Comdema, an environmental authority council located in Vitoria, Espirito Santo state, will rule in early November on the appeal filed by Brazilian miner Vale and local steelmaker ArcelorMittal Brazil, a media report by Gazeta Online said.
Vitoria’s city hall imposed fines on both companies, reaching up to BRL 68 million ($17.5 million), the newspaper said. The fines for air pollution were imposed in 2016, as previously reported by SteelOrbis.
Vale and ArcelorMittal Brazil have appealed at lower city courts, and more recently, appealed to Vitoria city environmental council Comdema.
In 2016, Vale and ArcelorMittal Brazil were fined BRL 34.2 million each by the city of Vitoria due to air and sea pollution at the Tubarao port, which was shut down for a short period also in 2016 for the same reasons. The Tubarao port is operated by Vale, but also serves the needs of steelmaker ArcelorMittal in Brazil.