PUEBLO, Colo.—A federal judge ruled Friday that Pueblo’s steel mill can temporarily boost production by buying emissions credits to make up for the increased pollution.
Under the order, Rocky Mountain Steel Mills will be able to increase production by about 6 percent and avoid a short-term closure and layoffs.
The order is a change to a 2003 settlement reached between the mill and the Environmental Protection Agency over pollution levels at the plant.
Since then, the plant has been limited to producing 1,010,000 short tons of molten steel each year. But because of worldwide demand for steel, the plant is already bumping up against that limit.
The change agreed to by both sides and endorsed by U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch will allow the mill to boost total production to 1,075,000 short tons, but only for 2008. In exchange, the mill will buy 87 sulfur dioxide credits and 10 nitrogen oxide credits.
According to the court documents, the mill would have had to close before Dec. 31 and lay off workers unless the limit was raised. The EPA and mill made the request Tuesday, asking Matsch to rule quickly to prevent that.
The offices of the mill’s parent company, Evraz Inc., were closed Friday, and no one answered the media request line.
Under the 2003 settlement, the mill agreed to spend $25 million to modernize its operations and cut pollution by about half.
