The province is willing to give Hamilton steelmakers another five-year pass on air pollution limits — but only if they promise to follow U.S. coke plant rules instead.

The Ministry of the Environment is seeking public feedback on a series of proposals to extend "site specific" air pollution standards until 2020 for ArcelorMittal Dofasco and U.S. Steel's Hamilton and Lake Erie operations.

That would mean the companies won't have to meet Ontario's stricter air pollution standards designed to limit human exposure to harmful pollutants like sulphur, benzene and other microscopic airborne particles.

The ministry first granted such exemptions in 2010, acknowledging it would take time — and money — for steelmakers to explore and upgrade pollution control technology.

Environment Hamilton chair Jim Quinn said he has yet to look at the proposals, which were posted for public comment three days before Christmas. But he said the watchdog group is "puzzled" by the province's willingness to delay enforcement of its own air pollution regulations.

"We weren't happy about the delays to begin with," Quinn said. "You have to wonder when the province will start holding their feet to the fire."

The proposal to extend the exemption says it is still not "technically feasible" for the steelmakers to meet current pollution laws, even as ArcelorMittal prepares to shut down an aging coke plant and spend hundreds of million of dollars on facility upgrades.

The Spectator couldn't reach a spokesperson Tuesday. But the steelmaker, which was fined $390,000 this year for illegal air emissions, held an open house this fall to publicize a $135-million pollution improvement plan, a step required by companies applying for a site specific standards extension.

U.S. Steel, meanwhile, has permanently ended steelmaking in Hamilton and is under creditor protection as it seeks to sell its Canadian operations. A spokesperson didn't return calls for comment Tuesday.

Coun. Sam Merulla said he doesn't buy the argument that technology hasn't caught up to Ontario's regulations.