Howard M. Rieger: Are Allegheny County elected officials abandoning us?

Ten months ago, the Allegheny County Board of Health proposed a fee increase for processing Title 5 operating permits for polluters, the most significant of which is U.S. Steel.

Because of staffing vacancies, the Board of Health has an extensive backlog in processing such permits. Over the years, the Environmental Protection Agency has cited them for their failure to act in a timely manner. Even when permits are completed, some of them have been rejected by EPA because of errors.

The fee increase would provide $1.8 million, paid by the industries that are causing disease and even death for too many of our friends and neighbors. These funds would then enable the Health Department to hire additional staff needed to meet their enforcement responsibilities.

Allegheny County Council has not been able to muster the votes needed for passage of this commonsense recommendation. Some council members cite the increase from $8,000 to $55,000 that U.S. Steel would have to pay as unacceptable. For a company that had 2024 revenue totaling $15.64 billion, and that operates the Mon Valley Works, an integrated system of three facilities, their tab would total only $165,000, hardly an excessive burden in light of their revenues.

Why has this vote been delayed for 10 months? Is it because U.S. Steel would prefer a Board of Health that is less able to impose better oversight of a company that regularly violates existing air quality standards?

As the saying goes, “Hindsight is 20/20.” It’s clear now that this is just the latest example of failed leadership, unwilling to address the huge health problems that have dragged this region down for far too long.

We have heard informal feedback from a resident who spoke to an elected official who said that there was no room in the county budget to allocate $1.8 million. Nonsense. That representative must have known that the proposed increase is to be paid by the polluters and not by the taxpayers.

Another official was alleged to have said that the proposed increase came as a complete surprise, even though there is documentation that information was shared, including a July 18, 2024, notice for public comment that ran in the media.

Isn’t it ironic that at the same time we are talking about how small dollars can make a big difference, we are soon to witness the ribbon-cutting at a new terminal at Greater Pittsburgh International Airport that will cost $1.7 billion. That project sailed through in a city and county whose population since 1950 has declined by 50%.

As evidence of how far our region has fallen in relevance, the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Social and Urban Research conducted a detailed analysis of the growth of Pittsburgh between 2023 and 2024, the largest gain in recent years, of less than 1%.

Our population loss isn’t due to a convoluted luggage conveyor or the added cost of a people mover from the landside to the airside terminal in a 33-year-old airport. Our population decline is due to the lack of visionary elected leadership who could galvanize civic, academic, health care and high-tech assets to lead us to economic and demographic growth, but fail to do so.

The first order of business must be for Allegheny County Council to take action to abate the air pollution that makes Pittsburgh one of the 1% worst places to live for cancer, lung and heart disease related to air pollution, thus removing one of the most significant barriers to our future growth.

Howard M. Rieger is convener of Southwestern Pennsylvania Grassroots Town Halls.