Tell County Council: Do Your Job & Pass Air Quality Permit Fee Increases

Allegheny County, your voice matters. For months, you've turned out, you've spoken up, and you've made your concerns clear: We need better air quality, and we need to provide Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) with the resources it needs to deliver it.

Putting ACHD's proposed permit fee increase on the agenda for a discussion and a decisive YES vote is now or never.

To be clear: The increased fees aren’t about punishment; they are about proper funding. The proposed fee changes are not arbitrary or punitive. They are administrative adjustments, designed to cover the actual costs incurred by ACHD when providing essential professional services to companies seeking permits to do business here in Allegheny County.

The Clean Air Act is crystal clear: Allegheny County Health Department must have the resources and personnel to effectively manage these critical services and issue thorough, effective permits. That means charging fees that actually cover the cost of administering the program. It's a fundamental requirement for a healthy community.

So why the hold-up? This proposal moved efficiently through all the proper channels—until it reached County Council. Despite repeated pleas, we still have no clear explanation for the opposition or delay.

Please join us in demanding action from council. Call or send a message to your county council rep today and implore them to vote YES on the permit fee schedule changes.

As a reminder, we need 10 county council members to vote yes for this thing to pass. Right now, it is out understanding that these three members are on the fence and could use some more encouragement from us all to vote YES:

• President Pat Catena

• Robert Palmosina and

• Jordan Botta (newly appointed to replace outgoing councilman David Bonorati.

We hope you can make it to the next Allegheny County Council meeting, which could happen as soon as June 3! Let's make sure our voices are heard loud and clear. Demand that the permit fee changes be put on the agenda for a discussion and a YES vote.