A neighbourhood group has a mixed reaction to a provincial decision that gives ArcelorMittal Dofasco an extra year to complete an $87-million upgrade of its Hamilton plant.
The steelmaker has been under Ministry of Environment direction to modernize operations since 2014, when it was fined $390,000 for sending visible pollution over the city’s east end.
The environment ministry initially gave Dofasco until the end of 2018 to complete the emissions control work, but has agreed to the company’s request for a one-year extension.
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“he additional time allows us to complete all of the original repairs as well as the additional work we identified along the way,” says John Lundrigan, ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s general manager of environment.
He adds that the additional work will “further improve the environmental benefits.”
Jochen Bezner with the neighbourhood group Community Against Pollution (CAP) Hamilton says that on one hand, he’s disappointed in the “very generous time extension.”
On the other hand, Bezner says he is pleased that the ministry has included a provision that would shut down any coke ovens that aren’t in compliance with Ontario’s current air emission limits by the end of 2019.
He says that provision attaches “some teeth” to the order and he believes that condition was included because of “community resistance.”
Lundrigan insists that the company looks forward to completing all of the work before the new deadline.
Environment ministry officials previewed the decision at ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s Community Liaison Committee meeting on Thursday night.
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