ADEM Public Hearing Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)Permit for AM/NS Calvert, LLC  

ADEM Public Hearing Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)Permit
for AM/NS Calvert, LLC  

March 2, 2021

Partners for Environmental Progress (PEP) is a non-profit organization of local business leaders who share the vision of applying science-based environmental best practices to business and community issues. PEP members support strong economic growth balanced with sound environmental stewardship. Our 220+ member companies represent large and small manufacturers, shipbuilders, engineering firms, industrial suppliers, and support services. Together, they employ more than 22,000 local individuals. PEP member companies routinely go above and beyond government regulations and compliance to implement innovative projects to reduce their carbon footprint and to protect and conserve the local natural resources that make the Alabama Gulf Coast a desirable place to live and work. 

On behalf of the PEP Board of Directors and members, we support AM/NS’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit allowing the company to build two new melt shops. The site in Calvert is the world’s most advanced steel finishing facility. Adding the ability to make steel slabs on-site will create a reliable slab supply and ensure competitive lead times that will enhance the sustainability of this site. The $750 million dollars project investment is a positive economic development for the local community.

This project will incorporate scrap steel recycling and will assist AM/NS in achieving its companywide goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Along with creating new jobs, the project will enhance the long-term economic viability of the company and surrounding community – a positive triple bottom line impact.  

The company is a good corporate neighbor. AM/NS: 

• supports the local schools through internships, programs, and other resources;
• communicates to stakeholders early and often to provide information and answer questions; 
• has a strong track record of environmental compliance in its processes; 
• and provides sound environmental stewardship of the wetlands and acreage on its site. 

In 2020, PEP awarded AM/NS an Environmental Stewardship Award in recognition of their Wildlife Habitat and Biodiversity Improvement Program.  Last fall, AM/NS adopted PEP’s Trash Blows! Stow IT! Campaign to educate employees about the problem of truck bed trash becoming litter and routinely conducts litter cleanups on their site and surrounding streets and highways.

A Clean Environment is Good for Business

754 Downtowner Loop West • Mobile, Alabama 36609 • 251.650-1228 • www.pepmobile.org

To minimize the project’s environmental impact, AM/NS Calvert has incorporated several key elements:

• re-designed the project to avoid impacting onsite wetlands;

• will add a Groundwater Liner at scrap and slag yards – not required by law;

• re-use cooling tower water for slag operations;

• re-use waste metal from the existing mills; 

• install redundancy in monitoring baghouse operations; and 

• requested process equipment suppliers to change certain components to achieve lower rates for SO₂ and VOC emissions.

Considering these features, and ADEM’s finding that project pollutant concentrations are less than the NAAQS and that each pollutant is not expected to exceed the NAAQS, PEP fully supports the issuance of the PSD Permit.