U.S. Steel Corp. has agreed to an $8.5 million settlement of a 2017 class action lawsuit that alleged the company was negligent in allowing air pollution and odors from its Clairton Coke Works to impact residents of the surrounding community.Under the settlement agreement, which was preliminarily approved by Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge Philip A. Ignelzi last week, the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker is required to spend at least $6.5 million at its coke making facility to reduce emissions of noxious odors and soot.And a large, but still undefined number of area residents will split $2 million, minus about $925,000 in attorney fees and costs.“I think that in terms of improvements to the facility that this is an excellent settlement,” said Nicholas Coulson, an attorney with the Detroit law firm of Liddle & Dubin, which specializes in class action litigation.Mr. Coulson said each household within an irregular area, mostly north and east around the coke works, will receive an equal and “substantial”
monetary share of the settlement. But the exact amount can’t be determined until individuals file their claims.The law firm represented Cindy Ross and Cheryl Hurt, both of Clairton, who brought the case, and will each receive $5,000, in addition to their share.Arriving at a settlement in the two-and-a-half-year-old case was “challenging,” Mr. Coulson said, because of the industrialized landscape in which the coke works is located.“In Western Pennsylvania, any action against a coal-burning industry, power plant or a coking facility has a problem with causation because there are a lot of competing (emissions) sources,” he said.Amanda Malkowski, a U.S. Steel spokeswoman, issued a brief statement, saying, "Because this settlement is not final, we do not think it is appropriate to comment at this time. Environmental stewardship and safety remain core values at U.S. Steel, and we are committed to investing in our operations and processes to continue to improve air quality in the Mon Valley."The steelmaker has said it will spend more than $1 billion for new sustainable steel technology and a cogeneration facility that it claims will improve environmental performance and energy conservation at its three Mon Valley Works facilities in Clairton, Braddock and West Mifflin.The company is also facing additional lawsuits related to pollution emissions from its Clairton coking operations, located along the Monongahela River 20 miles south of Pittsburgh.In April, East Pittsburgh resident Linda Hernandez filed a class action suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of all residents of 22 Mon Valley communities, claiming she experienced “nuisance-level physical discomforts” as the result of toxic air pollutants emitted following a massive fire that occurred Dec. 24, 2018.The blaze all but destroyed the coke works’ desulfurization controls, but the facility continued limited operations for five and a half months while repairs were made.Also in April, PennEnvironment and the Clean Air Council, represented by the National Environmental Law Center, filed a federal lawsuit charging U.S. Steel violated the U.S. Clean Air Act. The environmental organizations said the company’s operations jeopardized the health of Mon Valley residents by continuing production at its coke works and its Edgar Thomson and Irvin steel mills after the December fire.Sulfur dioxide is one of six primary or "criteria" pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act, and at high concentrations can affect breathing and aggravate respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, including asthma, bronchitis and emphysema.The organizations are seeking significant penalties and also want the court to order upgrades to the facilities that will ensure the emissions problems won’t continue to occur.In August 2019, the Clean Air Council was back in federal court, claiming the company failed to report unpermitted releases of hydrogen sulfide, benzene and coke oven emissions from its Mon Valley Works as required by federal law.According to the suit, the releases began
after the fire in December 2018 and continued for more than 100 days.Mr. Coulson said the settlement of the Ross and Hurt class action suit specifically focused on their claims of nuisance emissions prior to the Dec. 24 fire and therefore is separate from, and will have no impact on, that lawsuit or any other pending legal action involving the coke works or the steelmaker.“Our case is based on a limited subset of issues,” he said. “We are concerned with the nuisance impacts to enjoyment of private property in the area, not contamination of water sources or claims of illness.”The 50-page settlement agreement requires notification of all eligible residents by first class mail, a posting that will likely occur next week, Mr. Coulson said. Recipients of that mailing will have 30 days to “opt out” of the settlement.A final settlement fairness hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m., Feb. 24, 2020, in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, City-County Building, Courtroom 820, 414 Grant St., Downtown.Following that hearing, the court will approve the settlement if it finds it to be “fair, reasonable and adequate,” Mr. Coulson said. According to the lawsuit claim form, qualifying residents will be mailed a check from the settlement fund approximately 30 days after the court’s final approval.
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