PennEnvironment and the Clean Air Council announced Monday that they have filed a lawsuit in US District Court against US Steel over alleged federal Clean Air Act violations. The suit accuses US Steel of violating the federal Clean Air Act since a Dec. 24, 2018 fire at the company’s Clairton Coke Works damaged equipment and hindered the facility’s ability to clean coke oven gas and control pollution.
US Steel said in a statement to media that it is reviewing the lawsuit and will respond appropriately and in accordance with court requirements.
The environmental groups said in February that they would file a lawsuit if US Steel’s Mon Valley Works facilities, including the Clairton Coke Works, Irvin Steel Mill and Edgar Thomson Plant, did not resolve alleged Clean Air Act permit violations related to coke oven gas pollution.
In the weeks that followed the accident, the Pennsylvania Health Department issued several reports of higher than normal levels of sulfur dioxide. Some Mon Valley residents reported feeling sick, with symptoms ranging from headaches to sore throats to difficulty breathing. The health department has since determined that such illnesses were related to a lack of desulfurization at the Clairton Coke Works.
US Steel announced repairs to the damaged equipment were completed as of April 4, but the environmental groups said those repairs fail to address the concern of a similar incident happening again.