All of U. S. Steel’s statements on the matter can be found HERE, as well as details of the company’s proposed consent decree to resolve issues at the Midwest Plant.
In summary, the following corrective actions were taken:
- Equipment repairs were made, including the replacement of the piping to the chrome water treatment system as well as the repair and coating of the containment trench.
- A comprehensive evaluation of the wastewater systems at the facility was conducted. This resulted in the development and implementation of an enhanced monitoring plan and the installation of additional monitoring systems and alarms that will expedite the identification of potential future complications.
- An operating and maintenance manual was developed for the water treatment systems, which requires additional employee training and enhanced maintenance policies. The approved 2018 edition can be found here:https://www.in.gov/idem/cleanwater/files/us_steel_decree_wwt_manual_revised.pdf
- More frequent water sampling and analysis are now conducted at the water treatment systems associated outfalls.