According to local news, attorneys for the Surfrider Foundation filed a lawsuit today against US Steel, intending to declare that the steelmaker violated a wastewater permit for its Portage, Indiana facility. The lawsuit also aims to order the company to stop all illegal discharges, come into compliance and pay a financial penalty.
The lawsuit alleges that violations at the plant are ongoing. State and federal environmental regulators have reportedly not initiated any civil or criminal actions against US Steel in the 60 days since the foundation served the company with a notice of intent to sue in November 2017.
According to the lawsuit, violations at the at the US Steel Gary Works — Midwest Plant in Portage include "at least 90 days of self-reported pollutant discharge exceedances, more than 30 monitoring and reporting failures, and at least six maintenance violations," since 2013.
Violations include an April 2017 spill in which nearly 300 pounds of hexavalent chromium (584 times the daily maximum limit allowed under state permitting laws) leaked into a tributary of Lake Michigan.
The Clean Water Act allows community groups to sue companies in violation of the act, following a 60-day notice period to the alleged polluter and government. Surfrider’s lawsuit said surfers on Lake Michigan viewed US Steel’s discharges in the water off the Portage Lakefront, including dark brown discoloration and strong odors.
Additionally, many surfers have reportedly suffered bloodshot, itchy or infected eyes; skin itchiness and irritation; sore throats; nausea; blocked nasal passages; ear infections; flu symptoms; and in severe cases, shingles in the eye and urinary tract infections.