AK Steel's environmental project ahead of schedule

AK Steel's environmental project ahead of schedule

According to AK Steel, the installation of a new emission control system on the blast furnace at its plant in Middletown, Ohio, has been completed one month ahead of schedule. The blast furnace represents the first phase of a $66 million capital improvement at the company’s Middletown Works meant to meet the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards of the federal Clean Air Act. “Progress continues on the companion project for new air emission controls on the basic oxygen furnaces,” said James L. Wainscott, president and CEO, “and we are equally committed to meeting the May 2006 deadline for that project.” The new emission control system is just one part of a landmark settlement between AK Steel and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA). In the settlement, AK Steel also agreed to implement a complaint response system to address the concerns of Middletown’s residents. This includes a cleaning program for homes and vehicles affected by dust from the nearby plant. AK Steel has also planted several hundred new trees and agreed to continue an in-plant bus service. The OEPA estimates the additional trees will remove four tons of carbon dioxide from the air and that the bus service will eliminate about 30 tons of dust per year as a result of reduced employee traffic. Financing assistance for the environmental project is being provided by a $62 million industrial revenue bond issued through the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority (OAQDA), and a $5 million loan from the Ohio Department of Development. Said Wainscott, “We appreciate the continuing assistance of Governor Bob Taft and his administration with this project, which is helping preserve both the environment and good manufacturing jobs in Middletown.”