HARRISBURG, October 17, 2018 – State Senators Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny), Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) and Randy Vulakovich (R-Allegheny) today announced $49 million in state funds to replace 28,000 residential lead lateral connections in Pittsburgh.
“I am pleased that state dollars will be used to fund and expedite this important lead lateral and service line replacement work,” Fontana said. “This is a public health issue and needs dealt with as quickly as possible.”
“Access to clean water should be guaranteed to every citizen of the Commonwealth,” Costa said. “This grant will go a long way in fulfilling that need in the City of Pittsburgh.”
“This is an important project for our area,” said Sen. Vulakovich. “By replacing these lead service lines, it will substantially increase the reliability of safe drinking water for our residents.”
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) will receive $13.6 million in grant dollars and the other $35.4 million through a 1 percent low-interest loan. The funds were awarded today at the PENNVEST (Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority) board meeting in Harrisburg.
The line replacement work will take part in various parts of Pittsburgh based on density of young children, documented higher blood-lead levels and concentration of antiquated lead water lines. Anticipated replacements are slated for Morningside, Homewood, Perry, Mt. Washington, Southside and Greenfield neighborhoods. The project is expected to impact 7,000 people.
In recent years, Pittsburgh has struggled to replace old and decaying lead water lines, which have exceeded maximum health contaminant standards. The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a consent order last November calling for the laterals and service line replacement.
PWSA estimates that about 25 percent of the city’s water lines are made of lead. By 2022, it plans to inspect all 81,000 water lines and compile a database that identifies where the lead lines are.
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Harrisburg – October 3, 2018 – State Sen. Jay Costa released a statement on HB2060, Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence:
“Today is an historic day. We have finally passed substantive legislation to protect the victims of domestic violence, and it goes to Governor Wolf for his signature.
HB 2060 will save lives, and I’m proud to have supported it. The bill will take firearms out of the hands of most abusers within 24 hours of a final PFA being issued.
In a commemorative ceremony on Monday morning, I read the names of people who lost their lives in 2017 to domestic violence. There were 117 total casualties in our state last year to domestic violence, and there are 1 million American women who have been shot or shot at by their intimate partners. A firearm is often the weapon of choice for domestic abusers when their violence reaches lethal levels.
We must do everything in our power to protect victims before they become a name that we read at the annual Domestic Violence Awareness Month ceremony.”
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HARRISBURG, PA, October 2, 2018 − After years of debate, today the Pennsylvania Senate passed Senate Bill 172 which allows for automated speed enforcement for active work zones.
“Active construction zones on highways can be dangerous places – both for drivers and for workers,” said Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, Jr. “If everyone followed the speed limit, they would be much safer and I believe this bill will make drivers think twice about stepping on the gas.”
SB 172 goes to the Governor’s desk now for his signature, and if it passes, automated speed enforcement cameras would be set up in active work zones on state highways. Drivers would be sent a speeding ticket with a photo of their speeding vehicle; for the first offense, there would be no fine, for the second offensive there would be a fine of $75 and for a third offense the fine increases to $150.
In 2015, there were 1,935 crashes in work zones, including 23 deaths, across Pennsylvania.
“With stricter speed enforcement in work zones, I expect the number of crashes and fatalities to be much lower next year. I hope Governor Wolf signs this bill right away,” said Senator Costa.
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HARRISBURG, PA, September 25, 2018 – The Environmental Protection Agency will hold a public meeting in Pittsburgh today regarding a proposal to eliminate fuel economy standards on vehicles; Senator Costa submitted written testimony in opposition as he was unable to attend the meeting due to Senate session.
“Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards are set to double the mileage for cars and light trucks per gallon of gas, in turn slashing global warming pollution in half for cars sold in 2025 and beyond,” wrote Senator Costa. “Removing these standards would pump more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to more intense and costly wildfires and extreme weather disasters. Conversely, keeping these standards in place would mean that, in 2030, U.S. drivers would save more than 3 million barrels of oil per day.”
Download Senator Costa’s full testimony →
PITTSBURGH, PA − September 18, 2018 −Senator Jay Costa and Representative Ed Gainey today announced a state grant award for a water and sewer project in Wilkinsburg.
“Access to clean water and a reliable sewer system is something that every citizen of Pennsylvania should be guaranteed,” said Senator Costa. “We created the Small Water & Sewer Grant Program at the state level and provided it with $25 million so that we would be able to help municipalities with projects that their constituents need. Wilkinsburg submitted a top notch project, and I’m proud to have helped them secure the funding for it.”
Wilkinsburg will receive $246,658 for the rehabilitation of the South Avenue Area Sewer.
“It is no secret that many of our communities struggle when it comes to updating old infrastructure,” Gainey said. “Funding these projects is always an issue, and I am pleased to announce this grant which will help Wilkinsburg provide for the health and well-being of its residents.”
Municipalities and municipal authorities are eligible to apply for Small Water & Sewer grants for projects that have a total project cost of not less than $30,000 and not more than $500,000. The projects can include the construction, improvement, expansion, or rehabilitation or repair of a water supply or sanitary sewer system.
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On Clean Indoor Air Act’s 10th anniversary, elected officials, advocates call for extending its protections to all Pa. workers
PITTSBURGH, September 11, 2018 – On the 10th anniversary of the start of Pennsylvania’s Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA), elected officials joined with advocates to celebrate the health benefits of a decade of the law and to call for extending those same benefits to all employees in Pennsylvania.
The law took effect on Sept. 11, 2008, creating standardized rules requiring most Pennsylvania businesses to go smoke-free. Since then, the vast majority of businesses in the commonwealth have gone smoke-free. However, due to broad exemptions for bars and casinos, thousands of employees at more than 1,700 businesses are still exposed to tobacco smoke in their workplace.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, said, “This is a simple matter of fairness. If you work in most businesses in Pennsylvania, your lungs are protected. But if your job is one of the more than 1,700 that have asked to be exempt from the law, you’re not. It’s been a decade. We know the law works. Let’s make it work for everyone. All Pennsylvania workers have a right to breathe free.”
Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, said, “It’s simply unacceptable to improve working conditions for most Pennsylvanians, but selectively choose some workers to be exposed to the known dangers of second-hand smoke. Ten years is already too long. We should pass legislation to improve the health conditions of all workplaces.”
Allegheny County passed its own clean indoor air ordinance in 2007, before the legislature passed the CIAA. However, state law preempts this ordinance, which would have ensured smoke-free environments in all drinking and eating establishments. Electronic cigarettes are not included in the preemption, and since March 2017, the county treats e-cigarettes like tobacco products when it comes to indoor use — a step ahead of the state.
“Concerns about air pollution and its impacts is something I’ve heard from residents my entire career. It’s one of the reasons that we decided to challenge the state law and prohibit smoking in facilities throughout this county. While the state took action after that, it’s not enough,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, who led the effort to make Allegheny County smoke-free as council president. “We made the decision to act on a county level because of our residents, and on their behalf. This is no exception. We cannot meet our goal of becoming the healthiest county in the country when employees are still exposed to tobacco smoke in their workplace.”
The elected officials were joined at the Morningside VFW today by representatives from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Breathe Free Pennsylvania Coalition, Tobacco Free Allegheny and the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Bipartisan legislation to strengthen the protections afforded by the Clean Indoor Air Act has been introduced many times over the past decade, including H.B. 1309 and S.B. 519 in the 2017-2018 legislative session.
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