EPA asks judge to finalize settlement costing U.S. Steel $1.8M for 2017 hexavalent chromium spill

[alp227]

Source: Chicago Tribune

The U.S. government has filed a request in federal court to advance a plan costing U.S. Steel $1.8 million for a 2017 toxic spill into Burns Waterway.

The motion to revise its consent decree, or settlement plan, calls for $1.2 million in fines, tighter reporting, and $600,000 for a three-year shoreline water monitoring project, according to filings in the U.S. District Court in Hammond.

The motion was filed on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Indiana Department of Environmental Management, and Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

U.S. Steel violated its permit in April 2017 by spilling 902 pounds of hexavalent chromium from its Midwest Plant facility in Portage, the toxin made famous by the “Erin Brockovich” legal case and movie.

Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-epa-uss-hexavalent-chromium-decree-st-1122-20191121-pezcgliogrbsnewbraa3fxbzpa-story.html

[Bayard]

1. They're getting off too lightly

[erlewyne]

2. Way too lightly,

The environment is precious.

[TexasBushwhacker]

3. Exactly what I thought

There are some things you just can't clean up.