Let us put it to you this way: If Allegheny County Health Department’s revised air quality permit fee schedule that is expected to help beef up enforcement and compliance efforts was a football, it would be on the 10-yard line.
We’ve got just one more play to get that bad boy into the proverbial endzone.
The final vote on the proposed fee schedule is coming up soon, and we need to make sure that Allegheny County Council knows there is strong support from local residents, nonprofits, and other local stakeholders.
Quick background: The revised fee schedule has already been through the public comment period, where it received robust support. After that, it was shipped back over to the Allegheny County Board of Health, where it received nearly unanimous support.
Next stop is the Allegheny County Committee on Health and Human Services, which will convene Wednesday, Oct. 9 to discuss the proposal. That committee is tasked with recommending to the full council whether or not the fee schedule changes should be finally approved. When finally approved, the proposal then heads to the desk of Allegheny County Chief Executive Sara Innamorato for her signature.
Why are we telling you all this now? Because while the Committee on Health and Human Services has already been bombarded with comments from industry opposing the changes, they have not yet heard from YOU.
“We cannot let industry interests drown out the voices and very real concerns of residents who are calling for a fully funded Air Quality Program,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “We need to let Council know definitively that there is a groundswell of support for the proposal - that it’s necessary for our public health and improved local air quality.”
Our question: Will you help us get this thing into the endzone?
If your answer is a “heck yes, GASP” then please consider submitting a written comment to Allegheny County Council as a whole - and to your specific council person - to encourage them to vote YES on the proposed fee schedule changes.
The Council vote is expected at the Oct. 22 meeting, so there’s still time to send over comments showing your support.
Need a little help getting started? We got you. Please feel free to copy and paste the comments below or use them to help kickstart your own:
I am writing today to ask that council members vote YES on Allegheny County Health Department’s plan to fully fund its Air Quality Program through a revised permit fee schedule.
GASP, myriad local nonprofit groups and residents have stated our support for the proposal, which is expected to help buoy enforcement and compliance efforts crucial to ensuring our region continues to make progress on the air quality front.
As you know, the proposal was put out to public comment, where it received an overwhelming amount of support from residents, elected officials, and environmental groups. The Allegheny County Board of Health also voted nearly unanimously to approve the fee increases.
Fortunately, the reasons to vote YES on the revised fee schedule are clear.
ACHD has been delegated the authority to enforce both federal and state laws and regulations pertaining to the control of air pollution in Allegheny County and the federal Clean Air Act requires that ACHD have adequate funding and personnel to carry out that authority.
The Clean Air Act also requires that ACHD’s program for Title V facilities charge fees that are sufficient to cover the cost of administering the program.
It has become abundantly clear that the funding ACHD receives from the county and commonwealth are also insufficient to cover the cost of administering the non-Title V side of ACHD’s Air Quality Program, it is entirely appropriate that the polluting facilities that require time and resources from the Air Quality Program pay fees that cover the cost of that time and those resources.
We told members of the Board of Health and we want you to know, too: A vote to approve the revised fee schedule is a vote for clean air and a vote for an improved quality of life for residents living in front-line communities plagued by industrial pollution. A yes vote on this proposal is also a vote of confidence for the rank-and-file employees of ACHD who must be equipped with the resources they need to effectively do their jobs.
Thank you.
Comments can be emailed to Ken.Varhola@alleghenycounty.us. You can also contact your personal council representative here.
GASP has already submitted formal comments and is planning to attend the Oct. 22 meeting to speak in support of the fee schedule changes. Please save the date if you’d like to join us!
Questions? Concerns? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at amanda@gasp-pgh.org.