Ongoing

1) The state Department of Environmental Protection has issued four deficiency letter to the developer, outlining the continued problems in their surface mining application (as of April 2005).  The developer has submitted revisions to the DEP, and they are currently under review (as of October 2005).  In addition to the surface mining permit, the application also includes the application on the state level for the largest stream fill.   Check back soon for updated information.  Copies of the developer's "Alternatives Assessment", proposed stream mitigation plan (their plan to restore different streams elsewhere to make up for the losses of streams on this site), stream assessment, and aquatic resources assessment are available for your review.  Anyone interested can contact Heather Sage at sage@pennfuture.org or 412-258-6681 for the pertinent details.  DEP will accept written comments on this information at any time.  Contact information is available from Heather.

 

2) Public Hearings are occurring this fall on several issues related to this site.  Please check back often.  To stay most up-to-date, please subscribe to our list serve.   These include hearings by the PA Horse Racing Commission, the Pittsburgh Planning Commission, and the Pittsburgh Gaming Task Force.

PAST EVENTS/STATUS


A great deal of public involvement has occurred since early 2003, when the developer first made the permit applications.  These are just a handful of important events and activities.


Groundworks is an exhibition seeking to clarify the role of artists in questions of nature and culture. It will feature artworks that are case studies in social, ecological change. This exhibit is an extension/culmination of the Monongahela Conference that was organized by Carnegie Mellon University’s 3Rivers 2ndNature project and the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry. The exhibition runs from October 14, 2005 to December 14, 2005 at the Regina Miller Gouger Gallery at CMU.

 

Want to breathe some pure oxygen courtesy of plants from Hays Woods? Try the Oxygen Bar, a project of artist A. Laurie Palmer. The oxygen bar is a mobile breathing machine, offering free hits of “natural” oxygen on a first-come, first-serve basis. This oxygen is produced by the photosynthetic work of green plants (from Hays Woods) and is offered as a public service. It reproduces in miniature the beneficial cleansing and refreshing effects of city green spaces on the air we breathe. The oxygen bar anticipates the imminent loss of public resources that filter Pittsburgh’s dirty air and replenish it with oxygen, in particular, Hays Woods.  At the same time, the oxygen bar anticipates the active participation of citizens of Allegheny County in land use decisions affecting our public health.  The bar will continue to visit Pittsburgh neighborhoods in October and early November; for dates and locations please call 773-339-7379 or e-mail the artist at apalme@artic.edu.  The bar is also available for adoption (free!) by relevant groups working for environmental justice, greening, and local land use decision-making.



City of Pittsburgh: The developer applied for, and received, a conditional use permit for the property in spring/summer 2003.  This gives the developer permission under Pittsburgh's planning code to conduct a major excavation/grading/fill operation and mining.  There were several public meetings and hearings, both with the City's Planning Commission, and the City Council, related to this permit. Many provided testimony and evidence in opposition to the permit. The developer also applied for, and received, a zoning change for two-thirds of the property, which was zoned "Parks and Open Space" and is now zoned "Special Planned District 6: Pittsburgh Palisades," a unique zoning district under the code.  As before, many residents and organizations submitted testimony and evidence at the related public meetings and hearings.  This zone change will not take effect until the developer applies for and receives permission to build structures on the property.  The developer is also required to submit a traffic impact analysis of the proposed development, which may result in the Planning Commission revising the development plan.

Allegheny County Health Department: The developer applied for an air quality permit for the coal/rock processing facility that he proposes to install on the property.  The department held a public hearing on the permit, and many citizens and organizations testified against it and submitted detailed comments.  Unfortunately, the Health Department issued the air permit to the developer in 2004.


Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection: DEP is currently reviewing applications for mining and the associated stream fills.   These applications were made in spring and summer 2003, and have been revised several times since.  The DEP held several public meetings and informal conferences, attended by as many as 400 people at a time. Many citizens and organizations provided comments on the mining permits. DEP has issued four letters summarizing scores of deficiencies in the permit applications.

Army Corps of Engineers: ACOE received a request from the developer in summer 2003 to approve filling the three wetlands and six streams on the site under a Nationwide 21 permit, which is an abbreviated, general permit requiring less scrutiny and that is applicable for projects with minimal impacts.  This permit does not contain a provision for public comment or a public hearing. Organizations submitted detailed objections to this application, and met with many local and state elected officials, who subsequently requested that the ACOE reject this application, and require the developer to make a formal, individual application under the Clean Water Act for these fill activities.  Citizens were successful in getting the Corps to require that application, which has been submitted and remains under review as of August 2005.  The application required that the developer submit a detailed "alternatives analysis," examining alternative sites for the project as well as alternatives to stream and wetland fills.  Organizations, agencies, and citizens reviewed this application and submitted detailed comments.  They requested a public hearing; no action has been taken yet by the Corps, and it is not expected until the state Department of Environmental Protection comes closer to making its decision. Under the Clean Water Act, the Corps cannot issue such a permit if the surface mining permit is not issued.

Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission: An application for the one remaining horse racing license in Pennsylvania was submitted by the developer in early 2003 to the Commission.  Eight other applications were also submitted by other developers for other sites. Since that time, the number of applications has fallen to three total. There is another site proposed in Allegheny County.  The Commission must hold a public hearing on each of the applications, in the county where the project is proposed, before a decision on granting the license is made.  A hearing was held in Pittsburgh in the fall of 2005 at which Councilman Bill Peduto and citizens testified to present information regarding negative impact which will be created by the Pittsburgh Pallasades Development.  Further actions by the Horseracing Commission is expected soon.

 

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board: Pennsylvania passed a law legalizing gambling with slots machines in 2004.  The way the law was written, this developer will have to compete separately for a slots license and for a thoroughbred racetrack license.  Pittsburgh is guaranteed by the law to get one stand-alone slots parlor, but not guaranteed to get a racetrack, and the final racetrack license will not include a slots license.  This Board is in the process of hiring staff and establishing the rules and processes to regulate gaming in Pennsylvania.  Eventually, there will be public hearings held to determine which applicants will receive slots licenses.  An application process has not yet been established.  Meeting minutes are transcribed and posted on the Board Web site.

 

Pittsburgh Gaming Task Force: Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy convened a local committee to examine issues related to the one slots parlor that will be located in the city.  This committee is expected to make recommendations to the State Gaming Commission.  It is working closely with Pittsburgh City Planning to establish all of the necessary zoning and other review criteria for a parlor.  Public hearings are being held in Fall 2005 on those criteria. Check their Web site for hearing times and locations.

Artists in Action: What does public space mean to you, and what can we do about it? The Monongahela Conference was a month-long program that encouraged public discussion of the continually-changing relationships between cities, nature, and the policies that govern them. Local and nationally-known artists were invited to partner with community leaders and non-profit experts to make artworks, designs, performance pieces and future plans with three Pittsburgh communities.  A community dialogue focused on Hays Woods was held Friday, June 25th, 2004 in Homestead.  Several artists focused their work on Hays Woods.  A follow-up exhibit called Groundworks opened in October 2005 at the Regina Gouger Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University.  Another exhibit called “Hidden in Plain Sight: The Forest in the City,” held from September 9, 2005 to October 21, 2005 at the Three Rivers Arts Festival Gallery in Pittsburgh, and examined the role and value of the natural world in the urban environment, with a special focus on Hays Woods.

Investigation of Pittsburgh’s Hillsides: After a year of research, An Ecological and Physical Investigation of Pittsburgh Hillsides has been released describing the beneficial role that the natural wooded hillsides play in the City of Pittsburgh.   Funded by the Heinz Endowments and managed by the Allegheny Land Trust, the study will support the work of the Pittsburgh Hillside Committee that was established by the City Planning Department in 2002.  The study, prepared by a team of professionals from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and Perkins Eastman focused on the steep slopes that account for approximately 11% of the landscape within Pittsburgh’s city limits.  Hays Woods was studied for this report, and was found to be Pittsburgh’s best example of natural conditions. Within the site, there is more than 250 acres of undisturbed interior forest.  Hays Woods is large enough to have what the scientists call an “interior forest patch”, which means that there is at least 100 meters of buffer around the central core of a forested area.   Interior forests provide a special habitat for animal species that require solitude and large areas to roam.  Trees in excess of 3 meters in circumference and evidence of black bear were found within Hays Woods.

Young Preservationists Association: YPA recognized Hays Woods as one of the Top Ten Preservation Opportunities in the 10-County Southwestern Pennsylvania region in 2005.  You can download the full report on their Web site.

Other Community Events: students at Carnegie Mellon University, attending a course offered by the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry in the Fine Arts Department, organized a community event in December 2003.  This event aimed to bring members of the community together with experts in various fields to consider other potential uses for the site.  The event was attended by more than 70 people. There have been numerous public dialogues at college campuses and community and political events pertaining to Hays Woods.

Sierra Club held community walks in Baldwin, the community bordering Hays Woods, to raise environmental awareness among Sierra Club members and the public. Post cards to Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection have been signed by many members of the public, on these walks and at other public events, requesting she deny the mining permit die to environmental and health consequences.