Environmental group files federal lawsuit against Monessen coke plant
An environmental group filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court against the Monessen coke plant for its violations of the federal Clean Air Act.
The lawsuit was announced in August by PennEnviroment and several area residents at the federal courthouse building in Pittsburgh. The notice gave plant owner ArcelorMittal 60 days to seek a solution to the residents’ complaints, which included an odor, waves of black dust and health concerns like headaches and respiratory problems. The advance notice is required under federal law, which gives citizens the right to sue if regulatory agencies haven’t.
Heather Govern, an attorney with the National Environmental Law Center, said the Monessen plant, just across the Monongahela River from several Washington County communities, received more than 300 violations for exceeding air pollution standards involving such pollutants as sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide, limitations that are in place to protect the local residents.
Govern said the violations can be resolved without legal action. The two parties have recently agreed to meet about the issues in an attempt to find “common understanding,” Govern said. A meeting date has not been set. ArcelorMittal acknowledged the violations in a statement after the August letter.
David Masur, PennEnviroment executive director, said little has been done to address the emissions.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has been monitoring the coke works since it started up last year, and the information gathered has been brought to the attention of the plant’s management, John Poister, DEP spokesman in Pittsburgh, said in August.
Poister said the plant has received numerous DEP notices of violation for having visible and fugitive emissions. Poister said Thursday that the DEP does not comment on pending litigation.
“DEP continues to work with EPA with regard to operations at the plant and is evaluating appropriate enforcement actions,” Poister said in an email Thursday.
Attempts to reach a representative from ArcelorMittal were unsuccessful.
Viktoryia Maroz, an area resident who joined the suit, said she’s experienced extreme headaches, fatigue and gagging as a result of the air pollution. Within the last 60 days, she said she called the DEP 12 times to report issues.
“It’s negatively affecting me and my family,” the Donora resident said. “We are being poisoned.”
A class action suit has also been filed by area residents related to the plant’s emissions.
The lawsuit does not seek compensation for the residents. It is designed to force ArcelorMittal to comply with clean-air laws and seek fines for the violations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.