Johnie Perryman passed away in Clairton March 14, 2025 at the age of 81. This post is a tribute to his ongoing fight for clean air in the Mon Valley.

“I moved here to Clairton from Seattle when houses were cheap,” Johnie said during this lifetime. “People were so friendly. Then I found my health starting to decline. Some days I would get weak. I found out later that I would get weak on bad air days. In March 2019 my doctor told me to pack up and move but it is too hard for me to move now. We need to do something about the quality of life we have in Clairton.”

Clairton has faced longstanding air-quality burdens linked to emissions from U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works. His voice mattered in the legal fight for accountability. Local reporting on the Clean Air Act case notes that Johnie was deposed by U.S. Steel’s lawyers in a citizens’ lawsuit over air pollution from the Clairton Coke Works, and he spoke openly about the toll that process took on him.

To support the work Johnie helped lead, contact Valley Clean Air Now at [email protected].