In April 2017, U.S. Steel spilled nearly 350 pounds of toxic chromium into a waterway that empties directly into Lake Michigan. Photo: Surfrider
On Monday, the City of Chicago and the Surfrider Foundation sent a joint letter to the Environmental Protection Agency opposing a settlement that would see U.S. Steel pay out some $900,000 for repeated toxic chromium spills into Lake Michigan. Surfrider and the city argue the financial penalty is “insufficient to reflect [the violations’] gravity and the risk of harm to Lake Michigan, a drinking water and recreational source for millions.”
The proposed settlement is the result of an ongoing legal battle between Surfrider and US Steel. In January, the Surfrider Foundation on behalf of its Chicago chapter, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division. The complaint alleged that U.S. Steel’s Midwest Plant, in Portage, Indiana, illegally spilled 350 pounds of chromium into a waterway that dumps directly into Lake Michigan in April 2017. And in October, the same plant discharged twice the daily limit of chromium in a 24-hour period. The multiple instances showed, claims Surfrider, consistent violations of the Clean Water Act.
“Surfrider’s action to hold U.S. Steel accountable for its impact on that unique environment sends a clear message that those who love Lake Michigan will not sit idly by when the big corporations along its coast disregard and violate the environmental laws designed to protect their Lake,” wrote Surfrider in a January blog post.
Negotiations between the EPA, Department of Justice, and U.S. Steel began last year after law students at the University of Chicago dug up records indicating the company violated the clean water act in at least two other instances since 2013, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Beyond grossly inadequate punitive measures, Surfrider and the City of Chicago argue the settlement ignores the community entirely. According to the letter, “There is no focus on the needs of the local community around southern Lake Michigan, such as through a supplemental environmental project in lieu of a penalty deposited in the state and federal treasuries.”
“The Surfrider Foundation and the City of Chicago are in this for the long haul, and have told U.S. Steel and the government agencies that they need to do better than what they’ve proposed in the consent decree,” said Staley Prom, Surfrider Foundation Legal Associate.
