Letter to Administrator of EPA Re: Wastewater Permit that Violates Conditions of Clean Water Act

Letter

October 12, 2007

The Honorable Stephen L. Johnson
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20460

Dear Administrator Johnson:

We are writing to express our strong concern over the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's proposed wastewater permit for U.S. Steel Corporation's Gary Works facility in Gary, Indiana. According to many experts, the permit would allow the Gary Works to increase the pollutants they discharge into the Grand Calumet River, including oil lead, arsenic, benzene, nitrates and more. Additionally, the permit would grant U.S. Steel an additional five years to meet federal standards for several other pollutants, most notably ammonia and mercury.

As such, we are relieved to hear that the EPA has formally objected to this permit, particularly with regard to the discharge limits and five year compliance schedules.

A mere three months ago, we wrote to express our concern regarding IDEM's permit for BP's Whiting, Indiana facility. There are still unanswered questions regarding that permit and EPA's oversight of its issuance, and we hope that the EPA will work with Indiana to make sure that permits issued by IDEM do not threaten the health of the Great Lakes. We all want to work together to protect Lake Michigan.

It has come to our attention that there may be additional permits being reviewed by IDEM and we urge you to undertake a detailed review of all proposed permits to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act and the standards of the Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative (GLI). It's time to improve rather than threaten the health of Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes.

As you are well aware, President Bush issued an executive order in May of 2004 to establish a Great Lakes Interagency Task Force in order to promote a regional collaboration for the Great Lakes. In the executive order, the President stated that it "is the policy of the Federal Government to support local and regional efforts to address environmental challenges and to encourage local citizen and community stewardship."

We agree with the President that the Great Lakes are among our nation's greatest treasures, and we need to take action to protect them. We thank you for objecting to the proposed permit allowing U.S. Steel to increase the pollutants they discharge into the Grand Calumet River and hope that we can work with you as you revise the permit with the state of Indiana to draft a permit consistent with the Clean Water Act, the GLI, and the goal of improving the health of the Great Lakes.

Sincerely,

Richard J. Durbin
U.S. Senator

Rahm Emanuel
Member of Congress

cc: Mary Gade
Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5

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