In the midst of financial turmoil, Pittsburgh-based integrated steel producer US Steel is now facing a lawsuit for alleged violations to the Clean Air Act.
PennFuture, a nonprofit environmental protection advocacy group, announced on Jan. 28 that it plans to file suit against US Steel, claiming it has discovered more than 6,700 air pollution violations from the Clairton Coke Works during a timespan between Jan. 1, 2012 and May 31, 2015. These violations stem from alleged emissions of toxic particulates, including sulfur dioxide.
This number of violations should shock and displease anyone with even the most minimal of concerns for environmental health. What should infuriate us the most is that it took a nonprofit to hold US Steel accountable for its actions.
Of course, this suit comes at an awful time for US Steel and its shareholders. The company just announced losses of $1.5 billion in 2015, including $999 million in the fourth quarter alone. Allegheny County Health Department ordered US Steel to refine its facilities and plants to cut emissions and meet public health standards. Clearly, US Steel neglected to do so.
Because of Title III of the Clean Air Act, citizens may file a lawsuit to obtain compliance to an emission standard issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The suit that PennFuture is bringing forward is being filed under this stipulation. Lawsuits brought forward by citizens or citizen groups can only move forward if the belligerent is not being pursued by the EPA or any state agency, meaning that, up to this point, there are no relevant government agencies pursuing US Steel to hold them legally accountable for their emission violations.
This is a problem. Despite mounting public pressure for government agencies to prioritize environmental issues, there remains a deep divide between what the public hopes for and the penalties handed down against corporations that grossly violate environmental regulations. The lawsuit against US Steel merely highlights this problem.
One of the most serious cases involving airborne pollution is occurring on the other side of the country, outside of Los Angeles. One of Southern California Gas Company’s natural gas wells has been leaking since at least Oct. 23. The company said it has paid $50 million in efforts to cap the leak and relocate the residents of Porter Ranch, CA, who have reported nausea, headaches and other symptoms.
The leak itself is appallingly massive. Since the leak was discovered, it has been estimated that more than two million tons of climate-changing methane have been released into the air. That’s 2.5 million pounds per day, or as Time magazine recently reported, the environmental equivalent of 4.5 million extra cars on the road.
That number is absolutely unacceptable, but since the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf Coast, it seems as if we’ve grown numb to these numbers as a society. When that spill happened, BP was forced to pay $18.7 billion to the United States government for damages not covered — the largest environmental fine in the nation’s history. This fine, which was under constant media coverage and scrutiny, was still too inadequate.
The gas leak in California, for whatever reason, has received its fair portion of media coverage. There is justifiable fear that Southern California Gas Co. and its executives won’t face appropriate penalties, if there is such a thing. Last week, the company was charged by the Los Angeles district attorney with misdemeanor charges for failing to let state officials know about the leak until three days after it was detected. That’s been it so far — a misdemeanor charge.
Methane leaks are particularly dangerous to the climate and shockingly prevalent. According to a 2014 Stanford University study, methane emissions may be 50 percent higher than official projections by the EPA. A 2015 study from the American Chemical Society found that natural gas facilities lose about 100 billion cubic feet of natural gas each year, about eight times more than the estimates of the EPA. Many of these leaks go unreported and do not receive penalization.
The horrible reality is that we’re currently letting corporate giants routinely get away with atrocious acts of environment poisoning without penalty. If the United States government truly believes in protecting our environment and changing its policies regarding human-induced climate change, the first and loudest measure it can take is to appropriately pursue legal and financial penalties against companies that regard the environment as the smallest point of importance.
Unfortunately for US Steel, the courts should begin this shift in policy with PennFuture’s recommendations for penalties.