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Allegheny County Council

Some businesses to get help on permits for asbestos abatement, others to get hit with the cost of removing lead.

Written by Amy Whipple

New legislation will help the Allegheny County Health Department mitigate lead and asbestos that was used in local construction.

Council authorized two bills to address the hazardous substances.

The first subsidizes half of the cost of asbestos abatement permits for “disadvantaged or distressed businesses.” Permits currently range from $375 to $2,600. 

The county will allocate $500,000 from the Clean Air Fund toward subsidies for the first year. 

The second bill allows the health department to abate lead in private properties such as apartment buildings and hotels if it’s deemed a public health hazard. The department will bill the property owner for the cost of the contractor plus a 10% administrative fee.

Lead exposure is particularly hazardous to children younger than 6. Landlords are required to address chipped or peeling lead-based paint, but they are not required to remove it.

An investigation by WESA and PublicSource, however, found that landlords ignore repeat-violation fines and that the health department also has stopped bringing summary and misdemeanor charges.

Connections to this story

Topics:
Public HealthHousing & Land Use
Governments:
Allegheny County Council
Sources:
Resolution 13739-25 — establishing goals and objectives for the creation of an Air Fees Relief Program by the Allegheny County Board of…Ordinance 13628-25 — ratifying the revisions of Article VI of the Allegheny County Health Department Rules and Regulation concerning Houses…

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