Chief Pomaj-Chakmam-Yajalaji, chief of medicine, land stewardship and management of the Iroquois Confederacy of Aborigine American People, and a member of the Allegheny County Climate Action Committee, speaks to county council about the county’s climate plan, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2024, at the Allegheny County Courthouse in Downtown. She urged the county to work with all people, including the region’s indigenous people, in the development of the Climate Action Plan. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
County council held a public hearing to gather community input on its developing climate action plan, following allegations of a rushed process. Advocates maintain their voices must be heard.
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Advocates weighing in on a proposed Climate Action Plan for Allegheny County say more community input is needed to ensure it meets the needs of those most vulnerable to climate change.
County Council held a public hearing September 18 to allow stakeholders and the public to comment on the formulation of such a plan, known as a CAP. Several speakers warned of the threats climate change poses to local communities.
Matt Mehalik, executive director of the Breathe Project, speaks on the impact of air pollution on area residents.
Allegheny County councillors Robert Palmosina, Anita Prizio, John Palmiere and Bob Macey listen to public comment.
Melanie Meade, of Clairton, urges the importance of climate and environmental education for youth in her city. (Photos by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
Matt Mehalik, executive director of the Breathe Project, said residents will be subjected to more frequent flooding and illnesses that come with aging infrastructure if climate change is not addressed.
“Without a climate action plan that includes the most vulnerable people, everyone in Allegheny County will be at risk,” Mehalik said. “We need a plan that does more than count up emissions.”
The developing plan, first ordered by council ordinance introduced in May 2023, was given an extended deadline of July 1, 2025 after the county missed the original draft deadline in July. At the time, advocates criticized county officials for authorizing a bidding process that, they said, favored big corporations with questionable climate credentials. Now, advocates continue calling for increased community engagement and partnership during the plan’s creation and implementation.
For Helen Gerhardt, a member of the steering committee for the Climate Action Plan Justice Coalition, participation from multiple advocacy groups would ensure the CAP truly reflects the community’s needs.
“There needs to be a special focus on environmental justice [for] communities that bear the highest impacts of climate change [and for] groups that have experienced systemic discrimination, including environmental racism,” Gerhardt said.
Several council members expressed support for the calls to prioritize marginalized communities during the Sept. 18 hearing. Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis, a Democrat representing multiple Mon Valley communities, applauded the advocates who spoke at Wednesday’s hearing.
Gerhardt also suggested that the county CAP draw on plans adopted by Erie County, New York, and the City of Pittsburgh.
New York’s Erie County introduced an updated CAP last year as part of a broader community plan emphasizing climate equity and justice through efforts to protect farmland and create green jobs. The county also has goals of decarbonizing commercial energy by implementing more efficient energy codes with aims of moving toward net zero carbon emission buildings.
While Pittsburgh’s CAP emphasizes reducing emissions and energy efficiency, Gerhardt hopes the county’s version will have a stronger focus on environmental justice at every level.
Photos from top: Helen Gerhardt, an organizer and National Guard veteran, comments on Allegheny County’s Climate Action Plan. Sara Tang, who grew up in the pollution of the Mon Valley, listens to public comment.
Though council’s original ordinance called for a draft plan within a year, and the extension requires one by July, Gerhardt stressed that the process should not be rushed.
“One thing that really is important to remember is that the Erie County Climate Action Plan took three years,” Gerhardt said. “We understand that a year is a really short period of time to do a truly inclusive process.”
The county administration in June issued a request for proposals for CAP support services, and later indicated that 10 companies submitted applications. While the county has not selected a consultant to lead the process, full proposals from a shortlist of qualified firms was due today, according to Brittany Prischak, director of sustainability.
The county has since partnered with the University of Pittsburgh Law Clinic to help start the process of reviewing existing county and community plans, according to Prischak.
“The goal of this process is to align the county’s strategies and goals with ones already recognized or taking place in our communities,” Prischak said.
Prischak also spoke about the CAP’s goals and initiatives.
“The plan will address county facilities and operations, county policies and services, county authorities, municipalities, businesses and residents,” she told those at the hearing. “It will also explore strategies of mitigation and resiliency related to agriculture, energy, transportation, built environment, industry, forests and parklands, public health, water and waste.”
Advocates and stakeholders urge the council to hire a consultant without ties to the fossil fuel industry and to form a CAP community task force. Several advocates said particular attention should be given to residents of the Mon Valley, which houses a heavy concentration of industrial polluters.
“This is not a time for timid steps. It’s time for deliberate movement” Qiyam Ansari, president of Valley Clean Air Now, said in his statement at the hearing. “The future is not waiting for us. It is rushing towards us, and if the council cannot see this then we must show them.”
Amber Frantz is an editorial intern at PublicSource and can be reached at amber@publicsource.org.
This article first appeared on PublicSource and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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