Shenango Coke Works has long been one of the worst polluters in the Pittsburgh area. Today, they announced they will be shutting down in mid-January.

Officially, DTE Energy (the owner of the Coke facility) cited "global overcapacity in the steel industry" as the cause of the closure. Importantly, DTE has also committed to helping their employees in the transition with 60 days of pay after the facility closes, severance packages, and, crucially, outplacement assistance. The workers must be adequately helped through this process.

The Council had taken legal action against the facility before, finding that over a 432 day period it violated air pollution laws on 330 of those days. Despite repeated warnings from Allegheny County officials, the facility continued to pollute at illegal levels.

This pollution, of course, has a major impact on the surrounding community. One resident, Ted Popovich, said Shenango was "out of control" and "a danger to the health and well being of its workers and nearby residents." Another resident, a mother who lives just across the river from the facility, called for "regulatory agencies and environmental groups to do everything within their power to stop the coke works from continuing to pollute the air my family and I breathe."

This is big news for Pittsburgh, the 6th-most polluted city in America. This is an important step forward, but there is still much more work to do. I look forward to continuing these fights and keeping you updated on all future progress.