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Volume 33 ,
Issue 2
Spring
2015
Newsletter of the Allegheny Group of the Sierra Clubb
ALCOSAN Rate
Increases Will Fall
Heaviest on Those
Least Able to Pay
Toward a Regional
Energy Strategy
Why are we not surprised?
By ALCOSAN’s estimations it
will take $3 Billion – billion with
a capital “B” – of ratepayers’ hard
earned dollars to get the sewage out
of our beloved three rivers. According to ALCOSAN it has 300,000
ratepayers. That’s $10,000 per rate-
payer on average. Half– that’s half
with a capital “H”– of the ratepayers in the ALCOSAN service area
earn an average of $12.61/hour.
That’s gross – pun intended.
Continued on Page 4. See “ALCOSAN “
“Have a hand in determining the
process for crafting the region’s
energy plan and strategy.” Along
with 400 other people, I was one
who responded to that invitation,
attending a day-long conference
billed as “Energy for the Power of
32.”
The conference, at the David L.
Lawrence Convention Center on
December 11, was hosted by a collaboration of 20 organizations – no
small feat in itself! – who broughtoff a polished, professional meeting. Yet the day’s program acted
out the inherent contradiction that
will bedevil this effort as it goes
forward.
The day’s stated goal was to take
“the first formative steps” toward
a regional energy strategy. But,
of course, everything comes from
something; necessarily, some
“formative steps” had already been
taken in convening the conference
itself. An agenda was designed,
speakers were chosen, and
Continued on Page 4. See “Energy”
In This Issue
Are “The Answers,
my Friend, Blowin’
in the Wind”?
(Note: Barbara Pace made this
presentation on February 23, 2015,
at a comment session set up by the
Sierra Club to provide testimony
to the EPA on a rule that would
strengthen smog pollution standards and protect American communities from dirty air. All of the
presentations were recorded to be
transmitted to the EPA.)
I have tried to research and discover exactly what the differences
are between the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Department
Continued on Page 5. See “In the wind”
• ALCOSAN Rate Increases . . . . . . . . . Pages 1 & 4
• Spring Cleaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pages 3, 8 & 10
• Toward Regional Energy Strategy . . . Pages 1, 4 & 5
• Huplits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3
• Blowin’ in the Wind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pages 1, 5 & 6
• Executive Committee Nominations . . .Page 8
• Citizens Ordinance Defeated
Pages 2 & 7
• Group Star Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 10
• Notes From the Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pages 2 & 6
• Sierra Club Endorsements . . . . . . . . .Page 11
• Adopt Stronger Smog Standards. . . . .Pages 2, 6 & 7
• Biomass: A dark cloud on
our energy horizon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pages 3 & 9
• Upcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 12
• Contact Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 13
Explore, enjoy and potect the planet
ALLEGHENY SIERRAN
Citizens Ordinance
Defeated in
Allegheny County
Council Vote
An historic first-ever Citizens
Ordinance against fracking in Allegheny County parks was defeated
on February 3, 2015, by a stunning
vote of 13 against to 1 in favor.
Bill Robinson was the sole member
voting for the ordinance. Barbara
Daly Danko, a known supporter,
was ill and unable to attend the
meeting. Citizens’ heartfelt comments about the folly of fracking
on the people’s land preceded the
vote. The County Executive had
publicly threatened to veto the
ordinance if Council passed it.
Weeks before the February 3rd
vote, 50 committed volunteers
from Marcellus Protest, Protect
Our Parks, Sierra Club and other
like-minded organizations circulated petitions in almost every area
of Allegheny County, collecting
nearly 1900 signatures in support
of the ordinance. The two-year
moratorium on fracking included
all county parks except Deer
Lakes, which is already under lease
by Range Resources. The goal
of the proposed ordinance was to
enact a cautious “wait and see” approach and protect the parks until
results from the Deer Lakes drilling are available.
The decision to drill under Deer
Lakes had been approved by
County Council with a 9 to 5
vote in May, 2014, and fracking
is expected to begin there soon.
Citizens opposed to the plan fought
against it for months, speaking out
at council meetings, talking one on
one and in small groups with council members, and presenting
a mountain of information about
Continued on Page 7. See “Ordinance”
ALLEGHENY SIERRAN
Happy Spring! I am going to repeat my mantra of the last issue of
this newsletter: YOU DO MAKE
A DIFFERENCE! Here’s the listing of some accomplishments!
As I’m sure you know, President
Obama vetoed legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline
and it looks like he will reject it
in the near future. That pipeline
was a “done deal” four years ago.
Sierra Club and 350.org members
and many other like-minded friends
stopped that “done deal”!
Residents in Baldwin are getting
some bus service restored. Conversations with the Allegheny County
Port Authority have resulted in bus
route #51 being extended to go
through Baldwin during the morning and evening rush hours plus
limited service mid-day.
You helped elect Tom Wolf as our
governor. His proposed severance
tax on fracked gas, poor market
conditions for natural gas, and
STRONG CITIZEN OPPOSITION
are reasons given for Huntley &
Huntley’s withdrawal of an offer
to lease 90 acres in Harmar Township. You may recall that Huntley
& Huntley is the leasing company
working with Range Resources to
frack under and near Deer Lakes
Park. H & H have a lease proposal
for 150 acres in West Deer Township that was addressed at a town
hall meeting on March 11. Unfortunately, the West Deer Township
Board of Supervisors approved the
lease proposal.
Continued on Page 6. See “Notes”
2
Parents and
Community
Leaders Call on the
U.S. EPA to Adopt
Stronger Smog
Standards
On Monday, February 23, Allegheny County citizens recorded their
testimony on clean air and smog
pollution in Allegheny County at
a Sierra Club event hosted by the
Steinbrenner Institute for Environ-
Michael W. LaMark
mental Education and Research
at Carnegie Mellon University,
with the support of Pittsburgh City
Council member Dan Gilman.
Testimony was provided by concerned parents, local leaders, health
experts, and environmental advocates, all of whom spoke about
their concerns about smog pollution and the need for clean air.
National smog standards were last
updated in 2008, when the Bush
administration rejected the recommendations of expert scientists
and medical health professionals,
who warned that the now current
75 parts per billion standard was
insufficient to protect public health.
Over the past six years, scientists,
medical experts, and public
health advocates have consistently
Continued on Page 6. See “Smog”
Call for
Proposals:
18th Annual
Huplits WildlifeGrant
Competition:
A Challenge to Protect
Animal Wildlife and
Habitat in Pennsylvania
The Allegheny Group-Sierra
Club’s Huplits Wildlife Grants
Committee is seeking grant
proposals to help protect
animal wildlife and wildlife
habitat in Pennsylvania. Approximately $50,000-$60,000
will be available for the 2015
Huplits competition. Six
grants were awarded in last
year’s (2014) competition,
totaling $45,000.
Application guidelines:
We seek projects that directly
impact wildlife in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on
a regional or statewide level.
A proposal may involve public
education, grassroots campaign
organization, litigation, land
acquisition, or research that
directly focuses on protecting Pennsylvania wildlife, its
habitat, and preventing cruelty
to animals.
Projects will be funded for no
more than two years. Under
special circumstances a project
may be extended.
Grants may be sought by
Sierra Club entities within
Pennsylvania.
Grants may also be applied for
by non-Sierra Club organizations in Pennsylvania, although
preference will be given to
such organizations if the pro-
Spring Cleaning
Time:
Recycle
Responsibly
posed project is in partnership
with Sierra Club members.
A proposal should include the
overall purpose and goal of
the project, objectives, major
activities, resources required,
specific timelines, and a detailed budget.
DEADLINE: Submit
proposals no later than May
4, 2015, to Ed Chute (Huplits
2015 Committee Chair) via
email at alg.huplits@gmail.
com
If you have any questions,
contact Ed via email or call
724-516-7751.
Spring time is well known as the
season of renewal, growth, and, of
course, cleaning! But what do you
do after you’ve made everything
spic and span? Recycling your
unused or broken belongings can
be a problem. What are you supposed to do with that old computer,
TV, or other old electronic device?
What about those old tires, unused
paint in cans, aerosol cans? Even
more confusing, what do you do
Biomass: A dark
cloud on our
energy horizon
Coal and gas have defined Pennsylvania’s energy policy for most
of our modern history, and the
growing impacts of climate change
mean that we can no longer sustain this method of providing for
the energy needs of our society.
Improvements in wind and solar
technology are increasingly offsetting the need for coal and gas
to produce electricity, but there is
concern among some political analysts that the current administration
will begin to exploit the forests
of our commonwealth for fuel to
make electricity. This would be
disastrous for our economy and for
our climate.
Burning biomass to make electricity was recently declared “carbon
neutral” by the EPA, although this
ruling has come under heavy criticism from the scientific community
Continued on Page 9. See “Biomass”
with all those prescription and nonprescription pills that are unused or
out of date? There are several organizations that have the answers.
Each year between April and October, the Pennsylvania Resources
Council/Zero Waste Pittsburgh
hold recycling collection events in
the Greater Pittsburgh Area (which
includes Washington, Beaver,
Cambria, and Allegheny Counties).
They sponsor two types of events:
Hard to Recycle collections (such
as TVs, computers, electronics,
tires, medical equipment), and
Household Chemical Collections
(such as paint and aerosol cans).
Continued on Page 8. See “Cleaning”
3
ALLEGHENY SIERRAN
“ALCOSAN “Continued from Page1
Their take-home pay that they support their families with is closer
to $9.50/hour. If you make $9.50,
$10,000 is 6 months of work. So
ALCOSAN is expecting HALF of
the ratepayers in the ALCOSAN
service area to contribute 6 full
months of earnings to get the sewage out of our rivers. There are lots
of things wrong with this picture.
ALCOSAN’s ratepayers are
charged based on how much water
they use. If you are the owner of
a surface parking lot – think of
where Steeler fans do their tailgating – you contribute mightily
to the problem when rain falls on
those lots and runs off into the
river. However, since there are no
bathrooms there, you pay $0- zero
with a capital “Z” – to ALCOSAN.
So the average rate payer is picking up the tab for the parking lot
owner. That’s not fair, and ALCOSAN needs to make sure that they
charge people who contribute large
amounts of stormwater to the system to help solve our sewer woes.
For other utilities, like gas and
electric, there are assistance programs like Dollar Energy Fund
and LIHEAP to help low income
residents pay big bills that are busting their budgets. ALCOSAN has
currently suspended their examination of such a program. The Sierra
Club national board has made
issues of environmental justice a
core focus for the club. This is a local environmental justice issue that
deserves the Club’s support. Our
Clean Rivers Campaign partners
Action UNITED, Clean Water Action and PIIN have embraced this
issue – we need to as well.
There is no issue more pressing
to the Sierra Club than climate
change. It is well established that
those communities where $12
an hour workers live are going
ALLEGHENY SIERRAN
4
to be the least able to deal with
the effects of climate change. By
making green investments - many
people call these investments trees
and parks - in low income communities we can get a “two–fer.” We
help reduce the CO2 in the atmosphere AND we help those low
income communities become more
resilient and sustainable. The Sierra
Club needs to be saying that with
the threat of climate change looming, our region shouldn’t spend $3
Billion on anything that doesn’t
help address climate change.
For more information about the
Clean Rivers Campaign and how
you can help, visit
www.cleanriverscampaign.org
And stay tuned!!
Tom Hoffman
“Energy” Continued from Page 1.
the“framing” of the meeting was
established. With all good will, the
meeting couldn’t help but reflect
its organizers’ sense of what was
possible and desirable. In the long
run, though, the project’s success
may depend on breaking free of
its origins: among the established
intellectual and economic leaders
of the region.
Begun in 2010, “The Power of 32”
aspires to create “a shared vision
for a thriving region” [the name
refers to a 32-county swatch of
Western Pennsylvania, Maryland,
West Virginia and Ohio]. The program is housed at The Pittsburgh
Foundation, with the sponsorship
of other foundations, corporations
and universities. Tellingly, one of
the 16 “initiatives” toward achieving “The Power of 32” vision
(listed alongside “Create a regional
energy plan and strategy”) is to
“Promote economic activity based
upon shale gas.”
Still, “The Power of 32” was only
one of the 20 sponsors of the December 11 event. And, for that one
day, we shared a remarkably open,
candid discussion of energy issues.
A series of speakers presented an
“energy baseline,” summarized
research on the environmental and
human health impacts of fossil fuel
cycles, and described new initiatives in community energy selfsufficiency. Informal break-out
sessions and a facilitated “reportback” period were provided to
gather participant responses (those
comments are now posted at www.
energy4p32.org).
So, at one level, the event was an
inspiring demonstration of public
awareness and commitment to
a sustainable (or, perhaps more
accurately, “survivable”) energy
economy. Many participants were
heartened to discover that “you are
not alone” and that others in our
community also “get it.”
But as we left the Convention
Center there was also a sense
of frustration, “like we’ve been
punching at a sofa.” It might have
helped if there had been a “straw
poll” or some other way for the
participants to construct their own
summary statement for the record.
Lacking that, we walked away
with the same misgivings that accompany any “public comment”
at meetings of the powerful – “We
talked, but was anything heard?”
The presenters laid it on the line,
and the audience (for that’s what
we were) didn’t flinch from the
hard facts of our dilemma. But the
premise of the meeting was explicit in the opening remarks: the
“sine qua non of an energy strategy
is… to assure our economic competitiveness and high quality of
life.”
As a result, the most fundamental
strategic questions haven’t yet
Continued on Page 5. See “Energy”
“Energy” Continued from Pag 1.
been articulated: What if no
strategy can offer such assurances? What if those who are
driving today’s energy decisions –
the business executives, investors,
and elected officials who didn’t
participate in this session – don’t
want a transparent energy strategy, built upon human values like
environmental justice and stewardship of the future? Who will gain,
and who will lose, if our regional
economy is dominated by energy
exports?
This public forum was, I believe,
a sincere effort to invite citizen
involvement. But many citizens
are already thinking more creatively, and more urgently, than
our nominal “leaders” seem able to
do. Whether this proposed planning effort will be transformational
enough, and timely enough, to be
relevant – given the accelerating
physical and economic consequences of present energy practices
– will depend on what the organizers decide to do next.
(Note: for details of the “Power
of 32” organization, including
Sponsors/Partners, Founding
Partners, Steering Committee,
Implementation Committee, and
Collaborating Partnerships, please
see http://www.powerof32.org/
about/?Background-6).
And for the diagram specifically,
please see http://www.energy4p32.org/P32RegionalEnergyFlowvWEBFINAL2.pdf).
John Detweiler
“In the wind” Continued from Page 1.
of Environmental Protection, and
our Allegheny County Department
of Health. There appear to be so
many overlapping responsibilities
and lack of accountability. Our
“Clean Water Action” committee
members have repeatedly ques-
tioned all the aforementioned agencies, asking who can accomplish
enforcements to make all of our air,
water, and land free of carcinogens.
I am the daughter, sister, niece
of local ironworkers. My father
and brother worked on erecting
the power plant in Beaver County.
My efforts to obtain a clean environment have caused me to take
verbal abuse from those who do
not truly understand the long-term
costs on our health. Our group was
formerly called “Neville Island
Good Neighbor.” We changed our
name to represent more accurately
who and what we are about . . .
Allegheny County Clean Air Now
(ACCAN)!
Shenango Coke Plant resides on
Neville Island. It is owned and
operated by DTE Energy, based
in Detroit. Our ACCAN activists
believe that Shenango has blatantly
ignored the clean air guidelines
and would rather pay the fines
than operate under the letter of the
law. A lot of recent research has
discovered that even the laws we
currently have passed are not enforced; nor are they strong enough
as currently written to reach the
goals of good health for the entire
planet. Pittsburgh ranks as one of
the top 10 most polluted cities in
the nation with regard to short- and
long-term particle pollution. This
has been documented to increase
the risk of heart and lung disease,
adverse birth outcomes, cancer,
and premature death (gasp-pgh.
org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/
SoTA-press-4-22-132.pdf; see also
http://www.stateoftheair.org/2014/
city-rankings/most-polluted-cities.
html). In 2013 we had 239 days
when the EPA stated that our air
quality was not rated as “good.”
That’s 65 percent of the time. On
those days, our health risks from
air pollution ranged from “mod-
erate” to “unhealthy.” Air pollution that causes lung cancer is
worse in Pittsburgh than in about
90 percent of the United States
(http://www.heinz.org/Interior.
aspx?id=480&post=9).
Most of our energies as Allegheny
County Clean Air Now members are spent trying to negotiate
less pollution being emitted from
Shenango’s smoke stacks on Neville Island. Shenango Coke Works
did a very good job of courting us
for close to two years. They fed us,
met with us regularly – but the improvements were not coming along
at the pace we were desiring. They
spent thousands of dollars flying
in representatives from Texas and
Detroit. Monies that should have
been spent on their quench towers.
As their personnel kept changing
over the two years, we found it of
interest that, as far as we could find
out, none of the plant managers
were living in the vicinity of their
place of employment. Often they
had their families residing in adjoining counties to Allegheny. We
finally refused to be used as pawns
anymore and no longer are meeting
with Shenango: they prove NOT to
be “good neighbors.”
Sadly, even in our meetings with
our local Allegheny County Health
Department it felt like our concerns
were not being met. When large
community meetings were set up,
many of the residents left angry
and frustrated. The residents’ comments were (1) “we didn’t need
slide presentations on how a coke
plant works,” and (2) “if we break
the law while driving, we lose our
driver’s license: why is Shenango
still paying fines and there is no accountability for foul actions?”
What can we little people do to
effectively produce changes in our
environment?
Continued on Page 6. See “In the wind”
5
ALLEGHENY SIERRAN
“In the wind” Continued from Page 5.
We write letters, we meet with
politicians, we attend hearings, we
vote. I can remember when Pete
Seeger sang some of the music
Woodie Guthrie composed: “Pittsburgh Town is a Smoky Old Town”
and “This Land is Your Land, This
Land is My Land.” We might not
have the dark skies in our afternoons as we did in the 1940’s-50’s;
but these invisible cancer-causing
pollutants are just as compromising
to our existence.
Must we have a “Three Mile Island” catastrophe, a “Love Canal”
disaster, to warrant enough publicity to get the agencies that have
“Protection” and “Health” in their
given names to see the results we
can all live with? Will big industry
seeking profits at the expense of our
health ALWAYS have more power
over our elected politicians, thwarting all our efforts? Is this “government of the people, by the people,
for the people”?
Barbara Pace
(With reference assistance from
Ted Popovich)
“Notes” Continued from Page 2.
A proposal was deleted from the
Agenda of a January meeting of
the Executive Board of the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners. The proposal would have
restricted hikers’ use of state game
lands and require anyone without
a hunting or fur taker license to
obtain a free permit to use game
lands. Board President Robert W.
Schlemmer said the Board received
hundreds of public comments
about the proposal and so wanted
more time to properly consult with
hunters, conservation partners, and
elected officials about the proposal.
PNC Financial Services Group has
decided to scale back financing
ALLEGHENY SIERRAN
6
of companies that mine coal using
mountain-top removal methods.
You may have been involved in the
protests and rallies that the Earth
Quaker Action Team (with the support of the Sierra Club and other
local organizations) held here in
Pittsburgh over the past few years,
pressuring PNC to divest of ALL
their investments in such companies. This is a step in the right
direction.
So, we do have some significant
victories – thanks to YOU!
We did have a setback as the Citizens’ Ordinance, initiated by Protect Our Parks (POP), was defeated
in County Council (see Article page
XX). However, POP volunteers are
monitoring or will be monitoring
the fracking at Deer Lakes Park,
which is expected to start in mid
April. This fracking-in-our-parks
issue will continue to be a priority.
The Clean Rivers Campaign’s (see
Article page XX): “Green First”
solutions to our storm water problem are gaining momentum among
citizens and our decision makers.
Progress is being made.
Many other articles in this newsletter highlight a diverse variety
of environmental issues: biomass
concerns, “Power of 32” conference analysis, smog rule hearings,
Shenango air quality concerns, opportunities to recycle old electronics & paint cans you’ve cleaned out
of your garage or basement, and the
upcoming primary election – Allegheny County Council races as
well as Sierra Club endorsements.
Once again, I encourage you to
review the articles in this newsletter for more details on our activities and go to our Web site, www.
alleghenysc.org for the latest news
and events. There are many opportunities to be involved and know
that ‘YOU CAN MAKE A
DIFFERENCE’!
Thank you! And please contact
me with your questions or concerns at 412-521-9526, or [email protected].
Barbara Grover, Group Chair
“Smog” Continued from Page 2
highlighted the need for a stronger
standard and have pointed to an
ever-growing body of scientific
literature that demonstrates significant harm to public health, particularly in vulnerable populations
such as children, the elderly, and
those with breathing ailments such
as asthma and Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease.
“If you live in Pittsburgh, you have
had first-hand experience with
smog. It’s scary! Why isn’t the
Allegheny County Health Department placing restrictions on polluters like DTE Shenango on bad
air days? We are asked to carpool,
take the bus, fuel up during the
cooler parts of the day. Why can’t
they do their part?” said Thaddeus
Popovich of Allegheny County
Clean Air Now (ACCAN) in his
testimony.
“Clean air is vital to our public
health – especially for our most
vulnerable populations – and also
to our region’s economic growth,”
said Dan Gilman. Councilman
Gilman noted that “the City of
Pittsburgh continues to take steps to
reduce air and smog pollution, but
stronger federal standards are
critical to protecting the health of
even more people.”
And Neil Donahue, Director of the
Steinbrenner Institute, noted that
“smog continues to kill more than
50,000 Americans every year. It
has been shown repeatedly that airquality improvements over the past
50 years have saved millions of
lives, saved money, and created
Continued on Page 7. See “Smog”
“Smog” Continued from Page 6
jobs. Everything we know about
air quality and public health says
that this will continue to be true if
we continue to clean up our air.”
Additional citizens who testified at the Sierra Club event were
Barbara L. Pace, Jason Hochreiter,
Brian MacWhinney, Jonathan Gray,
Lewis Braham, and Stephen Ricardi. Citizens’ testimonies were
recorded on video and have been
sent to the Environmental Protection Agency, to be added to the
comments gathered nationwide.
The EPA comment period for regulations closed on March 17, 2015:
a total of 109,565 Sierra Club
members provided comments on
strengthening the smog pollution
standards and protecting American
communities from dirty air, part of
a total of over 500,000 Americans.
The EPA is scheduled to announce
the new smog pollution standard on
October 1st.
Randy Francisco,
Sierra Club Senior Organizing
Representative
Pennsylvania – Coal to Clean Energy
Campaign
“Ordindance” Continued from Page 2.
why fracking the county parks is a bad idea.
The overwhelming margin of defeat for the Citizens Ordinance was a
blow to all who had worked so long and hard to bring it to the council.
Next steps have yet to be decided. What is now abundantly clear, however, is that all eight of the remaining county parks are up for grabs by the
gas industry. It has been amply demonstrated that County Council cannot
be depended upon to protect us or our parks from the ravages of fracking
anywhere in Allegheny County.
County Council members listed below will be up for re-election in 2015.
It will be up to Sierrans and like-minded others to work for the re-election or defeat of council members who have shown their true colors on
the issue of industrializing our county parks.
Gwen Chute
County Council: How They Voted
Drilling
Deer Lakes John DeFazio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (President and Council At-Large)*
Heather S. Heidelbaugh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(Council at Large)**
Yes
No
Citizens’
Ordinance
No
No
Thomas Baker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes
No
(Council District 1)
Jan Rea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No
No
(Council District 2)**
Edward Kress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes
No
(Council District 3)
Michael J. Finnerty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes
(Council District 4)
No
Sue Means . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No
No
(Council District 5)*
John F. Palmiere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes
No
(Council District 6)*
Nicholas Futules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes
(Vice President and Council District 7)*
No
Robert J. Macey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Council District 9)
No
Dr. Charles Martoni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes
No
(Council District 8)
Yes
William Russell Robinson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No
Yes
(Council District 10)**
Barbara Daly Danko. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No
Absent
(Council District 11)*
James Ellenbogen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(Council District 12)
Yes
No
Amanda Green Hawkins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Absent
(Council District 13)**
Up for re-election *
Will not run for re-election **
7
No
ALLEGHENY SIERRAN
Sierran – Spring Issue 2015
Call for Nominations!
Allegheny Group
www.alleghenysc.org
In the fall of each year, Sierra Club members have the oppornity to vote for candidates to our Allegheny Group
Executive Committee. YOU, our members, have the opportunity to submit names for consideration by our
Nominating Committee. You can nominate yourself.
The nine member Executive Committee assures that the activities and services provided by the Group are consistent with our Group Bylaws as well as the policies and directives of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sierra
Club and the National Sierra Club. These responsibilities include financial management, membership services,
publication of The Sierran (our newsletter), conservation issues, outings and political programs. Each elected
Executive Committee member serves a two year term and can run for re-election as often as he/she wishes.
Candidates for the ExCom provide a brief statement about their interest in environmental issues and why they
wish to serve on the Executive Committee. These statements are included with the ballot. Voting by the membership for 4 or 5 of the 9 seats occurs in the fall via email or US Postal service. Results of the election will be
announced in January 2016.
Please complete the form below and mail to Claudia Kirkpatrick, c/o the Sierra Club, 425 N. Craig St., Suite
202, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, or email the information to Claudia at [email protected].
DEADLINE: June 30, 2015
Nominee for the Executive Committee of the Allegheny Group of the Sierra Club (2016-2018 term)
DEADLINE: June 30, 2015
(PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY)
Name of Nominee:
Phone number:
email address:
Postal Address:
Name of person submitting Nominee’s name:
Phone
email address:
If this is not a self-nomination, please sign your assent to the statement below:
I have spoken to the nominee and he/she has agreed to be considered as a candidate for the
Executive Committee of the Allegheny Group of The Sierra Club.
Signed:
ALLEGHENY SIERRAN
8
“Biomass “Continued from Page 3.
(see: http://www.motherjones.com/
environment/2015/02/scientists-climate-change-biomass-epa). Our
forests, already heavily damaged
by a century and more of logging,
mining, road building, conversion
to farmland, and a host of extractive industries, cannot sustain the
demands of such a new industry.
These recovering forests are needed to mitigate the effects of climate
change.
Just as the Allegheny National
Forest was established in 1924 to
mitigate flooding in downstream
communities, today our expansive
network of state and national forests serves as an increasingly valuable carbon-storage mechanism,
and research is showing that older
forests store more carbon yearly
than previously thought (see http://
www.nature.com/nature/journal/
vaop/ncurrent/abs/nature12914.
html).
In addition to services such as
filtering our air and water, mitigating wind and storms, retaining
moisture in times of drought and
regulating regional humidity, not to
mention providing food and medicine for humans and wildlife alike,
it is becoming increasingly selfevident that climate itself is a forest
product.
The biomass industry is already
having a devastating effect on the
forests of the Southeast US, where
the Dogwood Alliance campaigning to stop the export of these forests for incineration in Europe (see:
http://www.dogwoodalliance.org).
The introduction of this voracious
new industry in the forests of Pennsylvania would be as devastating as
the Emerald Ash Borer, the Asian
Longhorn Beetle, the Gypsy Moth
and the Chestnut blight, combined!
Send a message loud and clear to
Governor Wolf and Acting DEP
Secretary John Quigley: our forests
are not for fuel! Note: Additional
information can be found in the
Biomass Monitor (see http://www.
store; no broken CFLs’ accepted);
scrap metal. you can check their
website for more details (http://
www.constructionjunction.org/
pages/recycling-resources).
energyjustice.net/biomass/monitor).
Construction Junction’s website
Matt Peters, Public Lands Chair ALG-SC
also provides excellent reuse, repair, and recycling information for
“Cleaning” Continued from Page 3
Use It Again, PA! And their webAlthough there is a small charge
site also provides information for
for some of the items collected,
the Allegheny County Recycling
most of the items will be accepted
Together Directory (as well as for
for free. Details of exactly what is PA Resources Council/Zero Waste
accepted at the Hard to Recycle and Pittsburgh).
Household Chemical Collections
Pharmaceutical Collection
different events and the charges can
Unfortunately, pharmaceutical
be found at zerowastepgh.org.
collections (unused prescription
The 2015 Collections Schedule for
and non-prescription drugs) are
Pennsylvania Resources Council/
no longer a part of the PennsylZero Waste Pittsburgh is as folvania Resources Council/Zero
lows:
Waste Pittsburgh events. HowHard to Recycle Collections
ever, several pharmacies in our
(9am - 1pm)
area are collecting these items.
These are listed below for a 20
May 9 - Washington Mall, mile radius of the 15217 area. For
Washington County
other locations, you can go to the
October 3 - The Mall at
Drug Enforcement Agency’s page
Robinson
for Controlled Substance Public
Household Chemical Collections
Disposal locations or to the Penn(10am - 2pm)
sylvania Department of Drug and
May 2 - Allegheny County - Alcohol Programs for Prescription
North Park
Drug Take-Back Program.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Ad May 16 - Cambria County - ministration has detailed instruc CTC – ETF Facility (CTC tions as to how to prepare for the
Drive in Johnstown)
disposal and which medications are
July 18 - Washington County - accepted (including pet medica Washington Mall
tions) and which are not (the U.S.
Aug 15 - Allegheny County - Drug Enforcement Administration
Boyce Park
provides detailed information on its
Sept. 12 - Allegheny County - website: http://www.deadiversion.
usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/index.
South Park
html).
Oct. 10 - Beaver County - Controlled Substance Public Dis Brady’s Run Park
posal Locations authorized by the
Construction Junction also proUnited States Drug Enforcement
vides drop-off recycling during
Administration in our local area are
regular store hours for the followthe following: Wilson’s Pharmacy,
ing: appliances (non-freon); bat4101 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh;
teries; freon appliances; lightbulbs/ Asti’s South Hills Pharmacy,
ballasts (free CFL drop-off in the
Continued on Page 10. See “Cleaning”
9
ALLEGHENY SIERRAN
“Cleaning” Continued from Page 9
250 Mt. Lebanon Boulevard, Pittsburgh; Donora Union Pharmacy,
642 McKean Avenue, Donora; and
Heritage Valley Pharmacy, locations in Sewickly (720 Blackburn
Road) and in Beaver (100 Dutch
Ridge Road).
Unused medications in homes
create a public health and safety
concern, because they can be accidentally ingested, stolen, misused, and abused. And disposing
of them through the sewage system
can harm the water supply. Please
dispose of these pharmaceuticals
responsibly!
So, enjoy the great feeling of
having cleaned out your home in
a marvelously responsible way –
recycled!
Barb Grover
ALLEGHENY SIERRAN
10
At the Chapter Awards Dinner on April 25, 2015, Tom Wolper received
the Star Award for the Allegheny Group. Tom has been an incredible
resource to the Allegheny Group, as our regular activists and our Chair
are especially aware. He often attends our weekly Activist nights, and
when the activists who regularly attend these nights have had questions
about Sierra Club policy related to C3 /C4 designations, past campaigns,
and general organizational structure, Tom has provided the answers. His
knowledge of Pennsylvania Chapter and National Sierra Club issues has
been invaluable. At our Executive Committee meetings, he often contributes important information about those same issues as we discuss
our plans and future events. As a HELEN administrator he has
helped others learning the system to obtain call lists for various events by
geographic area as well as other HELEN operations.
Tom has been a resource not only at the Group level but also at the
Chapter and National levels. Within the Allegheny Group he
was a hike leader (started in 1999), Group Secretary (2002),
Group Chair (2003-2004), a delegate to the Chapter ExCom
for many years and is currently, and a HELEN administrator. His contributions to the Chapter have included Long
Range Planning and Implementation Committee member
(2003-2008), Conservation Chair (2005-2007), Energy
Campaign Chair (2008), SPEL (Personnel) Committee
member (2006-2008), and Chapter History Chair (starting in 2014).
National positions include Sustainable Consumption
Committee member (2003-2008), sustainable Planet
Strategy Team Member, Building Environmental
Communities Campaign Committee (member,
vice-chair, & chair from 2005-2009), Organizing
Program Co-Chair (2009-2014) and a Cool Cities
committee member. It is clear from these contributions of
his intellect, time, and energy why Tom has been such an invaluable
member to our Group, the Chapter, and the National Organization.
Members of the Allegheny Group have a high level of respect for Tom
and have a very high regard for his contributions, and he is certainly very
deserving indeed of the 2015 Allegheny Group Star Award.
Sierra Club
Endorsements for
the Primary
Election May 19,
2015
By Lisa Mekovsky, Political Chair
Allegheny Group
As many of you know, the Primary
elections here in southwestern
Pennsylvania often determine the
winner of the November general
election. VOTING IN THE
PRIMARY IS CRUCIAL! The
Allegheny Group of the Sierra
Club knows how important these
local leadership positions are and
has a process in place to determine
endorsement of candidates. The
process is as follows:
1.
2.
A questionnaire related to local environmental issues is created and emailed to the candidates for various offices (e.g., City Council, County Council, City Controller, County
Controller, Mayor,
County Executive)
Members of our Political
Committee review the
responses from the candidates;
decision: 1. The extent to which the candidate supports environmentally friendly policies
and/or has advocated for such policies ; 2. The extent to which the
candidate has a viable campaign
(e.g., what is being done to secure
voters, what funds have been/will
be raised, general personnel involved in the campaign, probability of winning); and 3. impressions of the candidate during the interview (e.g., sincerity of support for environmental
issues, knowledge of local issues,
ability to convey his/her message).
5.
6.
The recommendations for endorsements are presented to and voted on by the
Allegheny Group’s Executive
Committee.
The list of candidates who re
ceive approval are then sent
to the PA Chapter’s Political Chair, who in turn presents these recommendations to the Chapter’s Executive
Committee.
7. The candidates approved by the Chapter Executive Commit
tee are then officially endorsed by the Sierra Club and their 3. On the basis of those responses, campaigns are notified. The campaigns can then use that the committee decides whom endorsement in their literature, to interview in a face-to-face on their websites and in what
meeting. If no response is
ever way they feel will be
received, then no interview is beneficial to the candidate.
scheduled, the assumption
being that the candidate
For some of the local races, the
decided not to seek our
candidates did not complete our
endorsement.
questionnaire and so we did not follow-up with an interview. In some
4. Following the interview, the Political Committee identifies cases, we chose not to endorse a
candidate because they failed to
those candidates they wish to recommend for endorsement meet one or more of our criteria OR
all candidates for the same office
to the Allegheny Group’s
met all our criteria equally well.
Executive Committee. Three Thus, we do not have endorsements
criteria are the basis for that for every local office on the bal-
lot. The following local candidates
have received official endorsements from the Sierra Club for the
May 19th primary:
Pittsburgh City Council:
District 1: Bobby Wilson
District 3: Bruce Kraus
District 5: Corey O’Connor
District 7: Deb Gross
District 9: Andre Young
Pittsburgh City Controller
Natalia Rudiak
Allegheny County Council
District 11: Barbara Daly-
Danko
District 13: Dan Connolly
Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner
Mount Lebanon Commissioner Kelly Fraasch
Be aware that if you are registered
as an Independent, you CANNOT
VOTE in the PRIMARY
ELECTION. Our state laws essentially allow only registered
Democrats and registered Republicans to vote in the Primary. At
the polls, you indicate what your
party registration is and only those
candidates associated with your
party will be presented for your
vote. We hope you are registered
as either a Democrat or Republican
so that your voice can be heard in
the Primary Election May 19.
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ALLEGHENY SIERRAN
Spring Newsletter, 2015
Upcoming Events:
Pete Seeger Tribute Concert: 7:30pm, Unitarian Church, 605 Morewood Avenue,
Pittsburgh 15213
occurring on each Activist Night.
May 16 – Freedom from Fracking fundraiser: 6:00pm-midnight, Mr. Small’s, 400 Lincoln
Avenue, Millvale; tickets $30-$45; buy at marcellusprotest.org.
May 2 – May 7, 14, 21 –Activist Nights: every Thursday from 6:30-8:30pm, volunteers are welcome at the Sierra Club office, 425 N. Craig Street, Pittsburgh 15213. Engage in activities to protect our
environment; free pizza and drinks provided. See alleghenysc.org for specific activities
May 9 – May 16 – May 19 – June 14 – June 20 – July 16 – July 18 – August 15 – Hard to Recycle Collection: 9:00am-1:00pm, Washington Mall, Washington County; see Pennsylvania Resources Council website for details (prc.org).
Venture Outdoors Festival: Point State Park, downtown Pittsburgh, 11:00am-4:00pm; Sierra Club will be tabling. Volunteer to help or just come and chat with us about our
current environmental projects.
PRIMARY ELECTION – VOTE!
Pittsburgh Pride March: Noon start at Grant Street and Blvd. of the Allies, downtown Pittsburgh. Sierra Club will participate in the March. See pittsburghpride.org for details of
the entire Pridefest activities; see Activist Night schedule to help prepare.
Solarfest: Millvale Riverfront Park, 501 Lincoln Avenue, Pittsburgh 15209.
Screening of “The Power of One: Rachel Carson’s Legacy,” 6:30-8:30pm; Sierra Club
office, 425 N. Craig Street, Pittsburgh 15213. Creators/Producers Mark Dixon and/or
Dr. Patricia DeMarco will be present for Q&A following the documentary. FREE, with FREE parking in the lot across the street. Register with [email protected].
Household Chemical Collection: Washington Mall, Washington County,
10:00am-2:00pm; see Pennsylvania Resources Council website for details (prc.org).
Household Chemical Collection: 10:00am-2:00pm, South Park, Allegheny County; see Pennsylvania Resources Council website for details (prc.org).
ALLEGHENY SIERRAN
12
Allegheny
Allegheny Sierran is published by the Allegheny Group of the Sierra Club. For issues sent via the United States
Postal Service, third class postage is paid at Pittsburgh, PA.
Opinions expressed in the Allegheny Sierran are those of the authors, and should not be taken as Sierra Club
policy unless specifically so stated. The Allegheny Sierran is the newsletter of the Allegheny Group and is intended to keep the membership posted on the activities of the Group. Any production costs are paid from Group
fundraising activities.
All parties are encouraged to respond to any of the articles we publish and submit any material they feel may be
appropriate. Submissions and questions regarding newsletter content should be addressed to the editor, Claudia
Kirkpatrick ([email protected]).
Printed copies are printed by Typecraft Press, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, on recycled paper.
The Sierra Club’s members are 700,000 of your friends and neighbors. Inspired by nature, we work together to
protect our communities and the planet. The Club is America’s oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots
environmental organization.
The Allegheny Group of the Sierra Club was organized in the early 1970s. It is one of 10 groups comprising the
Pennsylvania Chapter.
Contact Information:
Allegheny Group of the Sierra
Club
425 N. Craig Street, Suite 202
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-802-6161
[email protected]
www.alleghenysc.org
Executive Committee
Barb Grover, Chair
[email protected]
Bob Lauth
(also Membership Chair)
[email protected]
Matt Peters
(also Public Lands Chair)
[email protected]
Mike Pastorkovich
(also Transit Co-Chair)
[email protected]
Additional Issue Chairs:
Gwen Chute, Vice Chair
[email protected]
Jacqueline Apone,
Fundraising Co-Chair
[email protected]
Laura Donovan, Secretary
[email protected]
Tom Hoffman, Water Chair
[email protected]
Chris Shepherd, Treasurer
[email protected]
Rick Arnold
(also Publications Chair)
[email protected]
Veronica Coptis
[email protected]
Tim Ludwig, Shale Gas Chair
[email protected]
Lisa Mekovsky, Political Chair;
Fundraising Co-Chair
[email protected]
Peri Unligil, Air Quality Chair
[email protected]
Eva Westheimer, Mining Chair
[email protected]
Peter Wray, Conservation Chair
[email protected]
Roni Kampmeyer, Coal Chair
[email protected]
Claudia Kirkpatrick,
Transit Co-Chair
[email protected]
Michael LaMark,
Communications Chair
[email protected]
Allegheny Group
www.alleghenysc.org
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ALLEGHENY SIERRAN