We have blogged several times about the Allegheny County Health Department’s backlog of Title V Operating recently reviewed ACHD’s Title V permitting program and directed ACHD to develop a plan to address its backlog In a nutshell, to eliminate the backlog, ACHD has committed to adding necessary staff and publishing

Note: Big thank you to WTAE Investigative Reporter Paul Van Osdel for his story about this air quality backlog the jurisdiction of that office in May, we’ve learned one facility we included in the list of those backlogged So, based on this new information, we count: 50 major sources with backlogged permits are under review permits that have been pending for more than 18 months: Here’s a revised summary of what the permit backlogs

For the uninitiated: GASP’s legal team first sounded the alarm about a backlog of applications for new We’ve provided periodic updates about ACHD’s efforts to whittle down that backlog and even expanded our Here’s what our research uncovered and why we continue to sound the alarm over this backlog: Title V Good news for that permit backlog, right? Not so much, says GASP senior attorney John Baillie. , “In fact, the backlogs in four of DEP’s regional offices actually got worse from 2022 to 2023.”

The audit indicates that while progress has been made to eliminate the Title V permit backlog, the department

GASP was the first to raise an alarm over a permit backlog at the Allegheny County Health Department,

GASP has been tracking a backlog for new and renewed operating permits for major sources of air pollution ACHD developed a formal corrective action plan to eliminate the permitting backlog at the request of The corrective action plan submitted by the ACHD sought the elimination of the backlog within three years that my office’s previous audits were able to help the ACHD and the public identify the permitting backlog The previous audit cited understaffing in the permitting program as a primary reason for the backlog,

Right now, ACHD’s Air Quality Program is facing a permit backlog, which means that many polluting facilities Having a fully staffed program is essential to eliminating that backlog.  

noted that those funding and staffing deficiencies have contributed to ACHD’s lingering Title V permit backlog

GASP’s legal team first sounded the alarm about a backlog of applications for new or renewed Title V Since then, we’ve provided periodic updates about ACHD’s efforts to whittle down that backlog, and even include information regarding the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) permit backlog “Yes, strides have been made by the county and state level to reduce the backlog. Here’s a summary of what the permit backlogs at ACHD and DEP’s regional offices have looked like since

As part of this effort, we have been tracking a backlog for new and renewed operating permits for major To the extent that permitting backlogs exist at DEP or ACHD (which uses a fee schedule similar to DEP Here’s what the permit backlogs at ACHD and DEP’s regional offices looked like in 2018 and 2019:Agency or OfficeNumber of Major Sources 2018/2019Number of Major Sources with Backlogged or Unissued Title We updated our research on the backlogs again this year, to see whether they grew following the IRRC’