Contact: Anne Perry Moore, 218-302-6605
Duluth, Minn. ― The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) invites the public to an open house and informational meeting regarding a draft air permit for Essar Steel Minnesota. The draft permit authorizes modifications and operations of the company’s iron ore mining and taconite pellet production facility in Nashwauk, Minn.
The event will be 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Feb. 9 at the Nashwauk-Keewatin High School. Staff will be available for general information during the open house, which will begin at 6:00. At 6:30, MPCA staff will provide an overview of the agency’s permit process and a description of the changes proposed in this permitting action. A question-and-answer session will follow, and formal public comments will be taken.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) conducted a supplemental environmental assessment for the project during 2011 and determined that the Final Environmental Impact Statement was adequate, meaning the proposed project may proceed with subsequent permitting applications. For more information, see the DNR’s Environmental Impact Statement report.
Essar Steel Minnesota’s proposed air permit requires the company to:
• burn natural gas for fuel in its pellet plant and steel-production facility.
• use air emission control technologies to operate its pellet plant, including special burners designed to minimize nitrogen oxide emissions. Reductions in nitrogen oxide help improve visibility and clear air conditions for nearby areas, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park.
• operate its pellet plant using emission controls for mercury. The facility proposes to increase pellet production by 60 percent while limiting mercury emissions to the level in its current air permit. The facility will use activated carbon injection and baghouse collection equipment to control mercury.
• convert from wet air-pollution controls to dry air-pollutant controls. This will result in lower levels of contaminants in the facility’s process water.
• use diesel engines that are compliant with the highest certified control standards to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from equipment, such as trucks, shovels and drills.
The public comment period for the Essar Steel Minnesota draft air permit runs from Jan. 23 through Feb. 22, 2012. Persons who have questions or wish to submit written comments related to the proposal should contact Trevor Shearen, MPCA, 520 Lafayette Rd. N., Saint Paul, MN 55155-4194 (phone 651-757-2717 or 800-657-3864; email trevor.shearen@state.mn.us).
For more information about the MPCA’s air quality programs, visit www.pca.state.mn.us.
