17:03 EDT
Wednesday
EPA pulls steelmaker's exemption
AK Steel's exemption from air emissions requirements in Middletown has
been revoked by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
As a result, AK Steel must submit to the EPA by Nov. 15 a plan to
control dust emissions. The company also has until that date to file an
appeal with the Environmental Review Appeals Commission.
With this action, the EPA is hoping to remedy procedural problems in
complaints the agency lodged against AK Steel last year. The EPA said 167
nuisance complaints have been filed by individuals who contend that plant
emissions affect their health and enjoyment of their property.
In 1997 and 2000, the EPA sent notification of violation letters to AK
Steel, which it said revoked the company's exemption from installing
emission control measures.
But in July, the Butler County Court of Common Pleas decided that the
EPA's notice of violation letters sent to AK Steel were "null and void"
and "of no legal effect."
The EPA said today the new orders have addressed the procedural
problems and wants the court to weigh the "substantive merits of whether a
nuisance existed."
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