Clean Air Council Threatens to Sue EPA for Failure to Hold Allegheny County Health Department Accountable for Deficiency in Air Permitting Program

(PHILADELPHIA – March 5, 2018) Today, Clean Air Council sent United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt a notice of the Council’s intent to sue the EPA for its unreasonable delay in responding to a petition by the Council. The petition requested that the EPA publish a notice of deficiency for the Allegheny County Health Department’s Title V operating permit program.  The Council intends to file a lawsuit against the EPA if it does not respond to the petition within 180 days. The notice is a requirement for filing a lawsuit in federal court.

The petition filed by the Council on October 20, 2016 was based on the Department’s longstanding backlog in processing Title V permit applications.  There are approximately 32 major sources within Allegheny County, which encompasses Pittsburgh and surrounding areas. For the majority of these facilities, the Department has failed to comply with a statutory requirement to process applications within 18 months, either currently or in the past.  

The purpose of a Title V permit is to memorialize all the legal and technical requirements that apply to a major source under the Clean Air Act.  The permit allows all interested parties — federal and state agencies, business and industry, environmental groups, and affected communities — to know the requirements that apply or do not apply to a major source.  In addition, the Title V program requires that a permit be renewed every five years, which requires a period for public comment and a public hearing.

“The county’s longstanding backlog has the result of either undermining or eviscerating the public participation requirements of the Clean Air Act,” said Christopher Ahlers, a Staff Attorney with Clean Air Council.  

“The Department’s systemic delays indicate that it is failing to ensure that the public is sufficiently involved in protecting themselves and their communities from air pollution, and failing to ensure that some of the largest and most dangerous sources of air pollution in Pennsylvania are operating in compliance with air quality laws and regulations,” said Joseph Otis Minott, Executive Director and Chief Counsel, Clean Air Council.

About Clean Air Council

Clean Air Council is Pennsylvania’s oldest member-supported environmental nonprofit, fighting for everyone’s right to breathe clean air since 1967. Through research, public education and advocacy, the Council empowers citizens to fight for policies and practices that create healthier communities and a healthier environment. For more information about Clean Air Council, visit www.cleanair.org.