Nov 29, 2018 2 min read

MONESSEN – An independent laboratory serving a coke plant in Monessen will be moving its operations from the mill to an office building in the city’s downtown.

Chuck Zubritsky of Rostraver Township received tentative approval Wednesday from Monessen Zoning Hearing Board to relocate from a former train station to the remodeled Check’s Furniture building.

“There’s been a huge investment to better the environmental controls, particularly with wastewater,” Zubritsky said, referring to ArcelorMittal, the company that operates the Monessen coke works.

He said the plant draws 100,000 gallons of water a day from the Monongahela River and another source to run the plant, and the water is clean after it is processed at a biological wastewater treatment facility.

“It’s a remarkable system,” Zubritsky said.

The owner of the building at 435 Donner Ave., Michael Grimes of Charleroi, was denied a city permit to house the laboratory because it is not permitted in commercial zones. He needs a zoning variance from the city to allow Zubritsky to occupy a suite on the third floor.

ArcelorMittal has spent nearly $60 million since 2009 on emissions controls and other upgrades to the coke plant, the only remaining operation at what was once a sprawling Wheeling-Pittsburgh steel mill. The mill shut down in the 1980s and the coke works has since gone through several owners.

The relocation of the laboratory is not part of a consent decree ArcelorMittal signed last year to end a federal citizens lawsuit over emissions violations at the plant, Zubritsky said.

He said his current lab on the plant grounds is accredited by the state Department of Environmental Protection and the new location will also have DEP approval.

The lab and its five employees will sample small quantities of gas and liquids drawn from the coke works. The waste created at the lab will be recycled.

He said the move will allow the lab to expand by possibly testing byproducts of Marcellus shale natural gas drilling operations in the region.