PITTSBURGH — The Clean Air Council and the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) are suing Allegheny County over air pollution, alleging that it used funds intended for air quality improvement for a building renovation project.
A complaint was filed on Aug. 1 in the Allegheny County Courts of Common Pleas, against the County of Allegheny for violation of the Air Quality Fund Regulation and Environmental Rights Amendment.
The Clean Air Council and GASP have members who live or work in Allegheny County who are exposed to harmful air pollution in the county because of defendant's alleged diversion of money from the Clean Air Fund and the Title V Fund away from projects for the improvement of air quality.
The plaintiffs claim defendant was granted $450,000 from plaintiffs' funds for a building renovation project related to the Frank B. Clack Health Center.
The lawsuit claims that "the Building Expansion Project is a sham air quality improvement project... The use of money from the Clean Air Fund for the [renovation] is unlawful under the plain language of the regulations," according to the complaint.
The plaintiff holds the County of Allegheny responsible, because the defendant allegedly failed to meet federal minimum standards for fine particulates, ozone, and sulfur dioxide and failed to meet the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards, causing residents to face concentrations of pollutants that are dangerous to their health.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks to requests that the Court enter Declaratory Judgment and such other and further relief as may be necessary and appropriate under the circumstances. They are represented by Ernest Logan and Ned Mulcahy.