ADEM holds hearing on proposed PSD air permits for ArcelorMittal Calvert NOES mill

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management held a public hearing on the department's preliminary decision to issue nine air permits under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) new-source review for a proposed non‑oriented electrical steel (NOES) mill at ArcelorMittal Calvert LLC in Calvert, Alabama.

At the hearing, Jackson Rogers, a permit writer with the air division of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, said the department "has proposed the issuance of 9 air permits each developed in accordance with applicable state and federal requirements" and that its preliminary determination is that compliance with the proposed permit conditions "will not result in violations of applicable air quality standards designed to protect human health and the environment." Rogers described the proposed facility's equipment, control devices and applicable federal standards, including New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs), and PSD review requirements.

ArcelorMittal Calvert LLC representatives described the project and its expected scale. Stan Hedger, identified as general manager of the proposed NOES project for ArcelorMittal Calvert LLC, said the facility would be capable of producing up to "130,000 metric tons of NOES annually," that construction would create "up to 1,300 jobs during the construction phase and more than 200 permanent positions," and that the company has submitted a complete PSD permit application. Hedger said the project includes annealing and pickling lines, coating lines, an acid regeneration plant, scrubbers, thermal oxidizers and other pollution-control equipment and that the company sought a favorable permit decision.

Ramsey Sprague, president of the Mobile Environmental Justice Action Coalition (MIJAC), testified on behalf of the organization and raised three principal concerns. First, MIJAC supported ADEM's proposal to treat the existing ArcelorMittal Calvert facility and the proposed NOES mill as a single stationary source for PSD and Title V purposes, but said that proposed PSD permits "do not contain permit provisos that indicate that the new mill must be considered part of the same stationary source as the existing mill" and that ADEM has not proposed corresponding modifications to existing permits for the current facility. MIJAC urged ADEM to reflect the single-source determination within the draft permits and related operating permits so the determination is enforceable by ADEM, EPA and the public.

Second, MIJAC flagged uncertainty about control and regulation of hydrochloric acid (HCl) emissions from the proposed annealing and pickling line. Sprague quoted federal health guidance on HCl and noted that the applicant's permit materials state the new mill would be subject to and comply with "40 CFR 63" provisions for steel pickling HCl process facilities and hydrochloric acid regeneration plants, while ADEM's analysis states the facility "would not clearly be subject to this particular air toxic regulation." MIJAC asked ADEM to explain the differing conclusions in its final action and objected to a "synthetic minor" HCl limit appearing in the PSD permit that MIJAC said was not requested by the applicant and that, in MIJAC's view, was not clearly supported by EPA‑approved authority.

Third, MIJAC asked ADEM to include site‑specific dust controls, monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements in the PSD permit to address fugitive dust from earthmoving, truck traffic and unpaved roads during construction and operation.

Rogers and ADEM staff reiterated procedural details: notice of the hearing had been posted and distributed, the department extended the public comment period through May 30, 2025, and ADEM will consider all oral and written comments before making a final permit decision and posting responses to comments and the final permit determination to its file system. The hearing was recorded by court reporter and video for posting to the department's public channels.

No formal vote occurred at the hearing; it was a public comment proceeding. Written comments must be received by ADEM in Montgomery by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 30, 2025. After reviewing the hearing record and written comments, the department will make its final permitting determination and publish responses to comments.