Stellantis faces fine for air quality violations at Jefferson North plant in Detroit

State environmental regulators are planning to fine Stellantis NV for repeated air quality violations at a paint shop at the company's Detroit Assembly Complex.

The Jefferson North Assembly Plant on Conner Avenue released more volatile organic compounds than it was allowed from September 2022 through September 2023, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy said.

The violation involved emissions measured on a per-paint job basis. The plant was allowed to emit 4.8 pounds of the pollutant per car or truck painted there in a 12-month rolling time period, but it released 5.01 pounds per paint job.

Volatile organic compounds are man-made chemicals commonly used in paints, pharmaceuticals, refrigerants and other household products that become airborne. They often are emitted as a gas. Breathing VOCs can cause eye, nose and throat irritation and can damage the central nervous system, liver and kidneys. Some can cause cancer, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Jefferson North plant has been in compliance with its per-vehicle emissions since September, EGLE said.

Reduced production volume in 2022 was to blame for the above-allowable emissions, Stellantis spokesperson Jodi Tinson said in an email.

"Our painting processes and emissions controls were functioning properly, and there was no increased exposure risk to the community," Tinson wrote. "We have implemented improvements and process changes that we are confident have brought our numbers back into compliance."

Tinson declined to specify what operational changes Stellantis made.

EGLE regulates VOC emissions in two ways: on a per-job basis and on a facility-wide annual basis, inspector Bob Byrnes said during a Tuesday evening public hearing about the proposed consent order. The plant was well below its facility-wide VOC limit of 1,085 tons per year, he said.

The department regulates VOC pollution per paint job to ensure the plant is efficient and careful with its painting operations even when production is low enough that the facility isn't in danger of reaching its overall pollution limit.

"If you're in a low production scenario, we want to make sure that they're painting efficiently, having low emissions on a per-job basis," he said. "If production is lower, you still have to clean the paint booths and things."

EGLE is proposing to fine the automaker $84,420 for its violations and require that the company stay within its 4.8 pound-per-vehicle limit.

The fine will be placed in the state general fund. EGLE can't require a company to put money into a community project through a consent order, and the company did not volunteer to do so, department enforcement specialist Erin Moran said.

That drew criticism during EGLE's Tuesday night meeting.

A man who said he lives a street away from the facility said money should be put back into the community, where neighbors like him have had to live through odors and excess pollution from the Jefferson North Assembly Plant and Stellantis' adjacent Mack Assembly Plant. Neighbors have been inhaling the pollutants and should be compensated, he said.

If the company violates the terms of the proposed consent order, EGLE will issue additional fines and require Stellantis to submit an emission mitigation plan. If its per-job emissions trend upward, the department will require the plant to submit an emissions mitigation plan.

"In the case that we see VOC emissions increasing but not necessarily going over that limit, this lets the (EGLE Air Quality Division) be proactive in making sure Stellantis is taking the appropriate steps to stay in compliance with this emission limit," Moran said.

The proposed consent order is available for public comment through Jan. 23.

The Jefferson North Assembly Plant is a 3 million-square-foot facility where workers make the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango SUVs. The plant runs two shifts and employs about 4,700 people, according to Stellantis.

It's adjacent to the Mack Assembly Plant on Saint Jean Street, which has been issued repeated violation notices and fines because of odor problems affecting nearby neighborhoods. This summer, the company installed emissions control equipment as part of another EGLE consent order.

In August, neighbors of the Mack plant told The News they continued to smell odors from paint and fumes.

ckthompson@detroitnews.com