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The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality is proposing to issue an air pollution control permit to allow construction of a pig iron plant by North American Iron at Minot.
The proposed air pollution control permit is for initial construction and operation. The department states preliminary evaluations indicate the facility will comply with all applicable air pollution control rules and there will be no detrimental, significant effects to air quality. Predicted concentrations in the air surrounding the facility are expected to be below the state and federal ambient air quality standards, according to the department.
North American Iron has plans to construct a 730-acre pig ore processing plant in Minot’s industrial park, with a potential opening in late 2029. The company intends to reclaim ore from the Minnesota iron range near Calumet and take it by rail to Minot to be processed into 2 million (metric) tons a year of pig iron, a primary ingredient in steel. The proposed plant specifications list 42 natural-gas fired generator engines using advanced technology for efficiency.
The state conducted an air dispersion modeling analysis to determine the impacts from the pig iron facility and found modeled impacts were below significant levels.
A 30-day public comment period on the permit will be open through Nov. 20. Comments can be submitted to AirQuality@nd.gov with "Re: Public Comment for Permit Number ACP-18334 v1.0" in the subject line. Comments also can be submitted by physical letter addressed to the NDDEQ, Division of Air Quality, 4201 Normandy St., 2nd floor, Bismarck, ND 58503-1324.
The department also has set a possible public information meeting with representatives from the department and North American Iron that will allow for public questions. It is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 2 at 5:30 p.m. in Minot City Hall.
If no formal request for a public hearing is received during the comment period, or if the department determines that there is not a significant degree of public interest, the department retains the right to cancel the meeting.
Notification of the cancellation would be posted on the department's website within a week of the end of the public comment period. If the meeting is not cancelled, the public comment period shall automatically be extended to the close of the public hearing date.
The facility's application and the department's proposed permit documents are available for review at the department's office and online at http://deq.nd.gov/AQ/PublicCom.aspx. Mailed copies of these documents are available upon request.
Anyone needing accommodations to comment may contact the nondiscrimination coordinator at 328-5150 or deqEJ@nd.gov, allowing at least five days for the accommodation to be addressed. TTY users may use Relay North Dakota at 711 or 1-800-366-6888.