According to local news, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Monday he plans to sue US Steel after the company’s Portage, Indiana plant spilled chemicals into a waterway near Lake Michigan that is less than 20 miles from one of Chicago’s water intakes.
US Steel requested “confidential treatment” from Indiana regulators after the spill on Oct. 25, which was reportedly caused by a wastewater treatment system malfunction. The spill released almost 60 pounds of chromium into the waterway, 89 percent higher than what the plant is permitted to discharge in a 24-hour period. A larger spill occurred in April, when 346 pounds of chromium poured into the waterway, including 298 pounds of hexavalent chromium, a highly toxic version of the metal.
In a press conference Monday, Emanuel said US Steel’s attempt to keep the latest spill confidential is “part of a broader effort by industry and the Trump EPA to relax environmental regulations and cut back on enforcement.”
“It’s unacceptable and it’s not an accident that US Steel did not report the incident to the EPA, because they think that, in fact, there is nobody there that they are responsible or accountable to,” Emanuel said. “Chicago will fight against that mindset.”
US Steel said in a statement the October spill “did not pose any danger to water supply or human health.”
Chicago’s lawsuit notice to US Steel follows a similar action last week from lawyers at the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Chicago. Law students found several chemical discharge violations at the Portage plant occurring since 2011.
“This evidence shows that they are repeatedly violating the discharge limits imposed upon them and they are neglecting to properly maintain their facility, which could lead to … unlawful discharges in the future,” Edward Siskel, Chicago’s corporation counsel, told the Chicago Tribune.
Additionally, the Chicago mayor’s proposed 2018 budget reportedly includes an appropriation for 10 new health inspectors funded by an increase in environmental fees and higher fines for companies that violate city codes.