U.S. Steel and the Allegheny County health department say they have finalized terms of last year’s settlement agreement that requires $200 million in improvements to the Clairton Coke Works and created a trust to benefit communities affected by air pollution from the plant.
The agreement names Pittsburgh-based Smithfield Trust as administrator of the trust, which will benefit communities such as Clairton, Glassport, Liberty, Lincoln and Port Vue. Neither the company nor the department will be involved in administering the trust.
“These communities will be able to utilize funds for projects that improve, protect, or reduce the risk to public health or the environment,” the department said in a statement.
The agreement, which applies to emissions violations in 2018 and early 2019, requires U.S. Steel to pay $2.7 million in fines. The department said about $2.4 million served as the initial deposit in July and an additional $699,262 was deposited last month. Officials said 90% of future fines will be deposited into the trust for about five years.
U.S. Steel said the $200 million in improvements have begun “and are in addition to the substantial investment in environmental improvements already committed to by the company, including over $100 million spent annually on environmental compliance across the Mon Valley Works facilities.”
The company also cited recently announced investment of approximately $1.5 billion in advanced steel-making technology at the Edgar Thomson Plant and a new co-generation facility at the Clairton Plant.
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