Local news reported Tuesday that the Mississippi Commission of Environmental Quality fined Severstal North America’s Columbus steel mill $135,000 due to the company's pollution control monitors not functioning properly after the plant expanded in June 2011.
According to Mississippi’s Department of Environmental Quality, Severstal agreed to install a continuous emissions monitoring system when it made a $550 million plant expansion that added a second furnace, and even though Severstal has been conducting emissions tests during the dispute, some of the results have showed the mill is exceeding emission limits.
Severstal recently sold the Columbus mill to Steel Dynamics, Inc.--it is unclear whether the new owner will be responsible for the fine.