EPA Reaches Settlement with Cleveland Cliffs Burns Harbor for Alleged Clean Air Act Violations

EPA Reaches Settlement with Cleveland Cliffs Burns Harbor for Alleged Clean Air Act Violations

August 27, 2024

Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with Cleveland Cliffs Burns Harbor LLC in Burns Harbor, Indiana, for alleged Clean Air Act violations that occurred while the facility was operating as ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor LLC. Under the terms of the settlement, the company will implement more pollution controls and pay $248,396 in penalties.

During unannounced inspections, EPA found that the company was allegedly emitting excessive amounts of particulate matter and hazardous air pollutants from its basic oxygen furnace shop used to create steel. The alleged violations occurred during the process of loading the furnace with molten iron, and when molten material overflowed the furnaces.

The settlement will require Cleveland Cliffs Burns Harbor to implement new process controls to ensure the furnaces are loaded slowly and to ensure the pollution control system is running at an acceptably high rate during furnace operation. The settlement also requires the company to react to problems before overflows occur and keep liquid metal ladles under pollution control device hoods. The facility will need to increase the monitoring of its basic oxygen furnace shop, report its activities to EPA in more detail, install a video camera to record the emissions from the shop and follow an optimization plan that better specifies the workings of the shop.

This large steel mill sits on the southernmost shores of Lake Michigan just west of the Indiana Dunes National Park. The settlement will reduce the emissions of hazardous pollutants to the air, improving air quality in the national park and nearby communities.

To learn more about the Clean Air Act, visit EPA's website.