AK Steel in federal violation, EPA alleges
Dayton Business Journal - by Don Baker News Staff Reporter
AK Steel Corp. still has not complied with a federal order to develop a plan to supply water to a small Pennsylvania town, a spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.
"At the present time, they are not in compliance with the order," spokesman David Sternberg said July 11.
Middletown-based AK Steel was ordered by the U.S. EPA last month to supply an alternative water source to the 4,400 people in the town and borough of Zelienople, which is downstream of AK Steel's Butler steel mill. The EPA said AK Steel has been increasing its discharges of nitrates into Connoquenessing Creek, on which Zelienople has a water intake.
The emergency order was issued under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and required AK Steel to submit a plan to the EPA within seven days that described how it will comply with the order. Sternberg said the company had not submitted a plan to the EPA as of July 11.
AK Steel could be fined up to $15,000 per day that it is violating the order, but no fines have been issued yet because the company and EPA were having what Sternberg described as "constructive conversations" about how to resolve the issue.
Company spokesman Alan McCoy did not return a call seeking comment.
AK Steel originally filed a petition asking the courts to issue a stay in the EPA order, but a judge denied that request. A second attempt by AK Steel to have that order reconsidered also was denied, the EPA said.
Sternberg said, however, AK Steel had contacted Zelienople officials about the possibility of putting in a water system. "We don't have a problem with that conceptually," he said. "We would like to see the company take a more aggressive stance at reducing their discharges. Our objective is to protect the health and safety of the public."
The federal government and the state of Ohio also announced June 29 that they filed a joint lawsuit against AK Steel that says the steel maker violated several environmental laws at its Middletown plant.
The U.S. Justice Department claims AK Steel violated the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and the Resource Conservation and Recover Act, a hazardous waste statute. Various penalties the state and federal government can seek under the lawsuit include up to $25,000 per day, dating to 1993.
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