Department of Environmental Quality Director Steven E. Chester today announced a $4.6 million global settlement with Aleris International, Inc., to resolve federal, state, and local air quality violations in 11 states. The consent decree, negotiated by the U.S. Department of Justice with assistance from the 11 states, was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. The consent decree resolves violations of the federal Clean Air Act and related provisions of state and local law at 15 secondary aluminum production facilities in the 11 states.

The claims by the U.S. Department of Justice and the 11 states include that Aleris failed to design and install adequate capture and collection systems, demonstrate compliance with applicable emission standards through adequate performance testing, correctly establish and monitor operating parameters, and comply with record keeping requirements and reporting requirements.

Aleris operates two facilities in Michigan, one located in Coldwater and the other in Buena Vista Township.

The consent decree requires Aleris to:

- Follow specific methods of compliance with the Clean Air Act's requirements for capture and collection systems, including the calculation of minimum exhaust rate, the verification that actual exhaust rates meet or exceed the calculated rate, and the annual inspection of each system.

- Reconfigure its capture and collection systems to meet legal requirements. - Retest each affected source and emission unit in accordance with an approved test plan and take any corrective action if any source or emission unit exceeds an emission standard during a test.

- Confirm that facilities classified as "area sources" are properly classified, by measuring hydrogen chloride emissions during performance testing and recalculating the facilities potential to emit.

- Submit an agreed-upon revised Notice of Compliance Status Report that includes a comprehensive Operation, Maintenance, and Monitoring Plan and a Start-Up, Shutdown, and Malfunction Plan.

- Measure the lime injection rate at each control device on a bimonthly basis.

- Install load cells to more accurately weigh flux at seven continuous flux-fed reverberatory furnaces.

- Equip the de-lacquering kiln at the Morgantown facility with a new afterburner meeting requirements of the Clean Air Act. - Apply for a Title V Renewable Operating Permit for the Chicago Heights facility.

- Pay a total settlement amount of $4.6 million to the United States of America, State of Idaho, State of Illinois, State of Indiana, State of Michigan, State of Ohio, State of Tennessee, State of West Virginia, Commonwealth of Kentucky, Commonwealth of Virginia, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, and the Maricopa County Air Quality Department.

- Pay a settlement amount to the State of Michigan in the amount of $233,290.

Currently, the consent decree is out on a thirty-day public comment period as required by the Federal Register. Absent any adverse public comments, the federal consent decree should be entered by the federal court shortly after the public comment period has ended. Editor's note: DEQ news releases are available on the department's Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

 "Protecting Michigan's Environment, Ensuring Michigan's Future"