Shenango Coke Works Update – Reimagined

The Shenango Coke Works closed its gates on January 6, 2016 after decades of jeopardizing the health of Allegheny County residents.  Prior to the closure, Clean Air Council assisted impacted community members by facilitating a meeting with the EPA Region III Air Division Deputy Director and his regulatory staff in Philadelphia.  Neighbors of the plant got to tell their personal stories of hardship from living in the vicinity of this plant and how it impacted their health and quality of life. The meeting resulted in a visit by the Deputy Director and his staff in the spring of 2015 to see first-hand the health and quality of life burden this facility had placed on the nearby community.   

The Council  organized a town meeting to discuss the chronic air pollution problems at the Shenango Coke Works. At the meeting, the EPA Region III Air Division Deputy Director declared the plant’s operations “totally unacceptable.” This community pressure plus a downturn in the domestic steel industry, precipitated DTE Energy Corp, the Detroit based parent company managing the plant, to announce the plant’s  closure.  

Since then, the Council continues to work with the community to improve the health of residents.  A study of elementary school students from the Neville Island area found that the asthma rate was more than double the  statewide rate. As a result, the Council was able to get EPA grants to educate school children and adults in the community about asthma prevention and management.  

The Council and community members are working together to  ensure any future use is beneficial to the community including in protecting its health.  The Council has monitored site reuse activities of the local Shenango Reimagined Advisory Council (SRAC) and supports the guiding principles the group determined for redevelopment.  The SRAC calls for light and specialty industrial activities with low emissions, incorporation of solar energy generation, and a minimum of 20% green space throughout the development.  These communities have suffered enough, and the Neville Island region should not bear the brunt of another heavy polluting neighbor.  

If you have questions concerning Shenango Reimagined contact Thurman Brendlinger, Program Director, Clean Air Council at Brendlinger@cleanair.org.