U.S. Steel to clean up river site

U.S. Steel to clean up river site

U.S. Steel Corp.’s Great Lakes Works has agreed to measures that will effectively reduce pollution to the Detroit River The company will clean up the oil-laden sediments and equipment in their three holding basins that Michigan state officials say are responsible for creating oil sheens on the river’s water. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has issued a permit to U.S. Steel so it can begin the cleanup. The permit will limit water discharge into the river to 15 million gallons per day while requiring the water in the holding basins to be cleaned and filtered before released. State water quality analyst Tracy Kecskemeti said that U.S. Steel discharges water into the river from three locations and has had dozens of pollution violations in the past two years. James Volanski, manager of U.S. Steel's environmental department, said the company is spending millions of dollars to fix water and air emission problems at the site which it purchased in 2003.