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MIDDLETOWN — Two leading national environmental groups have filed testimony with the Ohio EPA claiming the air permit for the proposed SunCoke plant violates the Clean Air Act.

Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and SunCoke Watch Inc. file comments opposing SunCoke permit

Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council joined SunCoke Watch Inc. in opposition of the air permit being considered for approval by the OEPA.

"SunCoke has proposed to discharge hundreds of tons of pollution per year into the air around Middletown and Monroe, adding enormously to the existing air pollution hazard that exists in Butler and surrounding counties", said Marilyn Wall of the Sierra Club. "This increase in an area which already has unhealthy air is intolerable. What's more, this permit evades the very purpose of the Clean Air Act which is to protect people and the environment."

The groups contend that the permit is far too lax, based on erroneous analyses that would allow over 2,400 tons of dangerous new emissions in the air above Middletown, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter — all of which are known causes of respiratory disease and asthma, particularly in children and the elderly. The nearly 345 tons of particulate matter allowed by the permit are of special concern, as these fine particles are particularly dangerous contributors to various lung ailments. In addition, the groups contend that the permit does not consider all of the particulate matter emissions that would result from this coke plant.

"It would be tough to find a proposal more contrary to the spirit of the Clean Air Act," said NRDC attorney Thom Cmar. "They are trying to plop a heavy polluter just across from an elementary school and less than a mile from a nursing home. In a community that already has clean air issues, can we really afford to endanger the health of the two groups most at risk from these dangerous pollutants?"

Lisa Frye, president of SunCoke Watch Inc., urged the OEPA to deny the permit application. "Our health and safety, and our children's future, depend on clean air."

The new $340 million facility would be run through Middletown Coke Company, a subsidiary of Knoxville, Tenn.-based SunCoke Energy. It would run a total of 100 heat recovery coke ovens in three batteries to provide coke exclusively for AK Steel Corp.'s steelmaking operations at Middletown Works. The facility is to be built on a site along the 3300 block of Yankee Road.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2843 or jheffner@coxohio.com.