DTE Energy ordered to pay $100 million for Clean Air Act violation at Detroit-area facility
DTE Energy and three subsidiaries are ordered to pay $100 million for failing to comply with the Clean Air Act at a Zug Island facility between River Rouge and Detroit.
According to the Department of Justice, a court ruled in an August 2025 order that the EES Coke facility violated the Clean Air Act after a June 2022 lawsuit filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleged that the facility made changes without complying with the Clean Air Act's New Source Review (NSR) program.
The EPA alleged that changes to the facility increased sulfur dioxide emissions, and in 2018, the facility emitted over 3,200 tons of pollution, which is more than the permitted levels of under 2,100 tons per year.
The facility operates 85 ovens and uses coal and raw materials to produce metallurgical coke, a component for making steel.
Court records show that a trial was held in September 2025 to determine if DTE was liable. Nearby residents testified to experiencing health issues, such as respiratory, and limiting outdoor tasks due to the pollution. Records show that an expert testified that the defendants saved between $46.4 million and $99.1 million by failing to install pollution controls.
In a court ruling on Wednesday, Feb. 18, U.S. District Court Judge Gershwin Drain concluded that DTE Energy Company, DTE Energy Resources LLC and DTE Energy Services Inc. were liable because they are the facility's operators.
"The DTE defendants exhibit a high degree of control over the facility, including over environmental decision-making and the facility's emissions-related activities," Drain wrote. "This is shown through the individual actions of the DTE defendants' employees and is baked into the DTE corporate structure. The facility cannot function without the DTE defendants exercising control."
Drain ordered the utility company to submit an application for the necessary NSR "major modification" and Prevention of Significant Deterioration permits within the next 250 days to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
In an emailed statement to CBS News Detroit, a DTE spokesperson said, "We are extremely disappointed in the court's ruling and its negative implications on the domestic supply of coke to the U.S. steel industry. We have been anticipating this order and are eager to make our appeal to the 6th Circuit Court. We remain committed to compliance and have been operating within the limits of the valid original state permit – both today and during the time period in question."
Residents who testified at the trial are members of the Sierra Club, a nationwide environmental organization that has 17,000 members in Michigan. Records show that the Sierra Club intervened in the case and filed a motion for equitable relief. Drain agreed, ordering the defendants to create a community quality action committee and pledge $20 million to community air quality projects over seven years.
Drain wrote that the club members' injuries "are redressable by the equitable relief they seek, as this relief will serve to mitigate the health and recreational effects of defendants' SO2 and PM2.5 emissions in their communities."
In a statement on Tuesday, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter director Elayne Coleman called the court's decision a "much-needed win for residents of Southwest Detroit and River Rouge."
"We commend our members for their hard work over the past three years to hold DTE and EES Coke accountable in this lawsuit. This victory should be a reminder to us all that people power can defeat corporate greed," Coleman said.
