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Breathe Project official urges council to pass permit fee for air pollution; recalls local resident who died
Summary
Natisha Washington of the Breathe Project urged council to support a permit fee to address air pollution in the Mon Valley, recounting the advocacy and death of Johnny Perryman and describing community-led efforts to distribute air filters and pursue funding.
Natisha Washington, communications manager at the Breathe Project and a Wilkinsburg Borough councilwoman, urged Allegheny County Council to support a permit-fee approach to industrial air pollution focused on the Mon Valley.
Washington recounted the advocacy of community member Johnny (Jonny) Perryman, who helped distribute air filters, self-funded early clean-air efforts, and later worked with Valley Clean Air and the EPA to pursue funding. Washington said Perryman testified to council previously and left a poem for council members; she told the body Perryman died in March after suffering the respiratory symptoms he had long warned about.
Washington described local efforts to secure funding and criticized gaps in existing support, noting community organizations have had to self-fund some interventions. She told council that residents continue to experience acute health effects and urged adoption of a permit fee to provide dedicated resources.
Washington identified the EPA as a federal partner that has offered assistance but said community groups still pursued litigation and funding to protect resident health. Council did not take a vote on a permit fee during this session; the remarks were part of the public-comment period.
