35th Avenue Cleanup Site, Birmingham, Alabama //
Since 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has conducted sampling and cleanup activities at the 35th Avenue Site, which includes portions of the Collegeville, Fairmont and Harriman Park communities to address elevated levels of lead, arsenic and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil. EPA recently expanded the sampling area in the Fairmont community. The Site has been expanded in response to data indicating contamination may extend beyond the previous boundary.
Bluestone Coke, formerly the Sloss Industries Coke Plant, Walter Coke, and ERP Compliant Coke, is a producer of metallurgical coke located on 35th Avenue. The plant makes use of a "destructive distillation process", heating coal in vertical slot ovens in an oxygen-deficient atmosphere. In 2010 Walker Coke was listed among the largest sources of airborne particle emissions in Jefferson County, with 9,030 tons. Walter Energy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2015. Over the next years the plant operated a total of 120 ovens divided into three batteries. In 2019 ERP and its Birmingham coke plant were sold to Bluestone Mineral, Inc., which is owned by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice. His son, Jay Justice, is the CEO and chair of Bluestone Resources, the parent of Bluestone Mineral, Inc. The Alabama state government voted down to list the site on the EPA Priority List.
In December 2022 Bluestone Mineral agreed to a proposed consent decree under which it would pay a $925,000 penalty to the Jefferson County Board of Health, at least half of which would be used to fund community improvement projects. Bluestone would also be required to make significant improvements to the plant before it could reopen under a new permit, which would include monitoring sulfur dioxide emissions for five years. Birmingham mayor Randall Woodfin criticized the settlement agreement, saying that it fell far short of bringing justice to citizens harmed, and urged the Health Department to deny a new operating permit.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin’s administration has crafted a $37 million plan that would pay for property buyouts for residents and revitalize the city’s north side communities for those who wish to stay. Woodfin, who has yet to find partners to help fund the plan, believes that companies including Bluestone should cover some of the costs. Bluestone executives have not responded to questions about their willingness to contribute to the plan.
