MiddletownJournal.com

MIDDLETOWN — A permit application for a proposed coke oven and a power regeneration plant could take as long as six months to approve by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Heather Lauer, an Ohio EPA spokeswoman, confirmed Thursday, March 13, that Knoxville, Tenn.-based SunCoke Energy submitted an application in February for a permit to install air pollution control equipment.

Middletown Planning Director Marty Kohler said the city became aware last week of the Ohio EPA permit submission.

Rezoning of 157 acres in the city near the Monroe border, the proposed site of the project, was tabled at the city Planning Commission's marathon meeting Wednesday, March 12, that included a 3½-hour public hearing on the topic attended by several dozen concerned property owners, most from Monroe.

Kohler said his office was working on getting the answers to the commission's questions for the city-initiated rezoning.

"We probably will not have another public hearing," Kohler said. "But it's up to the chairman to reopen the hearing."

The Planning Commission has 30 days to make a decision and recommendation to Middletown City Council on the proposed rezoning.

Lauer said the Ohio EPA would develop a fact sheet about the project that will be posted to its Web site in the near future and will hold a public hearing once a draft permit is ready.

The agency recently granted a permit to FDS Coke Plant LLC in the Toledo area, which Lauer said is a similar operation.

The FDS project will be a $800 million facility on 51 acres owned by the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority along Maumee Bay, according to the Toledo Blade, which also reported a late March groundbreaking for the plant that is promising 150 jobs with an average annual salary of $45,000.