Air Quality Including Bulk Solid Materials Storage

Bulk Solid Material Storage

On October 31, 2017, the Detroit City Council passed an ordinance amendment to, then Chapter 22 of the City Code that regulates the storage of bulk solid materials. The 2019 Recodification of the City Code moved this ordinance to Chapter 42: Solid Waste and Illegal Dumping. 

The goal of the ordinance is to minimize the amount of fugitive dust released into the air. Bulk solid materials are any solid materials that can be used as a fuel or as a component in a manufacturing or construction process that may create fugitive dust.  

The ordinance amendment also requires that certain materials that are primarily carbon like coal, petroleum coke, or metallurgical coke are stored completely within a structure.

STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO OBTAINING A GENERAL/ALTERNATE COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE OF OPERATION
Step 1. Preparing All Documentation Needed for Application

The applicant [i.e. Owner/Operator (O/O)] prepares all of the necessary documentation beforehand to submit. Depending on the type of certificate, General Compliance or Alternate Compliance, the applicant will have different requirements for applying and fees. Below are the requirements to be met as laid out in Chapter 42 of the City of Detroit Codes and Ordinances:


Step 2. How to Submit Application

The applicant will submit the completed application and all of the required documents to BSEED Environmental Affairs (EA) at [email protected] or in person at 2 Woodward Ave, Suite 401, Detroit, MI 48202. If applying for Bulk Solid Materials variance, the applicant must submit the variance application in addition to the standard application.

Step 3. How to Pay Application Fee

EA will review the application for content and completeness. The applicant will be contacted if there are any insufficiencies in their application via the supplied phone number or email. Once the application has been deemed to be sufficient an invoice will be generated by EA and sent to the applicant via email. The applicant has 30 days from the invoice being generated to pay their outstanding fees. They can do so through the online payment portal for BSEED or by scheduling an appointment to pay in person via the Qless system.

  • BSEED Fee Payment Portal
  • Qless Appointment Scheduler

Step 4. Preparing for Inspection

At the same time that the invoice has been generated, EA will reach out to the applicant to schedule the initial site inspection. The site inspection should take place within the 30 day period to pay fees. As part of the site inspection, the O/O should have prepared:

  • A copy of the dust control plan/Permit to Install
  • Dust control logs from the past three years minimum
  • Air monitoring logs (if applicable)

If a variance is requested, a public hearing will be scheduled and all evidence collected from the inspection will be presented at the hearing. There will be a public comment period and a decision for variance will be given within 30 days of the hearing.

Step 5. Receiving the General/Alternate Compliance of Operation

After the inspection and all fees have been paid a General Compliance or Alternate Compliance Certificate of Operation will be generated by EA. The permit will be sent to the O/O via mail. The permit is good for one (1) year, at which time the certificate will have to be renewed with EA. As part of the permit compliance a semiannual inspection will be scheduled every six months with the O/O by EA.

Response to Stellantis Air Quality Violations

Summary:

  • EGLE has received numerous complaints from the public
  • EGLE responded by visiting the site on several occasions
  • During the site inspections, EGLE has substantiated the odor complaints

Summary of Actions taken by EGLE:

  • 7 Violation Notices have been issued to Stellantis by EGLE – 6 for odors and 1 for improperly installed equipment  
  • On November 18, 2021, EGLE reported that they started escalated enforcement against Stellantis related to violations above.
  • At EGLE's request, the United States Environmental Protection Agency did mobile air monitoring on November 16 and 17, 2021.
  • On December 2, 2022 EGLE and Stellantis enter into a consent agreement covering all previous violations
  • The city of Detroit supports EGLE and USEPA in this matter
  • The city has performed supplemental air sampling for volatile organic compounds.  See report

Results of the air monitoring, the violation notices and other information can be found on the EGLE website located here.

 

To report spills, releases, or other Environmental Emergencies call:
Michigan EGLE Pollution Emergency Alerting System (PEAS) Hotline: 800-292-4706
Detroit BSEED-Environmental Affairs 313-224-3211