The City of Monroe has expressed serious concerns about a proposal to construct a 100-oven coke plant complex that will be located little more than 1,000 feet from a residential community in Monroe. The coke plant is to be constructed by Middletown Coke Co., a subsidiary of SunCoke Energy Inc., and will provide steel-making coke to AK Steel.

Recently, the Chamber of Commerce and the Butler County Building and Trades Council asked publicly that the City of Monroe explain the basis for its opposition to the coke plant. This letter is in response to those public requests.