Pat Snowden Dittig, a nurse, Bellevue resident and member of Clean Water Action's Good Neighbor Committee, says passage of a Bad Actor ordinance will help clean the air and improve the health of county residents.

Speaking at an Allegheny County Health Department public hearing yesterday, Dittig urged approval of the ordinance, which would prevent a company in chronic violation of its air pollution control permit from receiving a permit to expand or build new facilities.

"There is no alternative for breathing the air in which we live and work and play," said Dittig, whose work on the Good Neighbor Committee involves taking air samples on and around highly industrialized Neville Island. "We are captive in our environments and trust you to keep them as healthy as possible through strong enforcement actions."

Dittig was one of five speakers at the hearing who supported passage of the ordinance originally proposed by Clean Water Action and endorsed by County Council in August. Two spoke in opposition.

The version under consideration by the Board of Health represents a compromise reached by the environmental group, U.S. Steel Corp. and the United Steelworkers Union.

The ordinance would require industries and utilities to be in compliance with their existing pollution control permits for a year before applying for new permits and also throughout the period when the county is reviewing the applications, except for minor record-keeping violations and acts of nature that cause pollution problems.

If a company is in violation of its current permit, it could still receive a new one if it has agreed to fix the violations and is working on a compliance plan approved by the county.

Katherine Klaber, representing the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, spoke in opposition, saying the ordinance is unnecessary and will limit new industry and corporate expansion within the county.

"This regulation fosters the image that we want to discourage all types of businesses," she said, "whether they are chronic violators or not."

There are 460 permitted air pollution sources in the county, but since January 2002 the Health Department has issued only about 40 installation permits for plant improvements, expansions or modifications. In the first half of last year, the latest period for which statistics are available from the Health Department, 21 companies were cited for air permit violations.

Very few, if any, of those companies would have been denied a permit under terms of the compromise Bad Actor ordinance because it allows more discretion, said Guillermo Cole, a Health Department spokesman.

"The council version was more punitive, but what we have now is more of a tool to bring pollution sources into compliance," Cole said. "It's kind of a carrot more than a stick."

Tishie Woodwell, a U.S. Steel attorney, said the company, which has several permits and compliance plans for its Clairton Coke Works up for county review, strongly supports the ordinance.

"Companies will have problems, but the issue is whether they will fix them and fix them in an expeditious manner," Woodwell said. "The big change in this regulation is that it now encourages industries to identify and fix their pollution problems."

Although the Health Department originally opposed a County Council resolution urging implementation of a Bad Actor regulation as unnecessary and redundant, Dr. Bruce Dixon, county Health Department director, said he supports the current version.

"This is a well thought out compromise," said Dixon. "I think it will result in better enforcement and better air quality in the county."

The regulations will be voted on by the Board of Health in March. If approved they will be submitted to County Council for final approval.