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Court Reverses Power Siting Board Decision on Middletown Coke Facility
12/03/2010 - The Supreme Court of Ohio has reversed the Ohio Power Siting Board’s approval of siting for Middletown Coke Company’s proposed SunCoke Energy facility.
The Supreme Court of Ohio has reversed the Ohio Power Siting Board’s approval of siting for Middletown Coke Company’s proposed SunCoke Energy facility.
In a 5-1 decision, the Court reversed a decision of the OPSB approving the siting of the proposed facility without considering the environmental impact of the coke ovens, and remanded the application of the Middletown Coke Company to the siting board for further proceedings to determine whether the proposed facility “represents the minimum adverse environmental impact.”
The SunCoke facility will employ an environmentally friendly heat recovery process to produce metallurgical coke that will be supplied to AK Steel. In addition to the coke ovens, the facility also will employ heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) to filter out pollutants and convert the superheated flue gases emitted by the coke ovens to usable steam, as well as a steam-powered turbine capable of generating an average of 57 megawatts of electric power.
Before it approves construction of any major utility facility, the siting board must determine that the facility “represents the minimum adverse environmental impact.” In addition, the siting board’s rules require applicants to provide a detailed explanation of the process used to select the proposed site and a description of alternative sites. In its application, Middletown Coke defined the cogeneration station to include only the electricity-producing turbine and related apparatus, such as cooling towers and control equipment. The application, however, excluded the coke ovens and heat recovery steam generators.
The city of Monroe, to which the SunCoke facility is adjacent, exercised its right to appeal the decision of the OPSB to the Supreme Court.
