Citizen groups are suing the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality over an air permit it granted to a Dearborn steel plant.
Two months ago, the MDEQ issued the permit to the Severstal plant. It allowed the facility to continue polluting at levels that had previously been cited by the state.
The groups are asking the court to strike down that permit. The lawsuit comes with news that the plant was sold to another company- Ohio-based AK Steel.
Anne Woiwode directs the Sierra Club in Michigan, one of the groups suing the MDEQ. She said that ownership of the plant does not affect the lawsuit.
"This is a permit that never should have been let the way it is and that is hurting the people of this area who have already been suffering from many violations from this facility for many years," she said.
The MDEQ did not respond to our request for comment.
– Reem Nasr, Michigan Radio Newsroom
