title
Motion of the Council of Allegheny County expressing support for ReImagine Appalachia and urging the creation of a Federal Appalachian climate infrastructure plan.
body
WHEREAS, on March 31, 2021, President Biden visited Pittsburgh to announce his plan to invest approximately $2 trillion in hard infrastructure projects including upgrading roads, bridges, public transit, electric vehicle charging stations and other transportation infrastructure, replacing lead water pipes and upgrading sewers, improving broadband internet coverage, upgrading the power grid to deliver clean electricity, and retrofitting and modernizing homes, schools, and hospitals; and
WHEREAS, as the final version of this plan is discussed, it is the judgment of Council that ReImagine Appalachia’s goal of incorporating climate considerations into any Federal infrastructure plan is prudent economically, environmentally, and pragmatically; and
WHEREAS, the people of Appalachia have an opportunity to build a 21st Century Economy where everyone has a good-paying job with good benefits and responsible employers who help protect the environment and health of the people; and
WHEREAS, enacting a Federal Appalachian climate infrastructure plan could create a new deal that works for us by expanding opportunity through public investments, growing manufacturing jobs, restoring our damaged land and waters through reclamation and remediation, modernizing the electric grid and incorporating universal broadband, reviving the Civilian Conservation Corps; and promoting union rights, second chance employment, better pay and benefits, and local ownership models that rebuild the middle class; and
WHEREAS, Federal action on climate change requires that the people of Appalachia and Allegheny County are at the table to ensure that working people and communities are put first and that their contributions are respected; and that Appalachia is a place where everyone can live, work, and raise a family; and
WHEREAS, Allegheny County is rich in assets, including its people, land, minerals, water, music and heritage; and for more than a century, Appalachian communities such as Allegheny County have helped fuel America’s industrial revolution; and
WHEREAS, by expanding career opportunities in clean manufacturing; land remediation, grid modernization, and building a sustainable transportation system, the number of family sustaining jobs created in these emergent industries could top 243,000 in Pennsylvania, 235,000 Ohio, and 41,000 in West Virginia; and
WHEREAS, the economy should celebrate our culture and heritage; invest in communities; generate good, stable, and meaningful union jobs; be just and equitable; and value the contributions of coal miners and other fossil fuel industry workers; and
WHEREAS, we can have a new Appalachia and a new Allegheny County - one that is a destination for people seeking opportunity and a better way of life, and where people no longer have to leave our state to pursue economic opportunities for their families;
The Council of the County of Allegheny therefore hereby moves as follows:
Allegheny County Council hereby supports ReImagine Appalachia’s efforts to build a 21st Century Economy that’s good for workers, communities, and the environment; and encourages members of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Congressional delegation to support the framework of ReImagine Appalachia through Federal action to enact the Appalachian Climate Infrastructure Plan.