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Residents, environmental groups press council to increase ACHD permit fees, fully staff air program
Summary
Multiple residents, public-health and environmental advocates urged County Council to advance an ordinance to raise Title V air-permit fees so the Allegheny County Health Department can hire inspectors and engineers, citing an EPA audit finding staffing shortfalls and health impacts in the Mon Valley.
Dozens of residents and environmental advocates told Allegheny County Council on March 26 that the Allegheny County Health Department’s air program needs dedicated funding and staff to enforce permits and protect public health, pressing council to advance a permit-fee increase proposal that has been under committee review.
Why it matters: Commenters said inadequate ACHD staffing and years of underfunding have left the county unable to issue, monitor and enforce air permits fully under the federal Clean Air Act. Several speakers tied the problem to local impacts in the Mon Valley after the 2018 U.S. Steel fire and cited an EPA Title V audit that identified staffing and fee-structure concerns.
Speakers and core arguments - Lisa Graves Marcucci urged action and cited the U.S. EPA’s audit of ACHD’s Title V program, quoting the audit’s language that the permitting workload exceeds staffing and warning that “If ACHD does not demonstrate adequate…
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