Since 2018 we’ve reported on the backlogs that exist at ACHD and DEP’s six regional offices for processing “Over the years we’re seen noticeable improvement in the size of the backlogs at ACHD and DEP’s regional For example, our investigation found the backlog of permit applications at ACHD jumped to the highest it’s been in years in terms of percentage of all major sources with backlogged applications.” About Allegheny County’s Title V Backlog… There are now 23 major sources operating in Allegheny County

Every spring, we investigate whether applications for Title V Operating Permits – which are required by the Clean Air Act for the biggest polluters - are being issued promptly by the government regulators like the Allegheny County Health Department and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and report on what we find. This year’s report is currently in the works, but there has been a development with a long-delayed permit renewal application that we wanted to let you know about right away. In the April 13, edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin, DEP published notice that it intends to renew the Title V Operating Permit for the Arden Landfill, located in Chartiers Township, Washington County. “This grabbed our attention because the initial Title V Operating Permit for the Arden Landfill expired on May 7, 2006, and has never been renewed,” GASP senior attorney John Baillie said. The landfill has continued to operate under the terms of the expired permit (yes, this is authorized by the Clean Air Act and Pennsylvania’s air quality regulations) and several plan approvals that authorized changes to its operations since. “The renewed Title V Operating Permit will at long last consolidate all applicable requirements from those plan approvals and federal and state law into one document, which should make it easier to DEP to enforce those requirements and for interested citizens to check on the landfill’s compliance with them,” Baillie explained. Our review of the Arden Landfill’s draft Title V Operating Permit is ongoing, but you can see DEP’s draft permit and review memorandum here and here. Editor’s Note: If you have comments regarding the draft permit, DEP will accept them by U.S. Mail through Monday, May 13, addressed to: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Southwest Regional Office 400 Waterfront Drive Pittsburgh, PA  15222 Attn:  Noor Nahar, Air Quality Engineer

Additionally, it is expected to help resolve other long-standing issues like ACHD’s air quality permit backlog

GASP’s legal team first sounded the alarm about a backlog of applications for new or renewed Title V Since then, we’ve provided periodic updates about ACHD’s efforts to whittle down that backlog, and even watchdog work to include information regarding the state Department of Environmental Protection’s permit backlog investigation found that while strides have been made at both the county and state level to reduce the backlog We updated our research on the backlogs again this year. 

We have blogged several times about the Allegheny County Health Department’s backlog of Title V Operating recently reviewed ACHD’s Title V permitting program and directed ACHD to develop a plan to address its backlog In a nutshell, to eliminate the backlog, ACHD has committed to adding necessary staff and publishing

Note: Big thank you to WTAE Investigative Reporter Paul Van Osdel for his story about this air quality backlog the jurisdiction of that office in May, we’ve learned one facility we included in the list of those backlogged So, based on this new information, we count: 50 major sources with backlogged permits are under review permits that have been pending for more than 18 months: Here’s a revised summary of what the permit backlogs

For the uninitiated: GASP’s legal team first sounded the alarm about a backlog of applications for new We’ve provided periodic updates about ACHD’s efforts to whittle down that backlog and even expanded our Here’s what our research uncovered and why we continue to sound the alarm over this backlog: Title V Good news for that permit backlog, right? Not so much, says GASP senior attorney John Baillie. , “In fact, the backlogs in four of DEP’s regional offices actually got worse from 2022 to 2023.”

The audit indicates that while progress has been made to eliminate the Title V permit backlog, the department

GASP has been tracking a backlog for new and renewed operating permits for major sources of air pollution ACHD developed a formal corrective action plan to eliminate the permitting backlog at the request of The corrective action plan submitted by the ACHD sought the elimination of the backlog within three years that my office’s previous audits were able to help the ACHD and the public identify the permitting backlog The previous audit cited understaffing in the permitting program as a primary reason for the backlog,

GASP’s legal team first sounded the alarm about a backlog of applications for new or renewed Title V Since then, we’ve provided periodic updates about ACHD’s efforts to whittle down that backlog, and even include information regarding the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) permit backlog “Yes, strides have been made by the county and state level to reduce the backlog. Here’s a summary of what the permit backlogs at ACHD and DEP’s regional offices have looked like since