FRANKLIN FURNACE, Ohio — Haverhill Coke Company has received permission from the Ohio EPA to keep its coke ovens operating while a major piece of pollution-control equipment is temporarily shut down for maintenance.
Ohio EPA Director John Logue approved the request Sept. 11 after it was reviewed by the Portsmouth Local Air Agency and the state’s air pollution division.
Haverhill Coke asked regulators for permission to continue operating its coke oven battery while its flue gas desulfurization system is offline for scheduled work. The system is used to control pollution coming from the coke ovens.
State regulators said they considered both environmental and economic factors before approving the request.
The approval comes with conditions. Haverhill Coke must follow the maintenance plan it submitted to regulators in August, notify the Portsmouth Local Air Agency before the shutdown begins and notify the agency again once the pollution-control system is fully operating.
Ohio EPA also warned that the approval can be revoked if the company strays from the approved plan or regulators determine continued operation is no longer justified.
The state stressed that the authorization does not give Haverhill Coke permission to violate environmental laws.
The decision is notable because the Franklin Furnace operation has a lengthy history of environmental problems and enforcement actions. In 2013, SunCoke Energy and subsidiaries agreed to a nearly $2 million federal settlement covering alleged Clean Air Act violations at the Haverhill plant and another facility in Illinois. Ohio regulators have also taken more recent action against Haverhill Coke over air-pollution violations, including a $50,000 settlement in 2024. In 2025, Ohio EPA also cited the facility over the storage of hazardous waste, although the company disputed the state’s finding.
The Sept. 11 approval does not say how long the pollution-control system will be offline or exactly when the maintenance will begin.
Those details are contained in Haverhill Coke’s Aug. 21 request, which was referenced by Ohio EPA but was not included with the authorization letter reviewed for this story.
Haverhill Coke is located along Gallia Pike in Franklin Furnace.
For residents living near one of southern Ohio’s largest industrial operations, the bottom line is simple: Ohio EPA has approved continued coke production while one of the plant’s pollution-control systems is temporarily out of service — but the company remains responsible for complying with state environmental law.
