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U. S. Steel Consent Decree for Clairton Plant Incidents Authorized by Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice
March 26, 2024

The Consent Decree between U. S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works – Clairton Plant, Allegheny County Health Department, Clean Air Council, and PennEnvironment includes local community support and facility upgrades.

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) has received authorization for its multi-million-dollar Consent Decree from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). The January 2024 Consent Decree with the Allegheny County Health Department, Clean Air Council, and PennEnvironment addressed the Clairton Plant fire in 2018, and power outages at the Plant in 2019 and 2022. Final approval by the Federal District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania is pending. We regret that these accidental incidents occurred and believe this Consent Decree will allow us to move forward with the promised updates to our facilities, and our commitment to communities in the Mon Valley.

Under the Consent Decree, U. S. Steel agrees to:

  • Contribute $4.5 million to projects supporting public health and welfare and/or air quality improvement in the Mon Valley. Project funds will be managed and distributed by the Jefferson Regional Foundation and Allegheny County Department of Economic Development.
  • Invest approximately $19.5 million in upgrades to coke oven gas cleaning facilities.
  • Cover part of the litigation costs for PennEnvironment and Clean Air Council.
  • Pay $500,000 to the Allegheny County Clean Air Fund.
  • Permanently idle Battery #15 at Mon Valley Works - Clairton Plant, which has been on hot idle. The permanent idle will take place without job reductions. This permanent idling may lead to additional emissions reductions.
  • U. S. Steel also agreed to a lower hydrogen sulfide limit in coke oven gas and other environmentally beneficial changes to facilities at the Clairton Plant.
  • After the December 2018 accident at the Clairton Plant, U. S. Steel invested approximately $17.5 million in process improvements and upgrades, not required by this agreement, which is acknowledged in the Consent Decree.

Click here for additional details on the Consent Decree.

The Consent Decree was filed in Federal District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on January 29, 2024, and was subject to a 45-day review period by U.S. EPA and DOJ. On March 20, 2024, DOJ issued a letter stating that they had no objections to the Consent Decree.

Founded in 1901, United States Steel Corporation is a leading steel producer. With an unwavering focus on safety, the Company’s customer-centric Best for All® strategy is advancing a more secure, sustainable future for U. S. Steel and its stakeholders. With a renewed emphasis on innovation, U. S. Steel serves the automotive, construction, appliance, energy, containers, and packaging industries with high value-added steel products such as U. S. Steel’s proprietary XG3™ advanced high-strength steel. The Company also maintains competitively advantaged iron ore production and has an annual raw steelmaking capability of 22.4 million net tons. U. S. Steel is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with world-class operations across the United States and in Central Europe. For more information, please visit www.ussteel.com.

U. S. Steel Media Relations
T - (412) 433-1300
E - media@uss.com

Source: United States Steel Corporation