Recently Allegheny County Executive Director Dan Onorato suggested shifting the administration of the county Air Quality Program to the state DEP in Harrisburg. Environmentalists opposed this suggestion, and it was set aside, but questions still linger about the lowering of air quality standards for the county.

Against this background, on May 1 the American Lung Association issued its national 2008 State of the Air report. Topping the list of cities for short-term particle pollution was Pittsburgh. Below is the press release issued by GASP and Clean Water Action on May 1. It describes the importance of the ALA report, and offers steps for improving air quality and therefore citizen’s health in Allegheny County. Of special concern is the poor quality of air in the Mon Valley.

Pittsburgh #1 Worst Air Ranking Shows Need for Action, Groups State

Today the American Lung Association’s 2008 State of the Air report ranked the “Pittsburgh – New Castle” metropolitan statistical area and Allegheny County worst for short-term particle pollution. The data on air quality throughout the United States were obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality System. Allegheny County’s monitoring data is submitted into this system. They analyzed monitoring data recorded during the three-year monitoring period of 2004 – 2006.

“This report is a serious call to action for our region, underscoring the necessity for aggressive clean up of stationary and mobile sources which are contributing to our fine particulate problem,” said Rachel Filippini, Executive Director of GASP. Fine particulates include both solid particles and liquid droplets that commonly result from combustion activities and chemical reactions taking place in the air.

Burning fossil fuels in factories, power plants, coke-making facilities, steel mills, smelters, diesel- and gasoline-powered motor vehicles and equipment are all sources of fine particulates. Fine particulates have been linked to such health problems as asthma attacks and possible asthma onset, coughing and difficulty breathing, chronic bronchitis, decreased lung function, heart attacks, stroke, cancer, and premature death. Children, the elderly and people with existing respiratory or cardiovascular ailments are especially sensitive to particulate matter.

Clean air advocates, Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) and Clean Water Action, recognize that efforts by the local Air Quality Program and some industry are being made to improve air quality, but they say more must done now to reduce the levels of dangerous air pollutants. “The benefits from the proposed upgrades to the Clairton Coke Works will take years to see, immediate steps to improve air quality, such as the retrofitting of diesel vehicles, must happen now,” said Kathy Lawson, Clean Water Action’s Western PA Director.

This report highlights the urgency that clean-up is critically needed in the Mon-Valley, which has the highest fine particulate readings in Allegheny County. “The plan to clean-up the Liberty/Clairton area is already behind schedule, it is imperative that we complete that plan quickly and not allow for any further delays in reaching attainment of the standards,” declared Rachel Filippini, Executive Director of GASP.

GASP and Clean Water Action point out that while the #1 ranking is primarily driven by the fine particle monitor located in Liberty Boro, downwind of U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works, as well as other industry, that the rest of the region is hardly enjoying pristine, healthy air quality. And the group highlights that the poor air quality in the Liberty/Clairton area affects a population of about 25,000.

According to the American Lung Association, even if they took out the Liberty monitor data, Pittsburgh would still be on the Top 25 list for short-term (daily) fine-particle pollution.

Further, some critics say that ALA’s numbers aren’t accurate because they only look at the worst monitoring data, however other analyses show that Pittsburgh’s average fine particulate levels still rank among the highest when compared to other cities. For instance look at Pittsburgh Today’s PM2.5 Air Quality Indicators.

Clean Water Action and GASP recommend the following actions:

• The Allegheny County Health Department’s (ACHD) Air Quality Program should continue to aggressively work on the Liberty/Clairton State Implementation Plan (SIP), which is now overdue, a plan that details that region’s strategy for reaching attainment of the fine particulate standard. In order to adequately carry out this activity the Air Quality Program should be staffed properly.
• The SIP should meet required deadlines and not further delay clean-up. All major local industries that emit significant quantities of fine particulates should commit to reductions needed to protect Mon Valley residents.
• Citizens should learn about and comment on the draft permits for battery projects that will take place at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works.
• The ACHD, County, and City officials should develop plans to retrofit and/or replace older, polluting diesel vehicles with advanced diesel emission reduction technology.
• School bus owners in Allegheny County should take advantage of available funding to retrofit older school buses.
• Citizens should not idle their personal vehicles and should report any excessive idling of diesel vehicles to the Allegheny County Health Department (412-687-2243) or their municipal police.
• Violations of the Continuous Opacity Monitoring regulation should be strictly enforced by the county.
• Citizens should refrain from the unnecessary use of wood stoves, and make sure their stoves meet EPA standards.

Created in 1923 from what was then known as the “Allegheny brush patch”, the 513,325 acres of Allegheny National Forest is a regional and national asset that is under constant attack. With rising oil and gas prices, there is a sharp increase in oil and gas extraction on the forest, even threatening areas with potential for wilderness protection. But an older and persistent threat is that of logging.

For several years the grassroots Allegheny Defense Project has kept watch over the US Forest Service’s timber management on the Allegheny NF, sometimes having to resort to legal action. On April 24 they won a big administrative victory, as described below in their press release.

Agency withdraws South Branch Kinzua Creek Logging Project decision for failure to comply with new Allegheny Forest Plan

The U.S. Forest Service has withdrawn its decision to approve over 1,700 acres of logging in the South Branch Kinzua Creek watershed in the Allegheny National Forest a few miles north of Kane. The Allegheny Defense Project filed an administrative appeal of the Forest Service’s timber sale approval on March 24, 2008. According to ADP, the timber sale was not in compliance with the Forest Service Chief’s decision regarding the recently revised forest management plan for the Allegheny. The Forest Service approved the South Branch Kinzua Creek timber sale on February 7, 2008. The following week, the Forest Service Chief in Washington rescinded portions of the forest plan that the Allegheny Forest Service relied on to approve the timber sale.

The Forest Service Chief’s decision on the forest plan stated that the Allegheny Forest Service failed to consider the cumulative effects of oil and gas development on local and regional air quality. The Forest Service Chief instructed the Allegheny Forest Service to revisit its analysis on this point and give the public further opportunity to comment on standards and guidelines for regulating private oil and gas drilling operations, which have dramatically increased in Pennsylvania’s only national forest in recent years.

“The South Branch Kinzua Creek timber sale was prepared and published under the direction of the revised forest plan and it suffers from the same deficiencies that the Chief’s Office found with that plan regarding the cumulative effects of oil and gas development,” said Ryan Talbott, Forest Watch Coordinator for the Allegheny Defense Project. “The Allegheny Forest Service completely ignored the cumulative effects of oil and gas drilling in conjunction with its clearcut logging proposals.”

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission designates South Branch Kinzua Creek as a wilderness trout stream. According to the Fish and Boat Commission, wilderness trout stream management “is based upon the provision of a wild trout fishing experience in a remote, natural and unspoiled environment where man’s disruptive activities are minimized.” The ADP claims that the Forest Service timber sale violated the spirit and intent of the wilderness trout stream designation.

“The Forest Service must protect the surface and water resources of the Allegheny National Forest for future generations,” said Bill Belitskus, ADP board president. “Proposing a massive timber sale in one of the Allegheny’s only wilderness trout stream watersheds without considering the cumulative impacts of expanding oil and gas drilling in the area violated the Chief’s forest plan decision and federal law. It is time the Forest Service returns to its original of managing national forests as watersheds, not tree farms for the timber industry.”

What’s your story about the natural world? Do you have a favorite fishing hole or bird watching spot? Was there a moment that inspired a love of nature? The Allegheny Front, environmental radio for Western Pennsylvania, would love to hear what connects you to our region, as part of its Pittsburgh Environmental Oral History Project to celebrate the region’s 250th anniversary.

The Allegheny Front is looking for participation from community groups, conservation organizations, churches and senior centers. The Allegheny Front’s staff will attend community events to record oral histories. Stories don’t need to be long and the staff will help participants to sound great.

Environmental oral histories will be collected from people in the 14-county region in 2008 and broadcast throughout the year on The Allegheny Front’s weekly program. Oral histories will be archived on The Allegheny Front’s website.

To sign up for the oral history project or request The Allegheny Front’s attendance at a community event, e-mail Kathy Knauer at Kathy at alleghenyfront dot org.

This project is supported by Pittsburgh 250 Community Connections and The Sprout Fund.

With April bringing drier weather conditions and warming temperatures, the folks with the Wampum Chapter of the North Country Trail Association have been trekking out for another season of trail work.

The Chapter’s trail range starts at McConnell’s Mill State Park at The Lawrence/Butler County line and runs southwest through Wampum to the Pennsylvania/Ohio State line near Negley, Ohio. The Chapter currently maintains approximately 20 miles of off-road trail with another 25 miles either under construction or in the planning and negotiating stages.

We are always welcoming volunteers who are interested in helping with maintaining current sections of the North Country Trail and helping to build the new sections the Chapter is working on. Current projects involve new trail construction on PA Gamelands 285 and the addition of a new vista spur trail over top of the Wampum Mines. We have maintaining opportunities all along the Chapter’s trail range, and although the money is lousy (there is none), the sense of satisfaction derived from keeping the trail in good shape for hikers and backpackers is immense.

For more information about the North Country Trail in the Wampum, PA area, check out the Chapter website. You can also take a look at some trail and trail work photos.

We can add you to our trail work email notification list to let you know when and where we’ll be heading out to work on projects - our email address is nctawampum at yahoo dot com. We’re also available to answer any questions you might have about adopting a section of the trail.

Hope to see you on the (North Country) trail!
Dave Brewer
Co Trail Work Coordinator
Wampum Chapter/NCTA