Detroit residents and lawmakers are urging Michigan’s environmental department to deny a request from automaker Stellantis to increase emissions at its factory on the east side.
The company’s request to increase its emissions by a third was made in order to operate a pollution control device to address ongoing odors in the neighborhood. But the device itself, a regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO), creates additional pollution, and was installed prior to the hearing with permission from the state. The device has been in operation since June 2023 as a part of a legal consent order Stellantis signed with the state to promptly address odors and eight air quality violations the company accrued in recent years.
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The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) held an online public information session and hearing on the request Thursday at Detroit’s Samaritan Center.
About 50 people attended the meeting, several asked EGLE staff why they would want to approve the permit allowing for an increase in emissions of particulate matter, a microscopic form of pollution that can cause serious health issues, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The company wants to increase particulate matter emissions from 16.61 tons per year to 23.23 per year related to operating the RTO, according to the permit request. Nearly a dozen people spoke at the meeting, all in opposition of the permit.
“This permit needs to be denied based upon previous violations, the consent order, and the ongoing stuff I smell on the regular and that is impacting my kids,” resident Eden Bloom, representing the Detroit People’s Platform, told the state. “I’ve got three kids, one has asthma.”
Hearing officer Jenifer Dixon with EGLE’s environmental support division clarified that the request is from Stellantis, not the state, and that the state is legally obligated to consider it.
“What we had to do was look at what they asked for, make sure that it met those state and federal rules and regulations, which, based on our review, it did, and then we bring it to you,” she told the crowd.
Robert Shobe, who lives directly in front of the plant, attended the meeting in-person and told EGLE staff that the community is in agreement.
“No way we should give them any type of permits that don’t include reducing any type of pollutants coming out of that facility,” he said.
Also at the meeting was State Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, who called on the state to make Stellantis find a way to operate the pollution control device without any additional particulate matter emissions.
“This community is again put in such a strange, really unfair position. It seems mind boggling that a community should be put in the position of choosing odor issues or [particulate matter] issues when really we should be talking about air quality as a whole and ensuring that everyone’s public health is protected,” she said, referring to Detroit’s long-term challenges with poor air quality.
“Let’s address the odor issues but not create an additional problem,” said Chang.
Stellantis officials have said it’s not possible to operate the RTO without an emissions increase, and that the limits for the east side plant are among the lowest in the industry.
One meeting attendee asked if the permit could be denied given the eight air quality violations the company has received since 2021 for its Detroit facilities.
“We can’t deny this permit because they have violations,” Dixon explained. “It’s very rare that that will happen.”
Latonyna Foster, president of the Algonquin Block Club, attended the meeting because she lives just a few blocks from the Stellantis facility. A frustrated Foster left before the public comment period.
“All the decision-making has been done, they’ve already allowed them to install these RTOs to increase particulates in the air. They’ve already done all of that. I’m not even needed here,” she told BridgeDetroit.
Although the RTO has already been installed, EGLE staff told attendees Thursday that public comment can still have an effect on the final decision, and is an opportunity to consider additional issues. If EGLE denies the request, the company will have to find another way to operate the RTO without increasing emissions.
“The proposed permit is still a draft permit,” said Dixon. “This does not mean the department has already made a decision.”
The public comment period is open until Sept. 9. EGLE’s Air Quality Division Assistant Director Chris Etheridge, who also attended the meeting, is expected to make a decision in the next several months.
Comments can be made at EGLE-AQD-PTIPublicComments@Michigan.gov; mailing the Michigan Department of the Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), Air Quality Division, Permit Section, P.O. Box 30260, Lansing, MI, 48909-7760; or by leaving a voicemail at (517) 284-0900.