(Updates with company comment, updates with latest stock
performance)
By Kristin Jones
SunCoke Energy Inc. (SXC) and two of its units have agreed to
pay $2 million to resolve allegations that the company, which
produces steelmaking coke, violated emissions limits at plants in
Illinois and Ohio, U.S. officials said.
The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency
accused the company of violating the Clean Air Act by allowing
excess sulphur dioxide and particulate matter to escape from its
Gateway Energy and Coke Plant in Granite City, Ill., and Haverhill
Coke Plant in Franklin Furnace, Ohio.
President and Chief Operating Officer Mike Thomson said that the
company is "pleased to reach an agreement that strengthens our
already strict environmental protection protocols."
Coke oven emissions can cause cancer and other serious health
impacts. Sulphur dioxide contributes to acid rain and exacerbates
respiratory problems, while particulate pollution can lead to
health problems including aggravated asthma and premature death in
people with heart or lung disease.
Both facilities are located in areas that don't meet federal
health standards for soot, and the Illinois facility is in an area
that doesn't meet the air pollution standard for lead.
SunCoke and its two subsidiaries also agreed to spend $255,000
to reduce lead hazards in low-income residences in southern
Illinois. They will pay a federal penalty of $1.27 million and will
pay $575,000 to the state of Illinois and $150,000 to Ohio. The
companies will spend an additional $100 million at the two coking
facilities to route hot coking gases to pollution-control equipment
instead of directly into the environment and $700,000 on equipment
to monitor sulfur-dioxide emissions at its two problematic
facilities.
If emissions at a third facility in Middletown, Ohio, also
exceed the threshold, then the company will have to install
additional equipment to control pollution there too.
Communities in Illinois and Ohio "will benefit from these
substantial reductions in harmful air pollution and enjoy cleaner,
healthier air to breathe for many years to come," said Robert G.
Dreher, acting assistant attorney general.
SunCoke launched as a public company earlier this year. The
company is a supplier to steelmakers AK Steel Holding Corp. (AKS)
and ArcelorMittal (MT).
Shares of SunCoke were down fractionally at $14.14 after hours.
The stock is down 9% since the start of the year.
Write to Kristin Jones at kristin.jones@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires