HAMMOND, Ind. - U.S. Steel will pay more than $1.2 million in a civil penalty and various federal agency reimbursements for costs and damages. This after one of its northwestern Indiana plants discharged wastewater containing a potentially carcinogenic chemical into a tributary of Lake Michigan.
The U.S. Justice Department says those terms are contained in a consent decree filed Monday in federal court. U.S. Steel promised to take steps to improve its wastewater processing monitoring system to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act and Indiana law.
The April 2017 spill into the Burns Waterway near Portage, Indiana, contained hexavalent chromium, a toxic heavy metal that might be carcinogenic if ingested.
U.S. Steel says the steps it's taking include installing a new wastewater piping system.