Tracks installed on new coaster
2008 Beijing Olympics
Equipment collapse injures man
Get latest headlines via RSS feeds
Del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Google
Reddit
Stumbleupon
Y! MyWebOhio EPA sets hearing on $340M coke plant
AK Steel Corp. would purchase all coke and electricity produced at proposed SunCoke facility.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
MIDDLETOWN — The Ohio EPA will hold a public information and hearing session regarding the air permit for the proposed coke plant to be built in Middletown.
The session will be held at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 21 at the Dave Finkelman Auditorium on the Miami University Middletown campus, 4200 E. University Blvd.
Agency representatives will answer audience questions about the proposed $340 million plant to be built on a 157-acre parcel along Yankee Road. Officials also will allow the public to submit comments for the record regarding the draft air permit, said Heather Lauer, state EPA spokeswoman.
The facility would be built by Tenn.-based SunCoke Energy and produce coke and electricity for the exclusive use of AK Steel's Middletown Works steelmaking operations for at least 20 years, said Alan McCoy, AK Steel spokesman.
"We will be purchasing all of the coke and all of the electricity that (SunCoke) produces," he said.
According to the permit application, the facility will consist of 100 heat recovery coke ovens in three batteries. It will be capable of coking 910,000 tons of coal per year for AK Steel's use.
The state EPA has set limits on the amount of emissions the facility is allowed to produce, including carbon monoxide, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid and other hazardous air pollutants, Lauer said.
In addition to session comments, the Ohio EPA will accept written comments through Aug. 28.
Send comments to Mike Ploetz of the Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services, 250 William Howard Taft Road, Cincinnati, OH 45219. Residents also may fax comments to (513) 946-7778.
The draft permit is available to view at www.epa.state.oh.us/pic/middletowncoke.html.
Limits on air pollutants from proposed SunCoke coke facility in Middletown in tons per year:
Particulate matter (stack): 344.55
Particulate matter 10 microns or less: 217.4
Particulate matter 2.5 microns or less: 114.05
Sulfur dioxide: 1584.75
Nitrogen oxide: 483.67
Carbon monoxide:: 129.49
Volatile organic compounds: 31.35
Hydrochloric acid: 121
Sulfuric acid mist: 36.29
Hazardous air pollutants: 3.6
Lead: 560
Mercury: 50 pounds
Source: Ohio EPA
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2843 or jheffner@coxohio.com.
