YOUNGSTOWN A grassroots organization that is fighting a project that would convert chopped-up tires into synthetic gas at a Youngstown steam generating plant will hold a public town hall on Monday to mark the second anniversary of its first meeting about the proposed tire pyrolysis plant. The event is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Eugenia Atkinson Center, 903 Otis St.

SOBE Concerned Citizens will hold the town hall to address the group's ongoing opposition to SOBE Thermal Energy's plan to expand its steam heating and cooling facility to include a pyrolysis plant. Organizers say the proposed plant would convert pieces of old tires into synthetic gas for use in its boilers. The facility is in a mixed-use community zone near downtown.

Kayshia Washington, a community organizer for SOBE Concerned Citizens, is scheduled to speak at the event. She will discuss the city's moratorium ordinance against gasification and pyrolysis and the lawsuit filed by the city against the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Guest speakers at the town hall are expected to include Tish O'Dell of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, Becca Pollard of the Buckeye Environmental Network, and Aaron Makatura of the Environmental Health Project. Miranda Leppla and Kendall McPherson are also scheduled to speak about the moratorium ordinance and provide updates on the city's lawsuit.

The town hall is being held to commemorate an Ohio EPA public comment meeting on Aug. 10, 2023, where over 150 residents and city officials, including Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, expressed concerns about the project's health, safety, and zoning implications.

The Ohio EPA issued a 10-year air pollution permit to SOBE Thermal Energy on Feb. 14, 2024. The permit has been a point of contention for residents and city officials who say their concerns were ignored. The city has since appealed the permit to the Environmental Review Appeals Commission (ERAC).