FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE						 	     ENR

THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 1998					DOJ	 (202) 514-2008

									EPA	 (312) 353-6218

									DOI	 (612) 713-5312

									   IN	 (317) 232-8499

									TDD     (202) 514-1888

 
USX SETTLES FEDERAL, STATE ENVIRONMENTAL CLAIMS


 
Nation's Largest Steel Maker Plans $30 Million Clean-Up of Grand Calumet River

 
	Washington, DC -- USX Corporation, the nation's largest steel maker, has agreed to settle
federal and state environmental claims for illegally discharging wastewater from its Gary, Indiana
plant into the Grand Calumet River, announced the U.S. Departments of Justice, the Environmental
Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of  Interior and the State of Indiana today.  Among other
things, the company will pay $30 million to clean up the River, $22 million on future pollution
abatement and a $2.9 million civil penalty.  The Gary plant is the largest steel making plant in the
nation.

 
	Two consent agreements were lodged today in U.S. District Court in Hammond, Indiana. 
Under the first, USX will spend approximately $30 million to remove and dispose of nearly 700,000
cubic yards of contaminated sediments from five miles of the River.  USX must remove the
sediments over the next five years.

 
	"These agreements will help put the 'Grand' back in the Calumet River," said Lois J.
Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources.  "USX will clean up
its past pollution and reduce any future pollution.  This means a cleaner river for fishing and
swimming and a healthier environment for the citizens of Northwest Indiana."

 
	Violating both the Clean Water Act and a 1990 federal consent decree since 1992, USX'
Gary facility illegally discharged wastewater contaminated with PCB's, heavy metals (such as iron,
lead, zinc, cadmium and chromium), oil and grease, benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and
cyanide.  The contaminated sediments kill fish, injure migratory birds and release pollutants into the
River and Lake Michigan.  

(more)

 
 
	"The cleanup of this stretch of the Grand Calumet River will be a crucial step in the
revitalization of the river corridor," said David A. Ullrich, Acting EPA Regional Administrator.  "It
will result in cleaner water, healthier fish and a visibly improved environment for the people of Gary
and all those who enjoy Lake Michigan." 

 
	As part of the clean up, USX must restore 32 acres of wetlands next to the river and construct
a disposal facility for contaminated sediments, including PCB's, from the river.  In addition, USX
must improve the Gary facility to eliminate spills and other illegal discharges.  The cost of these
capital improvements is estimated at $22 million.

 
	The first consent agreement also requires USX to pay a $2.9 million civil penalty.

 
	"Today marks not so much the end of long legal negotiations and planning but the beginning
of what will become one of the most exciting environmental projects in Indiana history," said John
M. Hamilton, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.  "Within
the next five years, decades of environmental neglect will be dredged from the bottom of the Grand
Calumet River.  That project will mark the beginning of a vital new era for the environment in
Northwest Indiana and the Grand Calumet River in particular.  The state of Indiana is proud to be
partners with federal and local government as well as local industry and the people of Northwest
Indiana in this new beginning."

 
	The second consent agreement addresses natural resource damages. Under Superfund
authority, USX will buy 139 acres of property for the National Park Service in order to expand the
rare dune and swale wildlife habitat along the southern shore of Lake Michigan.  A separate 77 acre
acquisition for the State of Indiana will enhance wildlife habitat nearer to the River and will increase
access for fishermen for recreational use.  

 
	"Fish and wildlife habitat along this important waterway will be restored, and the removal
of PCB-contaminated sediment along a five mile stretch of the Grand Calumet River, will improve
the water quality of Lake Michigan," said Larry Macklin, Director of the Indiana Department of
Natural Resources.  "Also, 77 acres have been acquired along Salt Creek, about 10 miles east of
Grand Calumet.  The land will provide people with a new fishing site that should be excellent for
trout and salmon, wildlife habitat will be protected, and the new site will help compensate the public
for the lost use of an important natural resource."

 
	"What has been accomplished here is a huge step in the process to make northwestern
Indiana a better place to live, for people, for wildlife, for all creatures inhabiting this area," added
Mat Millenbach, Program Manager for the Interior Department's Natural Resource Damage
Assessment and Restoration program.  "And the Natural Resources Restoration portion of this
achievement has made possible improvements that are historical in their resource significance,
including acquisition of important dune and swale habitat, enhanced fishing opportunities, and
restoration of stream and shoreline habitat along the Grand Calumet River."

 
(more)

 
	In addition to the two consent agreements, USX has entered into in an agreement with EPA,
known as an administrative order, to identify releases of hazardous materials at its Gary plant and
clean up the waste that poses a public health or environmental threat.  Entered into under the
authority of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the order will help protect the River from
re-contamination.

 
	Formerly known as US Steel, USX is based in Pittsburgh.

 
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