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SunCoke permit still under review

By Jessica Heffner, Staff Writer 12:08 AM Friday, November 6, 2009

MIDDLETOWN — The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is awaiting feedback from its federal counterpart before making a decision on the pending new air emissions permit submitted by SunCoke Energy.

The U.S. EPA submitted about 12 comments on the New Source Review permit for the proposed $340 million coke oven facility that will supply raw materials and electricity to AK Steel Corp. It is the second permit SunCoke has pursued for the facility, after its first came under legal fire from residents and the city of Monroe, which borders where the plant would be constructed.

The U.S. EPA’s latest request for information on SunCoke was submitted Thursday, Nov. 5.

Two issues still under review by the federal agency are the company’s certification of compliance and the air pollution controls the plant would use, said Mike Hopkins, vice president of permitting at the Ohio EPA.

The Ohio EPA has said SunCoke must only certify its plants were in compliance with their air permits on the day they submitted a letter to the agency to meet NSR requirements. It has required AK Steel to certify its compliance as well in connection with the conveyor system that will carry coke from the SunCoke plant to Middletown Works. In terms of the pollution controls, the U.S. EPA is reviewing whether best available technologies are being used and are adequate for the facility, which is considered a major source of pollution, Hopkins said.

“We’re not really waiting for their approval, we just want to make sure they don’t have any concerns with the way the permit is crafted,” Hopkins said. “It’s an ongoing discussion.”

While its been several months since a draft of the SunCoke permit was issued by the Ohio EPA — sent out July 27 — Hopkins said the time frame is “typical for a controversial facility like this” due to the large number of comments the agency must research and answer.

While he did not have the exact number submitted on the permit, Hopkins said they had “hundreds of pages of comments” to sift through while considering the permit.

It could take several more days to find out whether the agency is satisfied and has no more questions. If that were to happen, Ohio EPA officials said it would take about a week to issue an acceptance or denial of the permit.

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