Elected officials, local stakeholders and community members will gather Wednesday night to discuss the future of the former Shenango coke works site in Neville.
DTE Energy used the facility to bake coal into metallurgical coke for 54 years before closing four years ago. Now, the Shenango Reimagined Advisory Council — a 10-member group including local town government officials, members of environmental institutions and county land authorities — hopes to share its research and suggestions for the vacant lot’s future.
The council has developed a 20-item list of redevelopment ideas, such as a utility-grade solar plant, a recycling center, a microbrewery and a medical marijuana facility, according to Thaddeus Popovich, an advisory council member and the co-founder of Allegheny County Clean Air Now.
For the last year, the advisory council has conducted market and environmental research and put together seven guiding principles for the redevelopment process. The principles reflect a group that aims to bring jobs and tax revenue to Neville and the surrounding communities while leaving behind poor air quality.
They will present their work and invite community input at Wednesday’s event.
Mr. Popovich said the council aims to make sure officials listen to the community. He called the advisory council a “court of public opinion.”
The group will present the final report, which will include public input, to Neville Township and DTE Energy, which owns the site, by the end of February.
Roy Kraynyk, council member and vice president of land protection at the Allegheny Land Trust, said he doesn’t want DTE and town officials to settle on the first buyer that expresses interest. He said air quality has improved since the Shenango plant shut down and doesn’t want a plant that will bring back old problems.
Asthma cases declined in the Northgate School District after the plant’s closure — a 2018 study conducted by Pediatric Alliance physician Dr. Deborah Gentile found a 25% decrease in asthma diagnoses and a more than 50% improvement in children at risk of asthma but not diagnosed by a doctor.
Mr. Popovich said 70,000 people live within the site’s “air-shed” and can be affected by pollution from the site.
Emissions from coking facilities are among the most toxic of industrial emissions, and Shenango had a long history of air and water violations. It paid more than $2 million in penalties under a series of federal consent orders in 1980, 1993, and 2000, an Allegheny County Health Department consent order in 2005, and a joint federal-state-county consent order in 2012.
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WATCH: Shenango’s smokestacks are imploded in May 2018:
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DTE Energy has been in touch with the advisory council monthly, sharing meeting minutes and updates, and members are hopeful that the company will listen to their suggestions, said Margaret Renas, an environmental engineer and sustainability professional in brownfield revitalization at the Chicago-based Delta Institute.
Elected officials are expected to attend Wednesday’s event, according to advisory council member Daniel Lenz, an Emsworth Borough council member.
The event will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center at 7600 Grand Ave., on the island.
Abigail Mihaly: amihaly@post-gazette.com
First Published: February 18, 2020, 6:40 p.m.
