Obituary: Capt. Joe Heaney
Capt. Joe Heaney, a well-known fixture on the Detroit waterfront for the past 50 years, passed away unexpectedly on December 10, 2023 at the age of 67.
The majority of his 50-year maritime career was spent in and around the Port of Detroit, beginning with the Norfolk Southern Railroad aboard the Detroit-Windsor rail ferries, then moving on to the Ford Fleet, Gaelic Tugboat Co., J.W. Westcott Co., and for the past 33 years as a Detroit-based captain with the Great Lakes Towing Co.
Captain Heaney is survived by his wife Linda, daughter Keri, and son Mitchell. Funeral arrangements are incomplete. Please check the Martenson Funeral Home Website for updates. https://www.martenson.com/obituaries/Joseph-G-Heaney?obId=30086776#/obituaryInfo
Detroit slag grinder gets air permit
despite environmental objections
By Garret Ellison
DETROIT, MI — The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) has approved an air pollution permit for a new slag grinding plant near Zug Island despite opposition from local environmental justice advocates.
On Nov. 30, EGLE approved an air permit for Edwin C. Levy Co., a Dearborn company which plans to build plant at 8941 West Jefferson Avenue in Detroit which would grind up blast furnace slag from the nearby Cleveland-Cliffs steel mill. The plant would produce a granular material used as a construction aggregate, which the company says is a less carbon-intensive alternative to traditional Portland cement.
Regulators approved the permit over the objections of environmental groups who say another southeast Michigan Levy facility is accumulating violations and the new plant would add more air pollution to an already overburdened area.
“We still believe EGLE has significantly underestimated the high level of particulate matter pollution in this community and that its decision was faulty,” said Nick Leonard, director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, which opposed the permit.
According to EGLE, the new Levy plant will emit an estimated 22.8 tons-per-year of different particulate types and is being classified as a minor emissions source for other pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, carbon, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds. The natural-gas powered plant will use dust collectors to cut down on particulate emissions.
Leonard’s group criticized the state’s background air quality calculations, saying EGLE relied on data from an air monitor in Allen Park rather than one closer.
According to the Detroit News, Levy’s Plant 6 at 3001 Miller Road in Dearborn has accumulated 23 violations notices from EGLE since 2013, including four this year.
The Dearborn plant neighbors have complained about fallout dust from the Miller Road plant. The company has disputed responsibility for some of the dusting.The Miller Road plant processes slag byproduct from Cleveland-Cliffs, formerly AK Steel. The plant’s air quality permitting was the formerly subject of litigation between Levy and EGLE.
A message left with Levy government relations director Reuben Maxbauer was not returned last week.
Read more at this MLive link: https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2023/12/detroit-slag-grinder-gets-air-permit-despite-environmental-objections.html
