Recent high-profile events in and around southwestern Pennsylvania have demonstrated just how quickly a complex issue like air quality can become all-consuming.

And when these incidents that threaten our health and well-being happen, residents expect their local elected and municipal officials to be able to help them.

Now, Pittsburgh  nonprofit Group Against Smog and Pollution  is stepping up to help make sure that if and when air quality issues crop up locally, community leaders will have the working knowledge they need to effectively serve their constituents.

That’s why the group is hosting a virtual workshop at 3 p.m. on April 19 to help municipal and elected leaders and their staff members establish a useful air quality knowledge base and share resources and potential funding opportunities to help municipalities implement innovative environmental projects.

“The rail explosion in East Palestine was a wake-up call to many about how quickly an issue like air quality can become a major public health concern,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “What GASP hopes to do in this workshop is help local officials get a better grip on the local air quality arena, the regulations and regulators, and the resources to help make their communities more environmentally resilient.”

GASP hopes to hear from participants about how air quality relates to their own strategies and goals to ensure a safe, healthy community for their residents.

The group will touch base on a wide variety of topics, such as open burning, asbestos abatement, and air quality monitoring - all of which will be covered in more detail in a written primer provided to all participants.

The workshop is free, and participants will be entered to win a free Purple Air monitor for their community. These easy-to-use monitors are simple and reliable - the data is automatically uploaded to a publicly available real-time map on their website.

Are you an involved community member looking to share information with your local government? Feel free to join us and take the information home with you and to your local borough, city, or township meeting.

Register here to reserve your spot.

For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how to get involved, visit the Group Against Smog and Pollution website.  Click Here for more upcoming programs (bottom of the page).

NewsClips:

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: As Shell Shuts Down New Beaver County Petrochemical Plant For Repairs, And Burns Off Natural Gas In Flares, Company Says It Hasn’t Exceeded Air Emission Limits

-- Shell Petrochemical Plant Beaver County: Bad And Dangerous Start; Shell Shut Down Part Of Plant For Repairs, Beings Full Natural Gas, Flammable Gases Flaring Operations For Unknown Period

-- Beaver County Times: Expect ‘Continuous’ Flaring- Burning Off Natural Gas, Flammable Gases At Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County

-- WESA/The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: U.S. Steel Reaches Tentative Settlement Over Air Pollution Following 2018 Fire At Clairton Coke (Coal) Works Plant  [No Specifics Yet]

-- PA Capital-Star: Environmentalists, Advocates Urge Shapiro To Stay The Course On RGGI Carbon Pollution Reduction Plan

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Carbon Pollution Reduction Plan Serves Economy, Environment [RGGI]

-- Guest Essay: Protect This Place - Fracking Threatens The Allegheny Plateau And Its Biodiversity - By Lisa C. Leib, Pittsburgh

-- Public Source: Braddock, Allegheny County - Imagining Environmental Justice For A ‘Sacrifice Zone’

-- Delco Times: Covanta To Hold Public Meeting To Outline Plans To Cut Air Emissions At Waste-To-Energy Facility

Related Articles:

-- Better Path Coalition Hosts April 26 Webinar: No Miracles Needed - How Today's Technology Can Save Our Climate, Clean Our Air  [PaEN]

-- 22 Groups Express Concerns With Pennsylvania’s Carbon Storage Plans, Capacity To Regulate Injection Wells  [PaEN]

[Posted: March 28, 2023]

4/3/2023