The Community Benefit Trust board will meet at 7 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Lincoln Borough Municipal Building.

For the uninitiated: The 2019 settlement agreement between the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) and U.S. Steel in the wake of the Christmas Eve 2018 fire that knocked out pollution control equipment and fouled local air for weeks included, among other things, the creation of a community benefit trust. 

The communities that will benefit from the trust include Clairton, Glassport, Liberty, Lincoln, and Port Vue.

The U.S. Steel Community Benefit Trust will be governed by a board composed of one resident from each of the five communities “chosen by the respective adjacent communities in whatever manner they choose.”

The purpose of these meetings is to consider and approve projects for funding. To be considered, a project must be “anticipated to improve, protect, or reduce the risk to public health or the environment” and submitted to the board at least 30 days before a meeting. The money can go toward physical infrastructure improvements such as the construction of a playground or the renovation of green space. Projects that foster the “creation or expansion of programs that are aimed at directly improving the well-being of residents” will also be considered.

Here's how the meeting is described:

The details regarding the meeting will be available on your community’s website a week before the meeting or by calling your municipal office.  The meeting will be for considering and approving projects consistent with the Trust purposes that are proposed to be funded by the Trust. The City of Clairton, Borough of Glassport, Borough of Liberty, Borough of Lincoln and the Borough of Port Vue will be responsible for determining which projects will be submitted to the Trust board for consideration. The above-listed communities must submit their applications for consideration to the trust no later than 30 days before the public meeting.

Editor's Note: A call-in or virtual option may be available. Call any of the community trust community municipal offices for more information.