U.S. Steel sued for chemical discharges from Indiana plant
by The Associated Press
The Chicago Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation alleges that illegal discharges at U.S. Steel's Portage plant are ongoing and dangerous
HAMMOND, Ind.—An environmental group is suing U.S. Steel, alleging that one of the company’s northwestern Indiana plants has repeatedly violated its wastewater permit with illegal discharges.
The federal lawsuit filed Jan. 17 in Hammond by the Chicago Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation contends that discharge violations are ongoing at U.S. Steel’s Portage plant and include an April 2017 spill of a potentially carcinogenic chemical.
Nearly 300 pounds of hexavalent chromium entered a Lake Michigan tributary in that incident.
The Northwest Indiana Times reports the suit says that discharge was 584 times the chemical’s daily maximum permitted limit.
U.S. Steel said Wednesday it regrets the incidents at the plant. But it says the lawsuit is “unnecessary” because it’s co-operated with “government and regulatory entities to swiftly remediate” the plant’s issues.
