TPT January 2008

From the AmericaS

According to the Tribune the blast furnaces, coke ovens, and steel finishing mills of Gary Works already constitute the major source of water pollution in the Lake Michigan basin. And Mr Hawthorne perceived some subtlety in the state’s presentation of the wider permissions sought by US Steel. He wrote, “Language outlining the changes is buried in 117 densely worded pages under consideration by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, which provoked a public outcry (in 2007) when it gave a nearby BP refinery permission to significantly increase pollution discharged into the lake.” While BP requested leave to dump more pollution, Indiana regulators and US Steel officials claim that the proposal under consideration will not allow Gary Works to increase the total of pollutants it pumps into the Grand Calumet River before it empties into Lake Michigan. But, Mr Hawthorne wrote, “The permit appears to tell a different story.” That story seems to be a hard read, at least for citizens and environmental groups invited to file comments about the mitigations being sought by US Steel. One Indiana resident who attended a public meeting on the topic told the Tribune, “This permit is indecipherable.” › In other news of US Steel, the company on October 31 said that its third-quarter 2007 profit fell 35 per cent, hurt by lower prices and shipments, and costs related to raw materials and a recent acquisition. The big steel maker said net income dropped to $269 million from $417 million a year earlier. Revenue increased nearly

with major operational challenges. This transaction will improve rail operations on the CN system and the rest of the Chicago rail network by moving CN trains out of the urban core to EJ&E lines on the outskirts of the Chicago metropolitan area.” Mr Harrison also cited the opportunity for CN to expand its service to the North American steel industry. US Steel chairman and chief executive officer John P Surma sounded a similar note, calling the transaction ‘positive for all involved’ . He said, “The communities in which we operate will benefit from the EJ&E being part of a large Class I railroad, while US Steel will be able to focus on the railroad assets serving Gary Works.” CN plans to invest approximately $100 million for integration, new connections, and infrastructure improvements to add capacity on the EJ&E line. Transtar operations not included in the agreement will become the Gary (Indiana) Railway.

Pollution from US Steel’s Gary Works attracts scrutiny

Staff reporter Michael Hawthorne of the Chicago Tribune has drawn attention to a proposed water permit under consideration by the state of Indiana that, according to environmental lawyers and former federal regulators, would “scrap, relax, or omit limits on toxic chemicals and heavy metals” dumped into a Lake Michigan tributary by the US Steel Corp mill at Gary, some 15 miles southeast of Chicago (“Indiana seeks to ease rules for Lake Polluter,” October 12).

›

103

www.read-tpt.com

J anuary 2008