West Chester, Ohio-based AK Steel reported Thursday that it has reached an agreement to settle an action brought on behalf of the US Environmental Protection Agency and Commonwealth of Kentucky under the Clean Air Act and other statutes and regulations with respect to AK Steel's former Ashland, Kentucky coke plant. The agreement was reached without admission of the alleged violations by AK Steel.
In connection with the settlement, AK Steel has agreed to undertake two supplemental environmental projects at its Ashland Works steel plant to help reduce air emissions from that plant. The estimated cost of the supplemental environmental projects is approximately $2 million. In addition, AK Steel will pay civil penalties of $1,625,000 to the United States and $25,000 to the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
AK Steel said that it appreciates the cooperation of the Commonwealth of Kentucky during the settlement negotiation process that enabled a portion of AK Steel's assessed penalty to be applied to environmental improvement projects at the Ashland Works.
AK Steel permanently closed its Ashland coke plant in 2011 because it was no longer cost competitive due to increased maintenance and increasingly stringent environmental regulations. Corporate-wide, from 2003 through the end of 2012, AK Steel spent approximately $85 million on environmental-related capital projects and more than $1.1 billion to operate and maintain its environmental controls.