The settlement will resolve violations at the steam heating/cooling plant owned by the City of Akron and operated by Akron Energy Systems located in Akron, Ohio. The settlement will result in reductions of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter totalling over 2,000 tons per year, as well as, greenhouses gases totalling over 112,000 tons per year. The settlement will also require that the City of Akron spend $390,000 on environmental mitigation projects and pay a civil penalty of $75,000.
Under the settlement, the City of Akron must either 1) permanently retire Boiler 32 and install two natural gas package boilers or 2) permanently retire the entire facility. The settlement also requires the City of Akron to spend $390,000 on projects that will benefit the environment and human health in communities located in Akron, Ohio. A total of $390,000 will be spent on one or more of the following projects; 1) land acquisition near the Cuyahoga Valley National Park; 2) land restoration of at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and/or 3) purchase of alternative fuel vehicles by the City of Akron.