Allegheny Co. Council OKs increases to air-quality permit fees

Advocacy groups applauded the decision.

By KELLEN STEPLER
TribLive

Allegheny County Council on Tuesday moved forward with an air quality permit fee schedule that, officials say, will promote public health and relieve financial pressure on the county health department’s air quality program.

The fee changes include raising a range of permit and maintenance costs for industrial facilities starting Jan. 1. One of the largest increases is for an annual maintenance fee paid by emitters producing more than 100 tons of pollutants per year — going from $8,000 to $55,000.

That’s a win for residents of the Mon Valley and representatives of several advocacy groups, they told council earlier this week.

Mon Valley residents spoke of their experiences with asthma, cancer and other health detriments that they said is the result of poor air quality there. Others spoke of the community impact from the Aug. 11 explosion at the Clairton Coke Works.

“They represent real families and real consequences,” said Nickolas Bartel, clean air campaign manager at the environmental advocacy group PennFuture. “I want to emphasize that they represent children who rely on inhalers just because of where they live. They represent the smell of rotten eggs entering people’s homes during pollution spikes, they represent neighbors who are simply asking for a basic level of fairness and human health.”

“I encourage you to listen to every speaker, and take their courage to heart and then vote to fully fund the health department so that it has the staff and resources necessary to fund our clean air.”

Environmental advocacy groups say the increases are necessary to help fund health department inspections and monitoring that would hold industrial plants accountable.

“It took us 19 months to get here. The Breathe Project wants to thank all of the residents who spoke up for the need to protect their health, the county council members who heard them and took action and to the administration for pushing to get its health department funded. We Pittsburghers make good things happen when we come together to elevate health as a priority for all of our residents,” said Matthew Mehalik, executive director of the Breathe Project Councilman Paul Klein said the vote sends a message. He also indicated it was overdue.

“That message is that here in Allegheny County, public health is a priority, and we are committed to ensuring that our public health department has the resources to do the vital work that is necessary to keep us safe,” he said.

County Executive Sara Innamorato also applauded the move.

“Tonight, the county made necessary progress on air quality, asbestos removal, and how fast we issue permits in Allegheny County,” she said. “After nearly half a decade of inaction, we are adequately funding the Allegheny County Health Department to achieve our air quality goals.”