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SunCoke says it can get emission credits for project

Middletown Coke says it wants to have new permit from Ohio EPA by Sept. 1.

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By Jessica Heffner, Staff Writer 2:24 AM Thursday, June 18, 2009

MIDDLETOWN — SunCoke Energy said it is prepared to secure emission-reduction credits to meet the requirements of the New Source Review air permit it has submitted to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

The permit, submitted to the state agency in April, requires Middletown Coke, a subsidiary of SunCoke, to show its emissions will not hinder the improvement of air quality in Butler County, which does not meet federal standards. It is more stringent than the current permit SunCoke holds, which is the subject of a Clean Air Act lawsuit.

“It’s true that the NSR permit will require a net air-quality benefit for nonattainment pollutants,” said Thomas Golembeski, spokesman for Tennessee-based SunCoke. “Middletown Coke will secure emission-reduction credits to offset on a greater than one-to-one basis our emissions of non-attainment pollutants.”

While the company said it has identified those sources, it has not disclosed them.

SunCoke has requested that the Ohio EPA approve the permit by Sept. 1, citing that time frame “offers a reasonable window in which the permit could be finalized and issued.”

Heather Lauer, spokeswoman for the Ohio EPA, said the permit is still under review by its local agent, the Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services. She said they expect to receive the permit application for agency review within the next few weeks. The U.S. EPA also will comment on the permit before any draft permit is considered.

Lauer said the Ohio EPA would need to issue a draft permit before the end of July to meet SunCoke’s deadline.

“We do need to try to move quickly once we finally get the packet from Hamilton County,” she said. “It could be that we look at it and it won’t be possible. But we are going to give it a fair evaluation.”

Golembeski emphasized that SunCoke believes it has a valid permit in hand for its $340 million project, but is pursuing the NSR to “eliminate any doubt about the project’s environmental permitting.”

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