Clean air

===GASP sues County over misuse of Clean Air Fund===
On Monday, January 23, 2006, GASP filed suit in the Court of Common Pleas of
Allegheny County to prevent the misuse of Clean Air Fund monies which
are designated for improving air quality in Allegheny County and for
public education related to air pollution.
GASP is asking the court to preliminarily and permanently enjoin the
County from allowing the disbursement and use of $1.3 Million from the
Clean Air Fund to carry out a proposed demolition project at the former
US Steel Duquesne Works and prevent any future decisions by the Board of
Health which would permit Clean Air Funds to be used for similar projects.
Clean Air Fund monies are restricted by Allegheny County Health
Department Rules and Regulations, Article XXI, Air Pollution Control,
which states funds should be used solely, "to support activities related
to the improvement of air quality within Allegheny County and to support
activities which will increase or improve knowledge concerning air
pollution."
The Board of Health violated this restriction on November 2, 2005 when
it voted to request funds to pay for the demolition of blast furnace
stoves, and associated asbestos removal, in order to facilitate the
construction of a highway flyover near the Duquesne site. Allegheny
County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and County Manager James M. Flynn,
Jr. would also violate this restriction upon approval of the request and
disbursement of the monies.
==Links:==
* Trib
* P-G and below.
==ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP FILES SUIT TO HALT ALLEGHENY COUNTY GRANT==
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
By Anita Srikameswaran, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
An environmental activist group is suing to stop Allegheny County from
spending $1.3 million from a Health Department clean air fund for
redevelopment of a former steel mill site in Duquesne.
Tomorrow, Common Pleas Judge Judith L.A. Friedman is expected to set a
date to hear the request for a preliminary and permanent injunction,
which was filed Monday by the Group Against Smog and Pollution.
"We think it's very clear-cut when you look at the regulations that this
has been an inappropriate request from the Board of Health," said
Elizabeth Rosemeyer, GASP's outreach coordinator.
In a November meeting, county Manager Jim Flynn asked his fellow health
board members to approve a $1.3 million expenditure from the Clean Air
Fund for demolition of 15 inactive, asbestos-containing stoves on what
was a U.S. Steel plant.
That would permit the next phase of redevelopment of the site, Mr. Flynn
said at the time, and he added that the grant could be a "pilot project"
or "test case" for future Clean Air Fund disbursements for redevelopment
of brownfields.
The board unanimously approved the grant, the largest in the fund's
history, but representatives from GASP and Clean Water Action
immediately questioned the legality of the decision.
Clean Air Fund regulations say that the money is to be used for projects
like developing air pollution control technology, monitoring, education
and health studies, Ms. Rosemeyer said.
The regulations also restrict funds from being given to permitted
sources. The stoves are now inactive, but developers will need a Health
Department permit when they tear them down and remove the asbestos.
"In a way, you're paying the source to do what they are obligated to do
under the law," Ms. Rosemeyer said. Regional Industrial Development
Corp. owns the site, but the funds would be disbursed through an arm of
the county's Department of Economic Development.
The county's air pollution advisory committee unanimously opposed the
grant a few weeks later. Typically, the committee reviews and comments
on fund applications before the health board deliberates.
Mr. Luneberg said his client is asking for an injunction to stop the
county not only from disbursing funds in this case, but in any case
where the money would be spent on an economic development project.
The Clean Air Fund was established in 1980 and is made up of fines and
penalties from air pollution violators. It currently has about $7
million in it, said health department spokesman Guillermo Cole.
category:wellness