WASHINGTON (Feb. 14, 2020)Cliffs Burns Harbor, Cleveland-Cliffs, has agreed to settle alleged violations under the Clean Water Act and other laws for the August 2019 discharge of ammonia- and chloride-laden wastewater into East Branch of Little Calumet River. The discharge resulted in fish kills and caused beach closures along Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Cleveland-Cliffs has taken significant measures to improve its wastewater system in Burns Harbor (Indiana) at its steel manufacturing and finishing facilities.
The settlement complaint alleges that Cleveland-Cliffs exceeded discharge limits for cyanide and nitrogen; failed to properly disclose those cyanide and/or ammonia releases under Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Acts (EPCRA). and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, CERCLA; and violated other Clean Water Act and permit terms.
EPA and its partner organizations worked together to create a comprehensive solution. This will not only allow for the continued enjoyment of Lake Michigan, Indiana waterways but also ensure that the facility has the necessary measures in place to prevent future spills. Larry Starfield, Acting Assistant Administrator for Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.The settlement today demonstrates that EPA is committed protecting our natural resources against harmful pollution.
The company was appropriately penalized for its violations by Cleveland-Cliffs today and must take extensive steps to prevent future pollution. For the Justice Departments Environment and Natural Resources Division, Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim said.The Lake Michigan will be cleaner due to the ammonia and cyanide reductions. Public will also be informed about any future spillages.
Hoosiers support an Indiana legal climate that encourages businesses to thrive and protects our natural environment. said Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita.It was a pleasure to see this case resolved.
I am grateful to the federal and local partners who helped me reach this settlement. Brian Rockensuess, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), said. The consent decree will provide additional protections to the community and Lake Michigan. It will also improve both health and the environment of Northwest Indiana.
The consent decree, which was filed today in federal court in the Northern District of Indiana, imposes that Cleveland-Cliffs pay $3,000,000 as a civil penalty, and reimburse the EPA, the State of Indiana, for any response costs incurred due to an August 2019 discharge of wastewater containing ammonia or cyanide into a river flowing into Lake Michigan. The facility’s water pollution levels will be greatly reduced by a new ammonia treatment system, and cyanide treatment requirements.
Cleveland-Cliffs will also address allegations under CERCLA and EPCRA by implementing a protocol that notifies the relevant state and local agencies about any future spillages of cyanide from its Burns Harbor facility.
In August 2019, the Facility’s blast furnace closed-loop air scrubber water recycling system failed. This forced Cleveland-Cliffs into drawing large quantities of Lake Michigan water from the facility outfalls and allowing it to be discharged without the possibility of recycling the water. The wastewater treatment system at Cleveland-Cliffs is not designed to handle such large volumes of water. As a result, discharges from the facility outfalls contained high levels of untreated ammonia-nitrogen and cyanide. Untreated water was discharged into the Little Calumet River, causing a fish kill.
As required by CERCLA/EPCRA, Cleveland-Cliffs did not provide timely notification or emergency reports to local emergency response authorities following the release. The areas affected by the discharges were addressed by IDEM, EPA, and IDEM. The incident resulted in several beaches being closed along the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Further inspections of the facility by EPA, Indiana Department of Environmental Management and further investigation revealed additional violations of the facility’s NPDES permits. The Environmental Law and Policy Center and Hoosier Environmental Council (HEC), filed a citizen lawsuit against Cleveland-Cliffs, alleging violations of the Clean Water Act. HEC and ELPC signed the consent decree which will settle their ongoing citizen suit.
Cleveland-Cliffs has agreed to operate and construct a new ammonia-treatment system at its blast furnaces. It will also implement a new process for managing and treating once-through waters in emergency situations. The facility will also be subject to increased preventive maintenance, operation and sampling standards. These measures are intended to correct conditions at the facility that caused the August 2019 incident. They also ensure compliance with state laws and the CWA.
Cleveland-Cliffs also agreed to two state-administered Environmentally Beneficial Projects, (EBPs), to resolve citizen suit claims: (1) a transfer 127 acres of land adjacent to the Indiana National Lakeshore land trust for conservation; (2) background sampling on Lake Michigan’s East Branch of Little Calumet River.
Cleveland-Cliffs and Indiana will each be reimbursed for their total cleanup costs of $10,025.37 under the agreement.
After notification in the Federal Register and final approval by court, today’s settlement was filed with the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana. You can view the consent decree here or submit a comment. https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.