Union County Public Health is sharing a request for public comment on behalf of the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). DEQ’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ) is accepting public comments on a draft air quality permit for ATI Specialty Materials – Bakers Plant, located in Union County.  

ATI processes scrap metal at its facility in Monroe. The facility currently holds a synthetic minor air quality permit that restricts its emissions to minor source levels. The facility has applied to expand its operations and remove these limits, reclassifying it as a major source facility that requires a Title V permit.  

Air dispersion modeling reviewed by DAQ determined that the facility’s emissions of toxic air pollutants are not expected to cause an exceedance of the state’s acceptable ambient levels. The draft permit includes conditions that ensure ambient levels of all pollutants emitted by the facility comply with emission standards, including applicable health-based standards, beyond the facility’s fence line. ATI would be subject to recordkeeping and reporting requirements and regular inspections.  

Copies of the public notice, draft permit, draft permit review, permit application, community profile report and a one-page project fact sheet are available on DEQ’s website. 

The Division will consider all public comments before making a final decision on the proposed permit. Submit your comments no later than July 6, 2026 by any of these methods:

• By email to daq.publiccomments@deq.nc.gov (keep “ATI.25A” in the subject line);
• By voicemail by calling 919-707-8430; or
• By mail to:  

  NCDEQ Division of Air Quality 
  1641 Mail Service Center  
  Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1641 

If you have questions, please call Betty Gatano with DEQ at 919-707-8405.  

As noted above, Union County Public Health is sharing this information on behalf of the State of North Carolina and is not directly involved in this process.