Speakers who addressed the Allegheny County Board of Health on Wednesday called the need for a fully funded Air Quality Program "crucial" and the decision to send the health department's plan to accomplish that to public comment "a no brainer."
One by one, residents and environmental advocates stood up to drive home the importance of ensuring the Air Quality Program has the funding necessary to do its job and asked members to vote YES on advancing the proposal to eliminate a $1.8 million deficit - in part by raising fees on polluters - to the public comment stage.
And we're pleased to announce that our collective advocacy around this issue WAS A SUCCESS. The board of health today voted to approve the proposal for public comment. A public hearing will also be scheduled.
Little background/context for you: GASP was the first to sound the alarm over the Air Quality Program's newest funding woes, and teamed up with our buds at Breathe Project, Clean Air Council Environmental Integrity Project, Penn Environment to get residents to join us in sending that message loud and clear to board of health members.
We thank everyone who spoke out at the meeting, as well as all the folks who submitted written comments in advance!
Miss the meeting? You can check out the video here.
Wanna read GASP's comments to the board? Here ya go:
Good afternoon. My name is Patrick Campbell, I am the executive director of the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP), a local nonprofit working to improve local air quality since 1969.
I am here today to implore you to approve for public comment a proposal from the Allegheny County Health Department that leaders say will eliminate a $1.8 million budget deficit and help fully fund our Air Quality Program.
ACHD announced its plan to beef up Air Quality Program funding in part through increasing fees imposed upon industrial air polluters at the Air Pollution Control Advisory Committee’s regularly scheduled meeting last month.
To ACHD’s credit, Deputy Director of Environmental Health Geoff Rabinowitz did his due diligence, presenting a lengthy report about the state of the Air Quality Program’s finances complete with a detailed proposal to shore them up.
Unfortunately, the committee lacked a quorum that night and was unable to vote on the plan. It was the third straight meeting where no formal action could be taken for this reason.
That lack of quorum prompted a special meeting last week, where there was a quorum but no consensus. The 90-minute meeting ended with a 3-3-1 vote - failing in its duties to this board and Allegheny County residents by failing to make a definitive recommendation.
GASP hopes the new county administration will take a hard look at the recent absences and dysfunction on this committee and appoint members serious about showing up and putting public health first. More on that from us to come.
In the meantime, we are asking this board to approve the plan for public comment because it’s clear the committee tasked with advising you on this crucial funding is either unable or unwilling to do so.
Here’s what we know for sure: Allegheny County needs a fully funded Air Quality Program. Full stop. We think that’s something every breathing being in the county can agree about.
Is the proposal perfect? No. Do we have concerns? Absolutely. But this is all the more reason to approve it for public comment. ACHD has said it needs all the brain power it can harness to come up with an appropriate way to fund its Air Quality Program.
Air quality remains one of our most pressing public health issues, so please vote to keep the process of progress advancing.
Thank you.
Editor's Note: GASP continues to follow this issue closely and will keep you posted!