Editor:
As was reported online by Lagniappe, AM/NS Calvert has been cited by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management for air and water permit violations. The violations cited in the ADEM order relate to a facility on our site that regenerates acid for reuse in a steel pickling process.
While AM/NS Calvert is the official permit holder for this facility, the management and operation of the facility is contracted out to an experienced acid regeneration service provider. Within hours of the issues being brought to our attention by ADEM, we worked with the contractor to ensure operations were again compliant with our permits.
Since then, we have made substantial investments in new monitoring controls and have required process and procedure improvements by our contractor that we are confident will prevent this from reoccurring. We have also reviewed the environmental processes of all of our other onsite contractors and are requiring additional environmental training for them as well.
We at AM/NS Calvert have the good fortune of producing a material that is not only one of the strongest, but unlike alternative products such as aluminum, is nearly infinitely recyclable. The recycling rate of steel is 69 percent in North America — more than paper, aluminum, plastic and glass combined. Steel can be remade and used again and again without losing the properties that make it so strong and resilient, and it can be done with a much smaller environmental footprint than most competitive materials.
We understand that the sustainability of our business not only depends on natural resources, it depends on our ability to manage these resources in reliable and responsible ways. Even as the steel industry has become more advanced in its technologies and products, we must still work to overcome its old and outdated reputation as a poor steward of our environment and its resources. Consumers, customers, neighbors and our employees are placing greater value on the importance of clean air, land and water. They have ever-higher expectations that we will not only comply with environmental laws and regulations, but continuously improve. For this reason — as well as the value each of us at AM/NS Calvert personally place on clean air, water and land — we must ensure our environmental processes are solidly reliable and continually look for innovative ways to reduce our footprint.
AM/NS Calvert is not only committed to full compliance with all of our environmental permits. We are committed to continuous improvement in environmental sustainability. This commitment must be a shared responsibility with our employees and with our contractors.
Scott Posey
Director of Communications
AM/NS Calvert
