pittsburgh's NPR member station. She comes to Pennsylvania from another energy-rich state, North Dakota, where she told stories from coal mines, wind farms and the Bakken oil patch for Inside Energy and Prairie Public Broadcasting. Amy's stories often air on NPR, including those from the eight months she spent following the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. A reporting trip to the Bakken during its boom years sparked her interest in energy. Ever since, she's covered the industry -- from the way it is regulated to its influence on policy to its impact on people and the environment.

Reid R. Frazier / StateImpact Pennsylvania

US Steel's Clairton Coke Works.

April 26, 2019 | 2:29 PM

U.S. Steel on Thursday appealed a penalty from the Allegheny County Health Department over emissions violations at Clairton Coke Works.

The health department last month fined the company $700,000 for leaks of coke oven gas from the facility during the second half of 2018. Emissions can escape from various parts of the plant such as coke oven doors, and the gas includes pollutants like particulate matter, hydrogen sulfide and benzene, according to the department.

In its appeal, U.S. Steel said the department issued “excessive and unreasonable sanctions” for noncompliance. The company said it’s already implementing a plan to reduce emissions as a result of a separate order from the agency in June 2018.

The steelmaker also said the department relied on inappropriate data and that inspectors have failed to conduct fair evaluations.

This is the third penalty U.S. Steel has challenged over the past year for ongoing emissions problems at Clairton. A health department hearing officer is expected to issue a decision soon on the appeal over the June order, which fined the company over $1 million and threatened to idle some of the plant’s worst-performing batteries.

A hearing on the two most recent fines is slated for Sept. 16-18.

After issuing last month’s penalty, a health department official said the agency was seeing progress at Clairton as the number of emissions violations had dropped over previous quarters.