Allegheny County Council voted Tuesday to hike a range of fees levied on industrial polluters in a bid to steady its underfunded Air Quality Program.
The increases were approved by Allegheny County’s Board of Health in September 2024. County representatives said this will help alleviate longstanding budgetary issues at the Health Department’s Air Quality Program, and support its depleted roster.
The new fee schedule includes increases at every level with the largest hike affecting “major sources,” such as the coke and steel plants operated by U.S. Steel. Each of those facilities will face a nearly sixfold increase in annual maintenance fees, from $8,000 to $55,000 each year. Those largest emitters will also now pay $20,000 to renew their operating permits, up from $4,000.
The legislation passed with 13 votes and no dissent. Two councilors were absent.
Councilor Paul Klein, chair of the health and human services subcommittee, said he’s glad the vote was approved with bipartisan support.
“I regret the amount of time it took to get through,” Klein said.
He said council may turn its focus on increasing penalty fines for polluters in the future.
U.S. Steel did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. EPA in 2018 found that the county’s fee structure “is not situated to adapt to future circumstances and could possibly undermine long-term program sustainability.”
County Executive Sara Innamorato supports the measure, her office said.
“This legislation allows the county to fund the Health Department’s Air Quality Program, better enforce standards, and lessen permit processing times,” wrote Communications Director Abigail Gardner to Public Source, noting that the fees have not increased since 2021.
Gardner thanked council for supporting the measure, and said that the fee increase will allow the Health Department to “maintain adequate staffing, which is crucial for maintaining the health and safety of Allegheny County residents.”
Some advocates hope more funding will enable the Health Department (ACHD) to better support frontline communities.“With additional funding support, the ACHD might finally be able to offer community-based asthma diagnosis and management services to Allegheny County children hit hardest by poor air quality, distribute access to at-home air monitors and air purification systems to those living closest to fossil fuel facilities, and relieve some of the burdens of climate change on fenceline communities,” said the Breathe Project in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
Some residents of Clairton, host to US Steel’s Coke Works, rode to the meeting to support the fee hike in a bus trip coordinated by advocacy group 412Justice.
One rider, Pamela Lee, reviewed the speech she had prepared during the journey. Closing the folder, she said: “I’m hoping more than ever today that they raise these fees, because of everything our communities have been through.”
“I’ve lived this all my life,” added Lee, who moved to Clairton six years ago after raising two children in Braddock, which hosts U.S. Steel’s sister blast furnace. “I felt the need for help as soon as I moved to Clairton. I felt like someone should’ve handed me an air filter and said: Welcome to Clairton.”
Other advocates voiced their support during a lengthy public comment period, in which council members pledged to support the hike and encouraged speakers to keep their remarks lean.
NaTisha Washington, an environmental advocate and member of Wilkinsburg Borough Council, said she supported the bill on behalf of Black women who are disproportionately affected by public health concerns such as air pollution.
She turned to the crowd and asked everyone to take a deep breath to enjoy the clean air.
“Didn’t that feel good?” she asked.
Braddock resident Natalie Morris said she grew up with asthma and has been on an oxygen tank since the early 2000s. Air pollution, she said, is her “worst enemy.”
“It was hard for me to breathe the fresh air that wasn’t there anymore,” she told the council.
Quinn Glabicki is the environment and climate reporter at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. He can be reached at quinn@publicsource.org and on Instagram @quinnglabicki.
Ember Duke is an editorial intern at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at ember@publicsource.org.
MOST READ STORIES
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
