Council Member Awaits Ethics Advisory Opinion on Ravenstahl Nominee

Shortly after Adam Ravenstahl, the younger brother of Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl, won a seat in the state house in May, the mayor nominated him to serve on the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority Board. In response, city council member Bill Peduto wrote a letter to the Pittsburgh Ethics Hearing Board asking for an advisory opinion on the nomination. Peduto, citing city code notes that elected officials are barred from nominating, promoting or even endorsing immediate family members. In response to the request, Sister Patrice Hughes who chairs the board responded, indicating that Peduto could file a complaint if he wished but that he needed to clarify the intent of his request. Peduto has since re-written the letter saying he does not want to file a complaint, and is only looking for advice, something he's done in the past. The nomination has not yet been forwarded to the city clerk's office. Candidates must be interviewed before council can vote on their appointment. Peduto believes the only way Adam Ravenstahl can be appointed is if the Ethics Hearing Board grants him a waiver.

Ravenstahl's Appointment of Brother Criticized

Pittsburgh Councilmen Doug Shields and Bill Peduto want 2 different ethics panels to review Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's nomination of his brother Adam Ravenstahl to the Allegheny County Sanitary (ALCOSAN) Board. On May 18, Adam Ravenstahl won a special election to the Pennsylvania House to serve out the remaining 7 months of the term of former Representative Don Walko, who resigned the seat after being elected to Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
Shields has written to the State Ethics Commission asking them to issue an opinion on the appointment. Peduto has sent a letter to Sister Patrice Hughes who chairs the Pittsburgh Ethics Hearing Board asking for an investigation. In his letter, Peduto cited city code which says the only time a direct family member can be appointed is "through a waiver from the Ethics Hearing Board."
Earlier, City Solicitor Dan Regan said the nomination is proper because council would still have to approve it.
After making the appointment, Mayor Ravenstahl brushed off allegations of nepotism, saying his brother now represents a community (Pittsburgh's North Side) which is most affected by ALCOSAN.

Sewage Rates to Rise; ALCOSAN Meetings on Overflows

The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) will increase sewage rates seven percent starting January 1, 2010. That means a homeowner using about 18,000 gallons of water per quarter will see an increase of $1.81 per month.

Spokesperson Nancy Barylak says that’s because the city-county authority needs extra revenue to meet the requirements of the consent decree, a mandate drafted to reduce sewer overflows from going into area waterways. She says their costs are rising due to the inspection and cleaning of 95 miles of interceptor sewer lines and the addition of technical staff to address consent decree compliance.
Barylak also says the rate hike will help offset a jump in ALCOSAN’s daily operating costs.

ALCOSAN is required to submit a regional plan by January 2013, in which the authority will outline how it plans to address the mandates of the consent decree, but Barylak says it will project future rate increases before it releases that plan.

Meantime, ALCOSAN is holding a series of public meetings to discuss the impact of overflow issues and meeting the consent decree, on residents and businesses. All meetings begin at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, November 5
Father Ryan Arts Center - 420 Chartiers Avenue, McKees Rocks,

Monday, November 9
Penn Hills Senior Center - 147 Jefferson Road

Tuesday, November 10
Whitehall Borough Building - 100 Borough Park Drive
Brashear Association - 2005 Sarah Street, Pittsburgh's South Side

Wednesday, November 11
Parkview Banquet Hall - 726 Midway Drive, O'Hara Township 15215

Thursday, November 12
The Union Project - 801 North Negley Avenue, East Liberty

Monday, November 16
Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center - 900 Cedar Boulevard
North Versailles Library - 1401 Greensburg Avenue

Tuesday, November 17
Oakdale Community Room - 104 Seminary Avenue
Hilltop United Methodist Church - 631 E. Warrington Avenue, Pittsburgh's Knoxville section

Wednesday, November 18
Sharpsburg Borough Building - 1611 Main Street
Avalon Borough Building - 640 California Avenue

Thursday, November 19
Courtyard by Marriott - 401 West Waterfront Drive, West Homestead

ALCOSAN to Show Off Sewage Treatment to Visitors

One reason Pittsburgh was selected as the site of the G20 Summit is because of the region's environmental transformation, so ALCOSAN is holding an open house this Saturday to showcase how the rivers have been changed cleaned and are now teaming with aquatic life. Spokeswoman Nancy Barylak says the rivers of today look nothing like they used to and ALCOSAN had a big hand in transforming the waterways. Barylak says they are used to getting visitors from around the world that are interested in taking back ideas on wastewater treatment to their countries. Barylak says 50 years ago sewage was flushed straight into the river but now the rivers are clean enough to host fishing tournaments. The open house is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

ALCOSAN Plans New Plants

The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority is floating a pair of trial balloons for public comment. The authority has released plans to build a pair of satellite treatment plants that would only operate on heavy rainfall or snowmelt days. ALCOSAN is in the process of finding ways to reduce the amount of sewage that flows into the region’s rivers on wet weather days. The authority is under a consent decree from the EPA to have a plan in place by 2012. The plants would take the extra water, filter out the solids and then disinfect the water before dumping it into the river. The two plants being proposed would be in Munhall and Millvale. The facilities come with an estimated combined price tag of $60 million. ALCOSAN spokesperson Nancy Barylak says the facility in Munhall is ready to build but they are waiting on the final design of Rt. 28 before the plant on the Allegheny can be finalized. She says these could be the first of several satellite treatment facilities. Barylak says it is cheaper and better for the environment to build these types of plants than it is to separate the decades-old combined storm and sewer pipes. Separation would mean massive digging and pipe laying projects and the end result would still dump all the debris, oils, salts and other chemicals found on roadways into the rivers. The proposed treatment plants would be placed on approximately 1.5-acre parcels but Barylak says nearly all of the tanks and equipment is underground. Other communities across the country have designed the remaining structures to blend in with the community and some have finished the land with basketball courts, tennis courts or walking trails. If the plans are approved construction work could begin in 2012. Public comment will be taken until June 12 at the ALCOSAN web page.

Audit Finds Big Costs Coming at ALCOSAN

The city and county controllers are hoping a newly released audit of ALCOSAN will shed light on a looming crisis. The audit looked at the authority’s efforts to comply with a federal consent decree forcing it to end sewage overflows by 2026. The audit found the authority is facing $10 to $50 billion in infrastructure upgrades to make that happen. County Controller Mark Flaherty says that would be the largest municipal project ever undertaken in Southwestern Pennsylvania. He calls the numbers “mind boggling.” City controller Michael Lamb says if a fairly conservative number of $21 billion dollars is used, residential rate-payers will see an increase of $1,760 a year. He says people do not usually think about their sewer bills but they will when that happens. He says he hopes the audit will serve as a “siren” to elected officials to start lobbying Harrisburg and Washington for help. Without government help the full cost will land on the ratepayers. ALCOSAN Executive Director Arletta Williams says she agrees with the numbers. She says it is hard to make any solid estimates because they are still trying to get a handle on the extent of the problems and the best way to fix them. Williams says the authority cannot save up funds to cover the capital costs, so ratepayers will see big jumps once ground is broken for the upgrades. She says that will come some time after 2016. The audit also looked at ALCOSAN’s contracting practices. The report found the authority has solid policies in place but when there was a deviation from the policy there was often not enough substantive documentation. Flaherty says when the board stepped away from the policies it usually had good reason. Thos reasons were relayed to the auditors but they were often not written down at the time the contract was awarded. Williams says that will be remedied going forward.

ALCOSAN doesn't mind being audited

ALCOSAN sees an upcoming audit as a "cooperative venture to explore fresh ideas," according to spokeswoman Nancy Barylak. ALCOSAN has already met with city and county auditors regarding a consent agreement that requires improvements to its sewage treatment facilities. During periods of wet weather, waste often flows directly into local waterways due to the region's combined sewer system. ALCOSAN has to have a comprehensive plan by 2012 and will use the audit as a guide for finding cost-effective solutions. Barylak says compliance with the consent decree will require rate increases for ALCOSAN consumers because no state or federal money is helping to pay for what's expected to be a multi-billion dollar project.