A new analysis by the Group Against Smog and Pollution found the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is late to issue at least 15 air quality permits, raising concerns that some of the state’s most prolific polluters may be operating without adequate oversight.
Facilities that create significant air pollution must apply for an operating permit under Title V of the federal Clean Air Act. These documents are up for renewal every five years. Upon submission, the DEP has 18 months to review the application and issue a permit.
The documents aren’t always issued within that time frame. In the meantime, facilities can continue to operate while the public goes without updated, comprehensive information on how hazardous air pollutants are being controlled and monitored.
The DEP’s Southwest Regional Office covers four facilities with overdue permits, including the Shell cracker plant in Potter Township — a $14 billion complex that turns ethane gas into plastic pellets — and the Tenaska natural gas power plant in South Huntingdon.
“They’re not following their own rules,” said Patrick Campbell, executive director of Edgewood-based GASP.
It’s not as simple as that, the DEP argues.
The agency claims it cleared a backlog of more than 2,000 permit applications between November 2023 and October 2025, and has kept the number of overdue permits to a minimum since. Facilities highlighted in the GASP report are likely mired in delays because of incomplete or insufficient applications rather than issues within DEP and are not counted toward the backlog, the agency says.
Regardless of responsibility, Campbell finds it inexcusable that the agency isn’t forcing all polluters to comply in a timely manner.
“We’re talking about facilities that can put 25 tons of pollution out annually,” he said. “These are not small places.”
Even when there are delays, polluters must abide by their existing Title V permit or air quality plan, a step before a Title V permit for new facilities, according to Neil Shader, a spokesman for the DEP. Inspectors from the agency also regularly visit the facilities to ensure compliance, Shader said.
The Allegheny County Health Department is past the 18-month mark on two air quality permits, according to GASP. One of those permits, covering ATI’s steel rolling and processing facility in Harrison, is more than a decade overdue. The county is also more than two years late to issue a renewed permit for the Springdale natural gas power station.
The county health department declined to comment, citing the absence of its permitting expert.
Allegheny County Council voted in November to raise fees for a range of permits, including Title V, starting in January. Now that this additional revenue is coming in, Campbell expects the county health department will be able to tighten enforcement and issue permits more efficiently.
Despite its concerns, GASP does credit regulators for some progress in clearing backlogged Title V permits.
In its 2024 report, the organization logged eight delayed permits at the county level and 16 at the state level. Until a few years ago, the DEP’s Southwest Regional Office routinely had backlogs in the double digits.
