Chicago rips Indiana steel company for threatening our drinking water after 2 spills

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Administration is asking Indiana and U.S. environmental officials to crack down on industrial businesses along Lake Michigan to protect the region’s drinking water after U.S. Steel’s Portage, Ind., plant dumped contaminants in the water twice in a two-week period.

“U.S. Steel’s disregard for our region’s most precious natural resource is unacceptable,” the Chicago Department of Water said in a statement. “Millions of Illinoisans rely on Lake Michigan as their water supply. We urge the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and U.S. [Environmental Protection Agency] to respond urgently to this matter and to make protection of the lake from industrial pollution a priority.”

The latest accident at the steel plant took place Thursday when oil spilled into a commercial harbor that connects to Lake Michigan. Company officials said they believe the oil spill was contained and did not flow into the lake, though an investigation continues. Indiana officials say some oil was seen outside the contained area and they continue to look into the matter. Nearby Indiana Dunes beaches remained closed Friday pending water test results.

On Sept. 26, a large discharge of iron into the lake from the same plant created a massive rust-colored plume that spread out into the lake. That accident prompted a local water utility in Indiana to shut down a treatment plant and it forced the closure of all Indiana Dunes beaches for several days. While acknowledging the iron release, U.S. Steel and environmental regulators said levels of more serious toxic metals such as chromium and hexavalent chromium were not detected at unsafe levels.

Read more: https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/10/8/22716852/lake-michigan-pollution-u-s-steel-epa-oil-iorn-beaches-indiana-dunes