Severstal Dearborn Seeks Revision of Air Permit

The Detroit Free press and other local new sources have reported that air pollution levels will rise under the revision.

“Severstal Dearborn, a steel plant that’s one of metro Detroit’s biggest polluters, would be allowed to release much higher volumes of toxins into the atmosphere — in some cases, hundreds of times more — in a permit revision proposed by the state Department of Environmental Quality,” wrote the Detroit Free Press in an article on March 11. An assertion that the DEQ and Severstal flatly deny.

“They had tested previously, but we questioned the validity of some of those results because their equipment was in disrepair,” said Vince Hellwig, chief of the DEQ’s Air Quality Division in the Detroit Free Press article. “The permit today is based on current testing, after the repairs have been made.”

Hellwig said the DEQ does not set emission limits but determines whether applicant requested limits are within safety parameters for the public. The proposed permit revision continues to meet “stringent” state and federal air toxin levels, he said.

Severstal purchased the former Rouge Steel plant from bankruptcy in 2004. The plant was a known pollutant in the area with multiple environmental violations. Since that time more than $1.7 billion has been invested in the plant for upgrades including installation of two state-of-the art air pollution control baghouses in 2007, which reduce particulate, lead and manganese emissions.

Severstal denied allegations that the permit revisions are driven by corporate greed and noted the Dearborn facility has yet to “turn a profit” due to the level of investment necessary to modernize the facility. Severstal spokesperson Katya Pruett explained to SMU that the Severstal Dearborn has only recently begun to turn the corner on profitability. “We haven’t experienced sustained profitability, if you will, and it’s something we are working toward,” said Pruett.

A public information session and hearing is scheduled for March 19 by the MDEQ Air Quality Division.