Tata Steel Nederland is staring at a penalty of Euro 27 million from the Dutch Environmental Service over emission standards from two of its plants, and the department has said that it will continue the process to 'possibly withdraw the permit' for one of the plants, according to a communication from the company on December 19.
Dutch regulators had given Tata Steel's IJmuiden plant a one-year period to cut down on emission levels from the two plants, with a warning that failure to comply could lead to revocation of one of the plant's operating license.
Tata Steel said it is keen to discuss the decision with the Environmental Service (OD), adding that the company has made substantial progress. "As far as we are concerned, we are on track to further improve these factories. We do not agree with the content and the underlying reason for the notification. We would like to discuss this again with the OD, the province and other stakeholders," said Tata Steel Nederland.
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"We find the way in which these decisions were made very painful," the company statement said, adding that the factory "plays an important role in our continuity and our Green Steel plan."
The steel maker called the amount of penalty as 'extremely high'. Tata Steel Nederland also added that it has serious doubts about various measurements taken at the factories, which led to these penalties. These measurements, the company said, were 'demonstrably incomplete and incorrectly carried'.
The company has a year to comply with regulatory requirements at one of the plants, failing with the regulator will consider to withdraw approvals. Tata Steel must submit a plan of action within six weeks.
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Tata Steel Nederland has already announced plans to reduce CO2 emissions by 5 million tonnes every year by 2030 through an accelerated transition process, which includes the adoption of hydrogen-based steel making.
The recovery period of eight weeks too is 'completely unrealistic and impossible', added the steel company. The company plans to shift to a cleaner fuel by the end of the decade, contingent to securing government subsidies.
About IJmuiden Plant
Tata Steel Nederland runs a steel production unit in IJmuiden, the Netherlands, with multiple plants. Two of these, Plant 1 and 2, have been under scrutiny over emission from their coke ovens. Tata Steel has repeatedly said that the closure of these ovens could impact the plant's overall operations, as the ovens are required for production of coking coal, an important component in steel making.
Tata Steel had acquired the IJmuiden facility as part of the deal to buy Corus Group plc in 2007. The acquisition, at nearly $6.8 billion, positioned Tata Steel as among the world's leading steel makers. At the time of the acquisition, Tata Steel had expressed confidence in the strategic and financial benefits of integrating Corus's operations.
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