New Owners of Dearborn Steel Mill to Pay $1.35M to Settle Air Quality Violations

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The new owners of a Dearborn steel mill considered one of the most egregious polluters in the state will pay $1.35 million to settle dozens of alleged air pollution violations with state and federal regulators, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

Ohio-based AK Steel acquired the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency file with its $700 million purchase of the Dearborn steel mill from the American subsidiary of Russia-based Severstal.

AK Steel said in a statement Wednesday that it “intends to operate in an environmentally responsible manner … (and) to be a good corporate citizen and good neighbor in Dearborn.”

The terms of the settlement are outlined in a Consent Decree filed Wednesday with U.S. District Court in Detroit. Among the corrective actions that AK Steel must take is the installation of air filtration systems at the nearby Salina elementary and intermediate schools.

Related Links:

• Permit Revision Would Allow Severstal Dearborn to Release More Pollutants
• DEQ Approves Higher Emissions for Steelmakers, Neighbors Plan Appeal
• Russian Steelmaker’s Sale of U.S. Interests Includes Dearborn Plant
• Fire Still Burning at Dearborn Steel Plant, One of State’s Worst Polluters

“People living in Dearborn and southwest Detroit have long been concerned about air pollution from this steel mill,” EPA Regional Administrator Susan Hedman said. “The consent decree will result in improved air quality in these communities and help prevent future violations of the Clean Air Act.”

DEQ Director Dan Wyant said the settlement is “welcome news” for residents who who live near the steel mill, For years, they have complained that the plant exceeded air pollution standards and sent toxins into the air at dangerous levels, covering everything with a thick blanket of black dust.

“It has ruined the paint on my car. In the summertime, I’m sweeping up black dust every day. Dust is dust, but this is not normal,” Patricia Guziak, who lives less than a quarter of a mile from the mill, said when former owner Severstal asked the DEQ to approve higher emission standards.

“And the stink – you’ll get smells so bad you can’t sit on the porch,” she said.

As part of the settlement, AK Steel must develop a process to manage environmental concerns, conduct outside audits twice a year, inspect pollution control equipment annually and implement a dust-control policy.

Full implementation of the plan approved in the settlement should reduce hazardous air pollutants at the plant by about 100 tons per year.

The consent order is subject to a 30-day comment period before final approval by the court.