Millions in settlement funds from a U.S. Steel Clairton Works fire are to be dished out to the Mon Valley, and three October listening sessions are set to gather input on their distribution.

The listening sessions will be “facilitated community discussions regarding public health” that solicit a range of resident views on the pending settlement, according to Trisha Gadson, CEO at the Jefferson Regional Foundation, which is hosting the sessions.

The Mon Valley Clean Air Fund is the result of a $4.5 million settlement Allegheny County reached with U.S. Steel after a 2018 fire at the Clairton Coke Works led to a massive release of sulfur from the plant — an outcome impacting the air quality of 22 Mon Valley communities, according to the county. 

The foundation was enlisted by the Allegheny County Health Department to help distribute $2.25 million of the settlement funds via grantmaking over the course of five years beginning in 2025. The remaining $2.25 will go to Allegheny County’s Economic Development department.

Qiyam Ansari, president of Valley Clean Air Now, says his organization plans to apply for a grant to help expand the air purification distribution program for households impacted by industrial pollution in the Mon Valley. 

“I’m really excited to see what the Jefferson [Regional] Foundation does,” Ansari said. “I don’t think there is a better organization to distribute these funds.” 

The foundation focuses on the Mon Valley and South Hills.

Zachary Barber, clean air advocate at PennEnvironment said his organization is encouraging people to apply for grants to ensure the funds are used for improving air quality and treating health conditions, like asthma, that are worsened by air pollution.  

Grant applications will be made available to nonprofit organizations in January 2025.

Community sessions have been scheduled for the following times:

• Wednesday, Oct. 9 from 10-11:30 a.m. at Noah’s Ark Community Center, 200 Sixth St. McKeesport.
• Wednesday Oct. 16 from 12-1 p.m. via Zoom (virtual meeting—registration is required)
• Wednesday, Oct. 23 from 6-7:30 p.m. at Woodland Hills School District Administrative Offices, 531 Jones Ave., Braddock.

Amber Frantz is an editorial intern at PublicSource and can be reached at amber@publicsource.org.

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Update: Mon Valley residents, stakeholders to weigh in on $4.5 million U.S. Steel settlement

by Amber Frantz, Pittsburgh's Public Source
September 25, 2024

<h1>Update: Mon Valley residents, stakeholders to weigh in on $4.5 million U.S. Steel settlement</h1> <p class="byline">by Amber Frantz, Pittsburgh's Public Source <br />September 25, 2024</p> <p>Millions in <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/clairton-coke-works-fire-settlement-us-steel-allegheny-county-air-pollution/">settlement funds</a> from a U.S. Steel Clairton Works fire are to be dished out to the Mon Valley, and three October listening sessions are set to gather input on their distribution.</p> <p>The listening sessions will be “facilitated community discussions regarding public health” that solicit a range of resident views on the pending settlement, according to Trisha Gadson, CEO at the Jefferson Regional Foundation, which is hosting the sessions.</p> <p>The Mon Valley Clean Air Fund is the result of a <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/clairton-coke-works-fire-settlement-us-steel-allegheny-county-air-pollution/">$4.5 million settlement</a> Allegheny County reached with U.S. Steel after a 2018 fire at the Clairton Coke Works led to a massive release of sulfur from the plant — an outcome impacting the air quality of <a href="https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Projects-and-Initiatives/Economic-Development/Communities/Mon-Valley-Public-Health-and-Welfare-Funds">22 Mon Valley communities</a>, according to the county.&nbsp;</p> <p>The foundation was enlisted by the Allegheny County Health Department to help distribute $2.25 million of the settlement funds via grantmaking over the course of five years beginning in 2025. The remaining $2.25 will go to Allegheny County’s Economic Development department.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-full"><img src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20240227QiyamAnsari02-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1302938" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Qiyam Ansari, of West Mifflin, stands for a portrait in front of the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works on Feb. 27. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)</figcaption></figure> <p>Qiyam Ansari, president of Valley Clean Air Now, says his organization plans to apply for a grant to help expand the <a href="https://www.valleycleanair.com/air-cleaners#:~:text=Air%20Filter%20Distribution%20Program,impacted%20by%20the%20industrial%20pollution.">air purification distribution program</a> for households impacted by industrial pollution in the Mon Valley.&nbsp;</p> <p>“I’m really excited to see what the Jefferson [Regional] Foundation does,” Ansari said. “I don’t think there is a better organization to distribute these funds.”&nbsp;</p> <p>The foundation focuses on the Mon Valley and South Hills.</p> <p>Zachary Barber, clean air advocate at PennEnvironment said his organization is encouraging people to apply for grants to ensure the funds are used for improving air quality and treating health conditions, like asthma, that are worsened by air pollution.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Grant applications will be made available to nonprofit organizations in January 2025.</p> <p>Community sessions have been scheduled for the following times:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Wednesday, Oct. 9 from 10-11:30 a.m. at Noah's Ark Community Center, 200 Sixth St. McKeesport.</li> <li>Wednesday Oct. 16 from 12-1 p.m. via Zoom (virtual meeting—<a href="https://jeffersonrf.org/grantmaking/mon-valley-clean-air-fund/">registration is required</a>)</li> <li>Wednesday, Oct. 23 from 6-7:30 p.m. at Woodland Hills School District Administrative Offices, 531 Jones Ave., Braddock.</li> </ul> <p><em>Amber Frantz is an editorial intern at PublicSource and can be reached at </em><a href="mailto:amber@publicsource.org"><em>amber@publicsource.org</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/mon-valley-achd-settlement-clairton-ussteel-health-allegheny-county/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org&quot;&gt;Pittsburgh&#039;s Public Source&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-ps_circle_favicon_blue.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1309253&amp;amp;ga4=G-CCLXQK5C14&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.publicsource.org/mon-valley-achd-settlement-clairton-ussteel-health-allegheny-county/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/publicsource.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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