The Ohio EPA approved the air permit for Cleveland-Cliffs’ Middletown Steelworks (formerly owned by AK Steel). This will allow the company to start construction on a $1 billion facility upgrade.
The permit was approved early last month.
The company will refurbish the blast furnace it uses in steelmaking, as well as install a cogeneration plant that will reuse blast furnace gas to produce energy and steam for use on-site. It will also add new boilers, material-handling operations, and a cooling tower.
In a community notice obtained by WYSO, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency wrote it “determined that the operations meet state and federal rules and regulations that protect human health and the environment.”
"Because the permit complies with the applicable air regulations, Ohio EPA must issue it under state rule," the Sept. 9 statement continued.
The agency declined WYSO’s interview request.
Cleveland-Cliffs didn’t respond to WYSO’s requests for comment.
Earlier this summer, Vice President JD Vance joined U.S. Department of Energy officials to announce that the company will use a $500 million federal grant for the project. The grant was originally approved by the Biden administration to overhaul the mill to use clean hydrogen. Instead, the upgrades maintain the burning of coal.
The largest differences between this version and the draft version of the permit published earlier this year are additional monitoring and record-keeping requirements for carbon dioxide emissions for some equipment and more information on the calculations used to estimate emissions. The agency also stated it considered all comments made on the draft air permit.
It’s not clear whether construction has begun. But in the company’s application submitted earlier in the year, the company said it wanted to begin construction by Sept. 29.
Recent air violation reported at Middletown Works
Weeks before being issued the permit, the company was cited for an air violation at its Middletown plant.
According to a document obtained by WYSO, the company reported a malfunction of its blast furnace on Aug. 13, requiring emergency release of blast furnace gas into the air. Within 52 seconds, the furnace released over 77 pounds of particulate emissions, which can contain anything from soot to iron ore dust or coke (a coal derivative) dust.
According to the terms of the company’s permit at that time, combined emissions were not supposed to exceed 73.8 pounds per hour. The matter was deemed resolved by the Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency.
