Advocates call on Allegheny County leaders to do more in fight for clean air

Clean air advocates gathered in Downtown Pittsburgh Wednesday afternoon to push for more action against major industrial polluters in the region.

The rally followed a string of poor air quality days in the region.

“Everyone deserves to be able to breathe clear air every day of the year,” said Zachary Barber, a clean air advocate with Penn Environment. “Yet, sadly, as the last few weeks have shown, Allegheny residents are all too often exposed to unhealthy levels of particulate matter pollution, air toxins and ozone … just by breathing.”

Barber and other advocates applauded recent steps taken by the Allegheny County Health Department but said more must be done.

The department in March levied a historic $4.5 million fine against U.S. Steel for alleged violations at the Clairton Coke Works over more than two years. That fine came against three weeks after an $800,000 penalty against the company for pollution control and permit violations and a $1.8 million fine for hydrogen sulfide emission violations.

Barber said the health department must build on those recent steps.

“We need to see bigger, stronger penalties for pollution to make sure that it isn’t economically profitable to pollute,” he said, noting that facilities needs to be made to comply with the Clean Air Act.

“If you’ve ever gotten your car inspected and you’re failing state standards they don’t go, ‘Oh well, keep driving it,’ right?” he said. “In order to get your car recertified, you have to meet the standards. It’s not right that these industrial polluters are not held to that same standard.”

Last month, the American Lung Association ranked the 12-county Pittsburgh metropolitan area among the worst metros when it comes to air quality, ranking it the 14^th worst in the country in terms of year-round particle pollution. The county received a failing grade related to both ozone and fine particle pollution.

The report took into account data from 2018 through 2020 and is based on the number of air quality days that are in the “unhealthy” range as defined by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index.

Despite the poor rankings and failing grades, the air quality in the region improved for the third straight year, officials said. The ranking of 14^th is an improvement over last year when the county had the ninth-worst fine particle pollution.

“Dr. Bogen believes that everyone has a right to clean air,” health department spokesman Chris Togneri said following the meeting, referring to Dr. Debra Bogen, the county health department director. “Under her leadership, air quality has been and will continue to be a primary focus of the health department’s Air Quality Program.”

He pointed to changes made since Bogen took over the department in 2020, including the expansion of the air quality enforcement staff and the hefty fines leveled for emissions violations.

Advocates went from the City-County Building steps to the Allegheny County Courthouse, where the county board of health was meeting. Several spoke during public comment, calling on the board to do more to hold polluters accountable.