Group pushing green alternatives
Canvassers from the coalition Pittsburgh United have been knocking on doors in Sharpsburg to alert residents about a multibillion-dollar project by the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority that potentially could double sewage rates for many of its customers.
Alcosan officials are proposing a $4 billion to $6 billion option to keep raw sewage out of the three rivers by sinking mammoth holding tunnels along the rivers from Emsworth to Etna and Braddock that would store sewage overflow during heavy wet weather.
Pittsburgh United isn't so much waging a negative campaign against Alcosan as it is promoting green alternatives such as permeable sidewalks and roads, rain gardens and other ways to better distribute storm water, organization members said.
Alcosan along with 83 communities linked to its Woods Run treatment plant must upgrade their respective sewer systems under federal and state mandates that call for heavy fines if they fail to drastically reduce the flow of raw sewage.
When it rains, storm water piped into many of the region's sewer lines inundates the lines, which causes overflowing to local waterways that endangers drinking-water supplies.
A longtime problem, Alcosan has been presenting its plans to decrease the amount of raw sewage in local waterways, but Pittsburgh United and some environmental groups are promoting alternative measures and they want people in local communities to understand those alternatives.
"It's a huge amount of money and we think people would be more supportive if results were not just cleaner rivers but more jobs for people and to make our communities more livable," said Barney Oursler, executive director of Pittsburgh United and coordinator of its Clean Rivers campaign.
Pittsburgh United members are looking for the fix that will provide the most jobs.
Its board is made up of officials from labor unions representing steelworkers, service workers, food workers and iron workers.
"Our focus in last four years is getting the best return for public investment in economic development, and that includes jobs and other benefits," Oursler said.
"We have gone door-to-door in Sharpsburg and Etna, and then we did a workshop in for folks at St. Juan Diego Parish (in Sharpsburg)," he said.
"We want to develop folks in communities that have a grasp of the issue and work with local officials to get the best for their communities from this massive public investment."
Sharpsburg was picked as one of the first towns to canvas because of the borough's proposals to install rain gardens and other natura- drainage projects to cut down on storm water entering the town's sewage system, according to Oursler.
Pittsburgh United will continue to meet with Sharpsburg residents and canvass other communities served by Alcosan.
Alcosan officials are proposing a $4 billion to $6 billion option to keep raw sewage out of the three rivers by sinking mammoth holding tunnels along the rivers from Emsworth to Etna and Braddock that would store sewage overflow during heavy wet weather.
Pittsburgh United isn't so much waging a negative campaign against Alcosan as it is promoting green alternatives such as permeable sidewalks and roads, rain gardens and other ways to better distribute storm water, organization members said.
Alcosan along with 83 communities linked to its Woods Run treatment plant must upgrade their respective sewer systems under federal and state mandates that call for heavy fines if they fail to drastically reduce the flow of raw sewage.
When it rains, storm water piped into many of the region's sewer lines inundates the lines, which causes overflowing to local waterways that endangers drinking-water supplies.
A longtime problem, Alcosan has been presenting its plans to decrease the amount of raw sewage in local waterways, but Pittsburgh United and some environmental groups are promoting alternative measures and they want people in local communities to understand those alternatives.
"It's a huge amount of money and we think people would be more supportive if results were not just cleaner rivers but more jobs for people and to make our communities more livable," said Barney Oursler, executive director of Pittsburgh United and coordinator of its Clean Rivers campaign.
Pittsburgh United members are looking for the fix that will provide the most jobs.
Its board is made up of officials from labor unions representing steelworkers, service workers, food workers and iron workers.
"Our focus in last four years is getting the best return for public investment in economic development, and that includes jobs and other benefits," Oursler said.
"We have gone door-to-door in Sharpsburg and Etna, and then we did a workshop in for folks at St. Juan Diego Parish (in Sharpsburg)," he said.
"We want to develop folks in communities that have a grasp of the issue and work with local officials to get the best for their communities from this massive public investment."
Sharpsburg was picked as one of the first towns to canvas because of the borough's proposals to install rain gardens and other natura- drainage projects to cut down on storm water entering the town's sewage system, according to Oursler.
Pittsburgh United will continue to meet with Sharpsburg residents and canvass other communities served by Alcosan.