According to local news reports, the city of Chicago is suing US Steel for alleged violations of federal law regarding discharges of a potentially carcinogenic chemical from the company’s Portage, Indiana steel mill.
The federal lawsuit filed Wednesday follows a similar suit from the Surfrider Foundation’s Chicago chapter.
The city of Chicago’s complaint alleges US Steel violated the Clean Water Act and its wastewater permit with illegal discharges from the Indiana mill into a waterway that is a tributary for Lake Michigan. The violations include an April 2017 spill of nearly 300 pounds (135 kilograms) of hexavalent chromium, along with an October 2017 chromium spill.
In a statement, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said US Steel’s actions threaten Lake Michigan, Chicago’s “most precious natural resource.”