Title
Recognizing the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Air Council and the 35th Anniversary of Joe Minott’s Service to the Organization.
Body
WHEREAS, The Clean Air Council was formed on August 30, 1967 as the Delaware Valley Citizens Council for Clean Air by the area’s eleven Tuberculosis and Health Associations. The Council is Philadelphia’s oldest environmental non-profit, and preceded both the Environmental Protection Agency and Earth Day; and
WHEREAS, The mission of the Clean Air Council is to protect and defend everyone’s right to breathe clean air. The council works towards this mission through a broad array of sustainability and public health initiatives, public education, community action, government oversight, and enforcement of environmental laws; and
WHEREAS, The Clean Air Council quickly established a strong track record of accomplishments, the American Heritage Publishing Company recognized the Clean Air Council, in 1970, as one of the top twelve non-profits in the nation dedicated to preserving America’s physical heritage, and, in 1975, the Council had developed the first regional air quality reporting system called AIRS, which was regarded as a model air quality index by, and eventually merged into, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Pollution Standards Index; and
WHEREAS, Events by the Clean Air Council bring together the Philadelphia Community in furtherance of the Organization’s mission, the Council’s Greenfest, Run for Clean Air, and Dine Out for the Environment are popular and promote environmental sustainability, and publically represent and support the mission of work endorsed by thousands of regional citizen members of the Clean Air Council; and
WHEREAS, The Clean Air Council has established seven areas of focus, all of which contribute to the health and well-being of the citizens of Philadelphia and the greater Delaware Valley/Mid-Atlantic Region — dirty energy, clean energy, sustainable transportation, public health, climate change policy, waste and recycling, and environmental legal practice; and
WHEREAS, Joe Minott, Esq., Executive Director and Chief Counsel of the Clean Air Council, played a transformative role in the development of the Council, having begun his tenure with the organization in 1982 shortly after completing his law degree from Villanova University’s School of Law. Within a few years of serving as a staff attorney, he was appointed as Executive Director, a role he continues to hold today; and
WHEREAS, Under the leadership of Joe Minott, the Council has grown considerably, now operating with a multi-million-dollar budget and staff of more than 25 people. Among Mr. Minott’s many achievements, he participated in the drafting of Philadelphia’s mandatory recycling law, forced the Commonwealth to implement an automobile emissions inspection program, helped form Community Energy Inc., and promoted development of off-shore wind in the State of Delaware; and
WHEREAS, Joe Minott led the effort to establish the Clean Air Council as one of the foremost environmental activist legal practices in the region and, as Chief Counsel of the Organization, secured legal victories that required oil companies to more tightly monitor their facilities, and also helped establish stronger drinking water protections in conjunction with gas pipeline development, compelled reductions in smog-forming emissions from oil refineries, and shaped Pennsylvania permit regulations related to Marcellus Shale; and
WHEREAS, In addition to his leadership at the Clean Air Council, Joe Minott has made significant contributions to the civic and community life of the City of Philadelphia and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, he teaches students at the University of Pennsylvania, and has served on numerous boards and committees, including Philadelphia’s Air Pollution Control Board and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby recognizes the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Air Council and the 35th Anniversary of Joe Minott’s service to the Organization.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to the Joe Minott, Esq., Executive Director and Chief Counsel of the Clean Air Council, as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.
End