Steelmaker gets extra time to fix polluting coke plants

AM Dofasco must shut down ovens if it misses new deadline

The province will give ArcelorMittal Dofasco an extra year to upgrade polluting coke-making plants over the objection of local councillors and nearby residents.

But the steelmaker will also be forced to shut down any coke ovens that it can’t bring up to environmental scratch by the end of 2019.

The Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks ordered the steelmaker in 2014 to overhaul the aging, smoke-belching plants — the same year the company was hit with a $390,000 fine for visible pollution. The province gave the company until the end of 2018 to do the work.

ArcelorMittal is well into a $87-million restoration plan that included the shutdown of its oldest coke plant. But the company asked for a time extension early this year because of “significant, additional unplanned work” that is still required on the remaining plants that date back to the 1970s and ’80s, said environmental general manager John Lundrigan.

He has argued that not extending the time frame for improvements would effectively punish the company “for trying to do the right thing.”

The ministry previewed its proposed decision — a one-year extension on the order — at the steelmaker’s community liaison committee Thursday night.

District supervisor Stephen Burt said the ministry always recognized the revamp of the aging coke plants would be “complicated,” and added that the proposed additional work will be “beneficial” to the steelmaker and the surrounding community.

Burt also acknowledged many residents had urged the ministry to stick to the original pollution fix timeline. That’s why the ministry is rewriting the order to include specific consequences for failure, he said.

If the steelmaker misses the next deadline “they will have to take ovens out of service until the needed work is completed,” he said.

Jochen Bezner, a member of

the neighbourhood-based Coalition Against Pollution, said he had mixed emotions about the ministry’s decision.

“I am disappointed they granted the extension, because the community has already waited far too long for this kind of work to be completed,” he said, noting local politicians like Ward 4 Coun. Sam Merulla also wrote to oppose giving extra time.

He also noted neighbourhood frustration with the pace and consequences of the restoration work. The ongoing repairs actually caused black smoke to spew from the plants for several weeks in the spring, for example.

But Bezner also said he welcomed a new order “that has some teeth … It will be nice to have a deadline that actually means something.”

Bezner added he expects residents living in the shadow of the plant will continue pushing for a stricter deadline, noting the ministry’s proposal will be posted for public comment in the coming weeks.

“I view it as a proposal that we can still influence, rather than a final decision,” he said.