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Air quality

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"It's the best it's been in the lifetime for virtually every resident in this county...We've seen a steady decrease in pollution levels over the past decade and certainly over the past 20, 30, 40, 50 years or more."

Guillermo Cole

In a 2013 ranking of 277 metropolitan areas in the United States, the American Lung Association (ALA) ranked only six U.S. metro areas as having higher amounts of short-term particle pollution, and only seven U.S. metro areas having higher amounts of year-round particle pollution than Pittsburgh. For ozone (smog) pollution, Pittsburgh was ranked 24th among U.S. metro areas.[1][2] The area has improved its air quality with every annual survey. The ALA's rankings have been disputed by the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD), since data from only the worst of the region's 20 air quality monitors is considered by the ALA, without any context or averaging. The lone monitor used is located immediately downwind and adjacent to U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works, the nation's largest coke mill, and several municipalities outside the city's jurisdiction of pollution controls, leading to possible confusion that Pittsburgh itself is the source or center of the emissions cited in the survey.[3] The region's readings also reflect pollution swept in from Ohio and West Virginia, though both are outside the jurisdictional powers of local leadership.[4]

Although the county was still below the "pass" threshold, the report showed substantial improvement over previous decades on every air quality measure. Fewer than 15 high ozone days were reported between 2007 and 2009, and just 10 between 2008 and 2010, compared to more than 40 between 1997 and 1999.[5] ACHD spokesman Guillermo Cole stated that "It's the best it's been in the lifetime for virtually every resident in this county...We've seen a steady decrease in pollution levels over the past decade and certainly over the past 20, 30, 40, 50 years, or more."[6]

In the summer of 2017, a crowd sourced air quality monitoring application, Smell PGH, was made and is still used today. As air quality is still a concern of many in the area, this app allows for users to report odd smells and informs local authorities.[7][8]

The city contains 31,000 trees on 900 miles of streets, by the last count conducted in 2005. A 2011 analysis of Pittsburgh's total tree cover, which involved sampling more than 200 small plots throughout the city, showed a value of between $10 and $13 million in annual benefits based on the urban forest contributions to aesthetics, energy use and air quality. Energy savings from shade, impact on city air and water quality, and the boost in property values were taken into account in the analysis. The city spends $850,000 annually on street tree planting and maintenance.[9]

Water quality

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ALCOSAN wastewater treatment plant

The local rivers continue to have pollution levels exceeding EPA limits.[10] This is caused by frequently overflowing untreated sewage into local waterways, due to flood conditions and antiquated infrastructure. Pittsburgh has a combined sewer system, where its sewage pipes contain both stormwater and wastewater. The pipes were constructed in the early 1900s, and the sewage treatment plant was built in 1959.[11] Due to insufficient improvements over time, the city is faced with public health concerns regarding its water.[12] As little as a tenth of an inch of rain causes runoffs from the sewage system to drain into local rivers.[13] Nine billion gallons of untreated waste and stormwater flow into rivers, leading to health hazards and Clean Water Act violations.[14] The local sewage authority, Allegheny County Sanitary Authority or ALCOSAN, is operating under Consent Decree from the EPA to come up with solutions.[15] In 2017, ALCOSAN proposed a $2 billion upgrade to the system which is moving closer to EPA approval.[16]

The Pittsburgh Sewer and Water Authority (PWSA) is the city's agency required to replace pipes and charge water rates. They have come under fire from both city and state authorities due to alleged mismanagement.[17] In 2017, Mayor William Peduto advocated for a restructuring of the PWSA and a partially privatized water authority.[18] Governor Wolf subsequently assigned the PWSA to be under the oversight of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).[19]



Draft Changes Pittsburgh has a combined sewer system, where its pipes contain both stormwater and sewage water. Unfortunately, the infrastructure is aging and requires upgrades. As little as a tenth of an inch of rain causes runoffs from the sewage system and into local rivers.[20] The local sewage authority, ALCOSAN, is operating under Consent Decree from the EPA to come up with solutions. In 2017, ALCOSAN proposed a $2 billion upgrade to the system which is moving closer to being approved.[21]


Article Selection

I will be working on the Pittsburgh site and focusing on their environmental policies. One item that is lacking is a discussion on water quality in the city. Water is a focus here and issues have risen due to the combined sewer system. Local sewage authorities have identified necessities for upgrades ranging from 2-3 billion dollars. The Mayor has been proactive on environmental issues and I could update the page to reflect some of his initiatives.

One thought is to separate the water quality section from the air quality section. This could help organize ideas and make this easier to examine.

Attached are articles discussing water quality here: [22] [23]

Additionally, I have articles from a cities, technology and environment class that has several related readings on the water quality topic.


Potential Articles

This is a WikiProject on the city of Pittsburgh. While this is a comprehensive page I believe there is room for improvement in their water and air quality section. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Pennsylvania

This article is on the Superfund page. There are 4 separate WikiProjects that reveal several areas of improvement. The talk page requests help and I could do research to keep the page up to date. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Superfund

This article is on carbon tax. I thought it may classify as controversial but I was happy to see that it wasn't designated that way. This had an interesting WikiProject labeled taxation and it is high-importance. It would be exciting to contribute to an environmental sense. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Carbon_tax

Article Evaluation

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Pebble Mine - There seemed to be a lot of info on geology, which did not always seem relevant. - Minimal section on human populations, should discuss more on Tribal populations - Could add current EPA actions, Administrator Pruitt has made recent arguments to preserve the fishery and ban the mine - Article does well to remain neutral as it gives equal view to both the positive and negative viewpoints of the mine - Summary of article needs updating, stops at 2013 decision Mdrogotzke (talk) 21:20, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

  1. ^ American Lung Association State of the Air 2013 – Most Polluted Cities. Stateoftheair.org. Retrieved on July 17, 2013.
  2. ^ "Report: Pittsburgh's air quality improving, but still among most polluted", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Post-gazette.com (April 24, 2013). Retrieved on July 17, 2013.
  3. ^ Heinrichs, Allison. "Region passes L.A. on pollution list". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved August 10, 2008.
  4. ^ "8 Northeast states sue over pollution". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  5. ^ "Allegheny County and Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA". State of the Air 2011. American Lung Association. 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  6. ^ "Pittsburgh Air Quality No Longer Worst In U.S." WPXI. April 28, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "SmellPgh.org". Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  8. ^ "Tech Crunch on SmellPGH". Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  9. ^ "Tree on the Corner May Be Worth More Than Your House", Next City, Nextcity.org (February 18, 2013). Retrieved on July 17, 2013.
  10. ^ "Pitt Chronicle". Chronicle.pitt.edu. Archived from the original on June 26, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  11. ^ History. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2018, from http://www.3riverswetweather.org/about-wet-weather-issue/understanding-sewer-collection-system/history
  12. ^ "Peduto forges ahead to restructure PWSA leadership". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  13. ^ About the Wet Weather Issue. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2018, from http://www.3riverswetweather.org/about-wet-weather-issue
  14. ^ "Raw sewage flows into Pittsburgh's rivers. Is there an environmentally friendly fix that won't break the bank?". PublicSource. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  15. ^ Krauss, M. J. (2018, January 30). ALCOSAN More Than Doubling Wastewater Treatment Plant To Diminish Sewage Overlows. Retrieved April 19, 2018, from http://wesa.fm/post/alcosan-more-doubling-wastewater-treatment-plant-diminish-sewage-overlows#stream/0
  16. ^ EPA, Alcosan near agreement on sewage-control plan. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2018, from http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/06/07/alcosan-pittsburgh-epa-sewage-control-plan-stormwater-pa/stories/201706060181
  17. ^ Lindstrom, N. (2018, January 18). Gov. Wolf to sign bill placing Pittsburgh's water system under PUC oversight. Retrieved April 16, 2018, from http://triblive.com/local/allegheny/12976229-74/gov-wolf-to-ok-bill-placing-pittsburghs-water-system-under-puc-oversight
  18. ^ City to turn to advisory panel to study water, sewer issues. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2018, from http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/02/03/Peduto-administration-plans-advisory-team-to-assess-PWSA-Pittsburgh/stories/201702030228
  19. ^ Lindstrom, Natasha. "Gov. Wolf to sign bill placing Pittsburgh's water system under PUC oversight". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  20. ^ http://www.3riverswetweather.org/about-wet-weather-issue
  21. ^ http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/06/07/alcosan-pittsburgh-epa-sewage-control-plan-stormwater-pa/stories/201706060181
  22. ^ http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/06/07/alcosan-pittsburgh-epa-sewage-control-plan-stormwater-pa/stories/201706060181
  23. ^ http://www.3riverswetweather.org/about-wet-weather-issue
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