What was said at the Cleveland-Cliffs air permit public hearing in Middletown

Residents, labor leaders, business officials and environmental advocates packed Middletown council chambers Thursday, July 9, for an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency public hearing on a proposed Cleveland-Cliffs project.

Supporters say the project would secure the future of local steelmaking while critics warn of increased pollution and health impacts.

The hearing focused on an air permit-to-install application submitted by Cleveland-Cliffs for a new cogeneration plant at Middletown Works. The project would use blast furnace gas to generate steam and electricity for use at the facility and includes modifications to a blast furnace and related material-handling operations.

Cliffs officials have described the project as an effort to “rebuild and modernize” the iron-making process at the facility, which began operations in 1900 as The American Rolling Mill Company.

The proposed project includes installation of two new boilers, a new cogeneration flare, a cooling tower and two new material-handling operations involving blast furnace materials unloading, transfer and an automated stockhouse. The project also includes refurbishment of the No. 3 blast furnace, although that portion is not part of the permit because it would not increase allowable emissions.

Cliffs officials have not specified the cost of the project, but called it a “significant investment.”

Economic impact emphasized by supporters

Most speakers at Thursday’s hearing voiced support for the permit application, citing the facility’s economic significance to Middletown and Butler County.

Joshua Smith, president and CEO of the Butler County Finance Authority, called the investment one of the most consequential projects for the county’s economy.

“Few projects have the potential to influence Butler County’s economy as significantly as this investment,” Smith said.

Smith pointed to permanent jobs at the mill, construction employment and local spending generated by the project.

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What was said at the Cleveland-Cliffs air permit public hearing in Middletown