On their terms: residents combat poor air quality to #CleanUpClairton

Although regulatory agencies are required to protect public health by enforcing federal air quality standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), we find that in reality that may not always be the case. 

For example, 20 miles south of Pittsburgh, residents of the City of Clairton are questioning whether a recent settlement with the largest coke producer in North America will protect public health.

"We've seen the consent agreements between U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works and the health department over the past several years that I have lived here, and, frankly, the air quality has not changed," said Clairton resident, Pat Jones. "We are skeptical." 

With the lack of community trust that regulatory agencies are creating a path toward a healthier, livable environment, residents are taking matters into their own hands. We outline some ways community members in and around the City of Clairton are combatting poor air quality on their own terms.

Smoke School

Recently, Eastern Technical Associates (ETA) offered a free Visible Emissions Certification program, or "smoke school." This type of program is required by the EPA in order for an individual to be recognized as a qualified observer of stationary emissions sources, like U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works. 

The class took place at Settlers Cabin Park on an early Tuesday morning. ETA brought their smoke machine and demonstrated the various different opacity levels from both black and white smoke emissions. Each participant would fill in estimated opacity levels on a zero to 100 scale for each round of testing. The test is harder than it looks - most participants went through three rounds before passing the test. 

Chris Harper, an electrical engineer from Edgewood, has been a certified smoke reader for a couple years. He uses his certification to be a citizen watchdog over Clairton Coke Works, because he says the pollution plumes affect his community. 

Harper also publishes an online air quality dashboard for others to see what is going on throughout the region. 

Speck Monitors

Carnegie Mellon University's CREATE Lab is using technology to foster citizen engagement in air quality. Through spinoff, Airviz, knowing what is in the air you breathe is as easy as borrowing a book from your local library. 

This month, Airviz donated 10 Specks - monitors that detect particulates in homes and workplaces - to the Clairton Public Library. 

Odessa Ellis, children's services coordinator for the library, said she is very excited about having the Specks and plans to incorporate them into children's programs and hopes parents will check them out for home use. 

Clairton Public Library's Odessa Ellis, Freda Montgomery, and Audrey Minarcik show off the library's new Speck sensors.

Clairton School District, Southside Human Resource Community Center, and a locally owned and operated Clairton daycare center have already adopted Specks.

Student Activism 

As community groups and residents in the Mon Valley area are working toward monitoring the air quality, younger residents are contributing to spreading awareness of the issue. With a large percentage of Clairton students having asthma, air quality is a major concern for them. 

High school students of Stay Positive Clairton, a project of Youth Opportunites Development, are learning to spread the word of about air quality in their neighborhood. Partnering with environmental groups like PennFuture and PennEnvironment, they are preparing to gather signatures for a petition to the Allegheny County Health Department during community events like basketball games as well as door-to-door canvassing. 

Stay Positive Clairton's program director, Brandon Ziat, says that the petition is a great leadership opportunity for kids to build leadership skills and shape their community. 

"Every day when I drive to work with the kids, I see the plant. Air pollution is a constant worry and it's great to know that something is being done about it and kids can get involved," added Ziat. 

Do you suspect poor air quality in your area? 

We want to hear your story. 

Annie Regan is the western Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Pittsburgh. She tweets @MsAnnieRegan. 

How crowdsourcing and technology are democratizing air quality monitoring

Allegheny County’s air ranks among the worst counties nationally for cancer risk. And our recent notice of legal action shows that businesses and regulatory agencies don’t always act in the best interest of public health. 

But what recourse do we have?
The federal Clean Air Act enables organizations like PennFuture to file citizen suits against polluters on behalf of its members.

But what else can we do?
Innovations and evolving technology allow people to become more informed and vocal about what’s in their environment. From social media to monitoring devices, residents can test their own air and water quality and push that information out like never before. 

How can you learn about what’s in your air?

INDOOR AIR MONITORING

Airviz Inc. and the CREATE Lab of Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute developed Speck™, a small device that helps detect fine particulate matter in your indoor environment. 

Image via: www.specksensor.com

Clairton resident Cheryl Hurt, who owns a child daycare center, finds it particularly (no pun intended) helpful in a neighborhood located next to a coke plant. Speck allows her to determine when it is and isn’t a good day for the kids to go outside.

In addition, Clairton School District is one of the handful of schools that adopted a Speck and will have them available to check out from their library. With these Specks readily accessible, science and math teachers can use the sensors to teach air quality and statistics to their students through provided curricula.

Learn more from the CREATE Lab director, Illah Nourbakhsh. 

AIR MONITORING: BIKE EDITION

In addition to the Speck, Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) is studying particulate matter hotspots in Pittsburgh and you could help in the process! It’s a fairly simple commitment that involves strapping an air monitoring device on your bike while following a specific protocol. 

Image via: GASP

Once the equipment is attached to your bike, continue on your daily commute and GASP will then gather the obtained data to see where the problem areas in Pittsburgh are located, and suggest ways for improvement for your route. 

See what pollution has already been recorded from previous bikers.

REGIONAL AIR MONITORING

Do you notice the difference in air quality from day to day? Can you see it in the gif of the North Shore below? The Breathe Cam, a project of CMU's CREATE Lab in partnership with the Breathe Project, gives a regional view of air quality and shows comparisons of clear days and hazy days when fine particulate matter in the air is higher. 

The Breathe Project explains the science behind what we see, smell, and breathe each day and ways individuals, businesses, and governments can get involved to improve air quality for the region. The site's Breathe Meter also provides a side-by-side comparison of how Pittsburgh stacks up against cities throughout the nation in terms of air quality. Next time you notice a hazy sky, check out this resource. It might be pollution, not be your Instagram filter, that makes the skies look grey and tan instead of blue. 

What does this rise in technology and crowdsourcing mean?
This rise of technology and how organizations utilize new hands-on innovation tools could mean more than creating a general interest in environmental issues for citizens. It could have actual impact on environmental regulations. Seeing actual metrics and visuals before our eyes instead of what seemed to be intangible, invisible issues like air pollution will make us realize there IS a problem and we CAN do something about it. 

While the legislative process can seem tedious and lagging, especially with pressing environmental issues that need immediate action, these accessible tools can help us engage in these environmental issues without the slow assistance of government. This year, vow to be informed on what is going on around you in your own community and be a part of the solution! And who knows what technologies will be in store for the future.

Are you already using these tools or others? 
Let us know.

Do you suspect poor air quality in your area?
We want to hear your story.

Annie Regan is the western Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Pittsburgh. She tweets @MsAnnieRegan.  

What’s the state of Pennsylvania's air?

This is the second post in a four-part blog series on air quality.

Now that you have a solid understanding of air pollutants it’s time to look at what is in the air you (yes, you) are breathing at home. We compiled data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for eight cities throughout Pennsylvania and put it into an interactive infographic. Check out how your region stacks up!

If you don’t live in Pennsylvania or are just curious to see how other cities in the USA compare, our friends at the Breathe Project (based in Pittsburgh) have created an interactive Breathe Meter. As you can tell, there’s still a lot to clean up in order to make sure the air we’re breathing isn’t harming our health.

Stay tuned for the next post in this series to find out who makes the standards and how they were established.

Nicole Catino is Penn Future’s 2015 Student Conservation Association Green Cities Sustainability Fellow and is based in Pittsburgh. 

This will NOx your SOx off!

This is the first in a multi-part series on air quality.

What will NOx my SOx off, you ask? Well it’s this blog series on air quality, of course! For the next four weeks we will bring you lots of pictures and infographics to illustrate various aspects of air quality and why it’s important to care about the air you breathe.

We will cover the following topics:

1. Introduction to blog series and air pollutants
2. What Pennsylvania’s air looks like now
3. Different air quality standards and how they came about
4. Steps you can take to improve our air

First off, what exactly is air pollution? In short, it's the stuff that comes out of car tailpipes, industrial combustion stacks, and from aerosol cans, for example. Tiny particles, gases, and vapors are breathed deep into the lungs where they can make people sick. 

To understand air pollution, it helps to understand the key players. Let's stop here to look at some common air pollutants, where they come from, what their chemical composition is, and how they impact humans. For starters, NOx refers to any nitrous oxides, be it NO, NO2, NO3, etc. The same goes for sulfur oxides SO, SO2, SO3, etc. Each of the various oxides are emitted from the same pollution sources, but NO2 and SO2 are the most prevalent. 

One common form of air pollution is ground level ozone pollution (commonly referred to as smog), which forms when NOx emissions combine with volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight. In Pittsburgh, we see days where there is so much ozone pollution in the air that people with heart conditions, asthma and other lung diseases are unable to go outside.

Check out the infographic to learn more!

Nicole Catino is Penn Future’s 2015 Student Conservation Association Green Cities Sustainability Fellow and is based in Pittsburgh. 

Clairton Coke Works: Continuous improvement to the environment?

Clairton Coke Works is the largest coke manufacturing facility in the United States. The plant dumps toxic pollution into the air as it manufactures more than 4.7 million tons of coke, each year.

Located in Clairton, the mill sits along the Monongahela River, south of Pittsburgh.

Research from the University of Pittsburgh shows that air toxics, released from industrial facilities such as Clairton, increase the risk of cancer incidences over a wide geographic area.

Individuals living in Clairton and the surrounding communities report high rates of air pollution-associated health problems. Health concerns include cancer, asthma and lung disease.

The Environmental Protection Agency states that children, the elderly, those with chronic lung disease and asthma are especially affected by harmful air pollutants.

Clairton Coke Works continuously spews dangerous toxins into the air we breathe. Yet, U.S. Steel advertises that the plant continuously improves the environment.

What do you think? Concerned about air pollution and your health? Contact Valessa at souter-kline[at]pennfuture.org. We want to hear from you. 

Nikole Baker is a PennFuture intern based in Pittsburgh.

Code orange reminds us that air pollution is still a problem

On July 28, an air quality alert was in effect for the Pittsburgh region stemming from a sweltering heat wave across the U.S. This "code orange" alert is a warning to those sensitive to exposure such as children, people with respiratory diseases, and those who are active outdoors. During these extremely hot days, smog is a main health concern and can have detrimental effects on our lungs by irritating the respiratory system, reducing lung functioning, and aggravating asthma. 

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), smog is ground-level ozone that forms when harmful air pollutants, usually emitted from industrial and chemical plants as well as cars, chemically react with sunlight. This damaging chemical reaction, when trapped close to the earth’s surface, forms “bad ozone” (not all ozone is bad - that which is higher in the atmosphere protects us from damaging UV rays). Bad ozone is most often seen in cities around the country where air pollution emissions - and populations exposed to air pollution - are greatest. Numerous power plants and factories - including U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works, the largest coke processing facility in the nation - are still operating in the Pittsburgh region and adding smog-forming pollution to our air. 

Fortunately, on Monday, August 3, 2015, President Obama and the EPA announced the Clean Power Plan as a vital effort to tackle climate change by cutting carbon emissions. This pollution, emitted from power plants along with other toxins, contributes to soot and smog. With more hot days on the horizon, smog will have a greater effect on all of us, particularly vulnerable populations.

The Clean Power Plan represents the action needed to minimize air pollution.

For more information on air pollution, take a look at this video on air quality and climate from our good friends at Communitopia.

Nikole Baker is a PennFuture intern based in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh, a resilient city

Point State Park at Sunset

From steel, to collapse, to a diverse knowledge and health-based economy, Pittsburgh has come to embody the definition of a resilient city. Our growing economy alone doesn't make this the vibrant city that it is, however. Pittsburgh’s rivers, trees and the air we breathe impact our health and well being. As climate change exacerbates bad air on hot days and brings more intense storms and extreme cold, protecting our environment will mean protecting our neighborhoods. Smart policies and planning now can turn environmental threats into impetus for bolstering healthy and cohesive communities.

That is what the Rockefeller Foundation saw in our city when they selected Pittsburgh to be one of only 100 Resilient Cities, worldwide. 

100 Resilient Cities provides resources and guidance for an active network of urban hubs throughout the world. The first group of 32 cities began work in December 2013 and the second group was announced in December 2014. Of the 331 applications for the second round, Pittsburgh was one of 35 to be selected and PennFuture is thrilled to be part of the local collaboration to make our city stronger.

On June 6, we met with other stakeholders from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors for an agenda-setting workshop. The conversations were eclectic and electric, and centered around key urban concerns (both chronic and acute), many of which overlap with our environmental efforts, including:

• Infrastructure failure and flooding concerns (in addition to safety concerns, flooding equals raw sewage in our streams and rivers -- where we boat, swim and get our drinking water).
• Hazardous materials accidents (oil bomb trains, anyone?) 
• Heat waves (unhealthy ozone pollution is expected to get worse as summers get hotter)
• Significant environmental degradation (clean air, clean water and healthy land: the building blocks of life) 

With our own holistic mission to create a just future where nature, communities and the economy thrive, we at PennFuture are very excited about Pittsburgh’s participation in the 100 Resilient Cities effort. It makes sense and the time is ripe.

Nicole Catino is PennFuture's 2015 Student Conservation Association Green Cities Sustainability Fellow and is based in Pittsburgh.

Drexel University researchers: Methane emissions rising in PA's Marcellus Shale region

On May 19, a team of researchers from Drexel University in Philadelphia released findings of a two-month mobile air quality monitoring campaign in the southwest and northeast parts of Pennsylvania where shale gas drilling is taking place. Among the study's more significant findings is that methane emissions were higher than reported in previous studies.

The Drexel team employed a mobile laboratory with sampling instrumentation affixed to the outside and computers inside. They obtained measurements downwind of each drilling region as they did not have direct access to the sites. Measurements were obtained around well pads and compressor stations.

Photo credit: WCN 24/7 via Flickr Creative Commons

This study adds to the growing body of evidence that methane, a potent greenhouse gas with warming potential 84 times greater than carbon in the first 20 years after its release, is leaking into the atmosphere at alarming rates. As temperatures rise, we experience the accelerated formation of ground-level ozone, or smog, that leads to increased asthma attacks and lung and heart disease. Absent action, the specter of increased methane emissions could quickly undo any perceived benefits of a coal-to-gas switch.

Pennsylvania must move quickly to directly regulate methane emissions from natural gas operations. The Drexel study once again makes clear that voluntary efforts aren't working. The time to act is now.

Elaine Labalme is Strategic Campaigns Director for PennFuture and is based in Pittsburgh. She tweets @NewGirlInTown.

Let's clean up Cheswick Power Plant and our air

Photo of Cheswick Power Plant from the author's home

On April 2, 2015, community members met in Springdale, Pa. along with PennFuture partner organizations including Sierra Club, GASP and Women for a Healthy Environment to discuss the impact that pollution from the Cheswick Power Plant has made on the local community and the county. NRG Energy, one of the largest owners of coal burning power plants in the United States, owns the Cheswick plant. In 2013, the plant was the largest major point source of air pollution in Allegheny County.

Major point source pollution makes a major impact on a community. In 2010, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Cheswick’s mortality rate was 87 percent over the national average with diseases linked to air pollution such as cardiovascular disease, COPD, and asthma. Allegheny County has some of the highest rates for asthma in the states and a growing number of cases in children. 

Allegheny County currently violates federal safeguards for particulate and smog standards of the Clean Air Act.The Cheswick Power Plant is a source of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide in the county. In 2013, the plant accounted for half of the nitrogen oxide pollution in the county and was the third largest contributor of fine particles. Upgrades at the plant to limit emissions have helped but Cheswick continues to rank among the highest polluters in the county.Though not a violation, the plant's sulfur output has almost tripled between 2013 and 2014, a worrisome trend. 

There are limits to the amount of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide that a power plant can emit. To meet those limits, plants can install and run pollution control technology or, in some cases, purchase credits to pollute. Currently, Cheswick’s permit allows the facility to emit unhealthy smog-forming pollution (NOx) at a rate that exceeds the capacity of the technology installed to control that pollution. Worse yet, the plant does not consistently run the pollution control technology that is installed onsite. This has contributed to the region’s ongoing elevated smog levels, which continue to violate federal safeguards. 

The Title V permit for the Cheswick Power Plant expires at the end of 2015. These permits are required under the Clean Air Act to establish pollution limits for large emission sources. Environmental groups in the region are reaching out to the Allegheny County Health Department to strengthen the polluting limits of the plant. The permit will be drafted this summer and meetings will be held to collect public input. If you'd like to get involved, email Valessa Souter-Kline (souter-kline[at]pennfuture.org) or add your name to Sierra Club's email campaign to clean up the Cheswick Power Plant.

Guest post by Courtney Mahronich, Project Coordinator for the Trail Town Program and PennFuture volunteer extraordinaire. Courtney lives near the Cheswick Power Plant.

University of Pittsburgh research links autism to air pollution

A new study was released Wednesday showing a link between autism spectrum disorders and maternal exposure to toxic air pollution during pregnancy. The study was conducted by the University of Pittsburgh and the results add to a growing body of research pointing to a correlation between exposure to air pollution and incidence of human neurodevelopmental disorders.

We know that air pollutants such as particulate matter and ozone negatively impact our health by increasing rates of asthma and cardiovascular disease, and they are even being correlated to cancer. This new study shows that air toxics may be hurting us in another way, as well. The fact is that the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders among children in Pennsylvania more than doubled between 2002 and 2008, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That increase is likely too large to be explained by genetics alone, leading researchers to look for environmental factors. It is becoming increasingly clear that air pollution in our state may well be contributing to a significant public health problem.

In this particular study, researchers conducted a population-based control study in six counties in southwestern Pennsylvania, estimating the association between autism spectrum disorders and 30 known neurotoxicants. Their research found that exposure to chromium, cyanide, styrene and other toxic air pollutants during gestation and a child's early years of life increased the risk of being diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.

Enough is enough. We in southwestern Pennsylvania have been breathing unhealthy air for decades. Progress toward ensuring that everyone can exercise and play outside without risking their well being has been far too slow. Let's act now to find innovative solutions to the pollution problem. Bottom line: We all deserve to breathe clean, healthy air.

Valessa Souter-Kline is PennFuture's western Pennsylvania outreach coordinator and is based in Pittsburgh. She tweets @ValessaSK.

VIDEO: "Methane Matters: PA Needs to Know"

You've got questions and we've got answers. What is methane? Why is it leaking from Pennsylvania's natural gas operations? Why is methane such a threat to climate change? Check out this whiteboard animation video for a helpful primer -- then share it with friends.  

Methane Matters: PA Needs to Know from PennFuture on Vimeo.

The Black & Gold City is still Going Green

This past Saturday, we had 12 volunteers who helped distribute 137 free energy-saving toolkits to residents in the Mt. Washington neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The contents of the bags include CFL light bulbs, a smart power strip, LED night lights, window and door caulk, and various pamphlets with energy saving tips.

Each bag helps to avoid over 3,817 pounds of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere and saves each household over $100 in electricity costs per year. From the collective effort of our volunteers, we helped to avoid over half a million pounds of CO2 from being released, which is equivalent to taking 50 cars off the road or planting 6,082 trees. Those are pretty astounding numbers for just a few hours of volunteer work!

The Black and Gold City Goes Green campaign engages the residents of Pittsburgh in simple actions they can take at home in order to reduce their energy demand and, therefore, their carbon footprint since most electricity is generated from coal-fired power plants. The main focus is on promoting energy efficient products and behaviors, as well as educating individuals about using renewable energy to power their homes. This project was created by PennFuture in 2009 as the community aspect of the Pittsburgh Climate Initiative (PCI). The PCI raises awareness and engages Pittsburgh’s residents, businesses, government and institutions of higher learning in taking concrete actions that reduce heat-trapping gas and air pollution and its impact on our local economy and human health.

Neighborhood blitzes provide direct community involvement to help reduce Pittsburgh’s greenhouse gases—a major contributor to climate change— and improve the region’s air quality. According to an analysis by the Clean Air Task Force using 2010-2012 data, out of 338 urban areas surveyed, Pittsburgh’s air quality is in the dirtiest 10 percent for average annual particle pollution. This is a major cause of concern because poor air quality poses serious risks for public health, including heart and lung disease, cancer, asthma and birth defects, to name a few. (For more information related to the region’s air quality and what is being done about it, check out the Breathe Project.)

Since the neighborhood blitz was adopted as a proactive outreach model in 2010, the Black and Gold City Goes Green campaign has organized 24 blitzes throughout 16 different neighborhoods in Pittsburgh that have reached a total of 2,139 households.

Nicole Catino is PennFutute's 2014 Student Conservation Association Green Cities Sustainability Fellow and is based in Pittsburgh.

Pennsylvania way behind on methane regulations

It's a big week for air quality in the Keystone state. 

Governor Tom Corbett has declared this week Air Quality Awareness Week. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a regulation requiring some states to limit pollution that contributes to unhealthy air in neighboring states. And the American Lung Association (ALA) released its annual “State of the Air” report on Wednesday. 

The ALA report found that 47 percent of U.S. residents live where the air is often too unhealthy to breathe, an increase from the previous year, and Pittsburgh and Allegheny County still find themselves on a list on which you're not itching to appear -- the Top Ten Bad Air List. 

Think our air quality is bad? Well, it could get worse. In Pennsylvania, methane leakage associated with natural gas drilling is harming air quality and threatens to undo any of the potential climate benefits from using natural gas in place of other fossil fuels. Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas that is 84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in the first 20 years after it’s released.

So what is Pennsylvania doing to address methane leakage and air pollution from natural gas development?

While Pennsylvania has put in place new requirements that exceed minimum federal standards, a closer look shows that Pennsylvania is not doing nearly enough. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection deserves credit for requiring, as criteria to meet Exemption 38, LDAR (leak detection and repair) programs to address “fugitive emissions” at well sites and, under GP-5, at compressor stations. It’s a step in the right direction. But Pennsylvania's rules fall far short of what other states are doing -- and what is needed. 

Some examples:

• In February,  Colorado enacted a comprehensive suite of methane regulations for oil and gas operators – including an LDAR program that requires the bulk of operators to perform quarterly inspections and even requires monthly inspections at the largest well sites.

• Right next door, Ohio recently revised its general permit that requires drillers of unconventional oil and gas wells to conduct quarterly LDAR inspections – in contrast to the once-a-year requirement for Pennsylvania well operators to qualify under Exemption 38.

• Last fall, Wyoming also implemented a new presumptive BACT requirement that includes quarterly inspections and repairs. 

While Colorado has in place a comprehensive regulatory framework to address methane emissions and Ohio recently revised its general permit for unconventional oil and gas wells to include quarterly leak detection and repair requirements (LDAR), Pennsylvania is lagging in placing mandatory controls on natural gas drilling. 

Pennsylvania should require a mandatory and rigorous permitting process. Instead of being in Ohio's rear view mirror, we should be leading the charge by going one step further and directly regulating methane emissions in the name of cleaner air and public health. 

Andrew Sharp is PennFuture's director of outreach and is based in our Philadelphia office. He tweets at @RexBainbridge. 

Coking? Make that choking.

On April 30, 2014 the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) will present its Consent Agreement with Shenango Coke Works at a public meeting from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Avalon Borough Building. 

On April 8, 2014, the Allegheny County Health Department reached a consent agreement with Shenango Coke Works. The agreement aims to curb the facility's persistent, illegal, toxic emissions. Over more than three decades, the Neville Island plant has consistently violated air quality regulations despite numerous similar agreements established in the past. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette outlines the litany of agreements and fines levied over the years. 

Despite past corrective actions, Shenango violated air quality standards on 330 out of 432 days between July 26, 2012 and September 30, 2013. The health consequences of the company's pollution are severe. In March 2014, a group of 36 environmental organizations (including PennFuture), local businesses, and residents delivered a letter to the Allegheny County Health Department asking for specific actions to protect the health of residents living in Shenango's shadow. The letter cited a Pennsylvania Department of Health finding that "children in the Northgate School District, downwind of Shenango, have the highest incidence of asthma in the state - more than double the state average." The health problems are not limited to asthma. The EPA points out that coke oven emissions can lead to digestive problems and, yes, cancer.  

Will the 2014 agreement bring the air quality improvements promised? Doubtful. PennFuture has been reviewing the agreement and we have serious concerns about the lack of objective standards included, which would ensure that the end result is healthy air. Additionally, without more transparency regarding how the penalty was calculated, it is also possible that this agreement will fall short, simply enabling the company to pay-to-pollute rather than clean up its act. 

Clear your throat, then speak up, on April 30. Community members are encouraged to attend and to ask questions. Please join us and let the County know that an agreement is only the beginning. Shenango must stop polluting the air we breathe.

Valessa Souter-Kline is western Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Pittsburgh. She tweets @ValessaSK.