A local environmental group is threatening to sue U.S. Steel for allegedly violating federal environmental laws in connection with the Gary Works renovations.
On Tuesday, Gary Advocates for Responsible Development sent a notice of intent to sue to Gary Works’ parent company, alleging it violated fundamental Clean Air Act requirements. The notice states that the company failed to obtain a pre-construction permit before beginning major modification work in the facility.
“We want U.S. Steel and their parent company Nippon Steel to be a good neighbor to Gary and its residents and do what is right and required under the Clean Air Act to protect and improve our health and quality of life,” GARD President Dorreen Carey said in the news release.
The notice warns U.S. Steel that GARD will file a lawsuit within 60 days if the company does not comply with federal and state air permitting laws. The Gary group and the Environmental Law & Policy Center are working together, and the Environmental Law & Policy Center is offering pro bono services to GARD.
“This case is not about trying to stop U.S. Steel from implementing any of their planned changes at Gary Works. Rather, this case is about protecting the air in Gary that residents breathe every day,” ELPC Managing Attorney Rob Michaels wrote.
In a statement, U.S. Steel rejected the allegations.
Gary Works, the country’s largest integrated steel manufacturing facility, employs more than 4,000 men and women.
GARD argues in the notice that currently, the company does not meet the baseline federal health-based standards for ozone emissions. The manufacturer emits ozone precursors, including nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, along with other pollutants such as carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and hazardous air pollutants, the environmental group said.
GARD says a pre-construction permit would require U.S. Steel to install better pollution controls and meet stricter emissions limits.
“These preconstruction permits that U.S. Steel failed to obtain are arguably the most important permits since they set the baseline pollution limits for these units over their entire lifespan,” Michaels wrote.
Last November, U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel announced a multibillion-dollar investment in Gary Works, including a $350 million relining of Blast Furnace No. 14. The company previously applied to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for permits to make physical changes to the blast furnace, add several new units to the facility, and complete changes to other parts of Gary Works.
According to GARD, U.S. Steel claims the blast furnace relining is exempt from permitting, so this summer, the company completed some renovations. More than 1,000 employees did the work this summer, totaling 1 million hours. This increased steel production and sharply raised pollution emissions at the mill.
“U.S. Steel sliced and diced their modification project, calling the reline segment ‘routine maintenance’ to avoid a full and proper accounting of the emissions impact of these related projects. Without proper emissions calculations for the entire project, air pollution will increase, and it will be more dangerous for people who live nearby,” Michaels said.
According to GARD and ELPC, these large life-extension projects are exactly the type of modifications the Clean Air Act was designed to cover. They assert the project is a direct violation of the Clean Air Act and Indiana law.
A U.S. Steel representative rejected that assertion.
“The reline of blast furnace #14 was a routine maintenance project; one necessary and regularly completed on all blast furnaces at all integrated steelmakers. The reline is and remains separate from any other investment project coming to Gary Works,” a U.S. Steel representative wrote in an email to Capital B Gary. The company also criticized the environmental group’s adversarial approach.
“It’s unfortunate that GARD wants to sue U.S. Steel despite our efforts to foster dialogue and find common ground,” the statement said. “We remain focused on environmental excellence, regulatory compliance, and being a responsible neighbor in the communities where we live and operate.”
Michaels says public comment is one of the main ways Gary residents can influence U.S. Steel’s pollution limits. He said it matters even though the process is very technical, and that there is an open comment period right now.
“People in Gary don’t need me to tell them about what the air smells like and what it feels like when they’re breathing it,” he said. “They know it. They live with it all the time.”
