Earlier this month, the EPA issued objections to U.S. Steel’s draft permit, and Visclosky believes that bringing the EPA, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), U.S. Steel, and concerned citizens will provide a forum for people to focus on solutions.

“Continued improvement of the quality of water in the Great Lakes system is in the interest of everyone in Northwest Indiana, the Chicago metropolitan area, the surrounding states, the nation, and the planet,” wrote Visclosky in the letter to the EPA. “Elected officials, policy makers, and industry must work together.”

            Visclosky believes that a public and transparent permit process is the best approach to ensuring the environmental quality of the Great Lakes. In his letter, Visclosky voiced his support for EPA and IDEM’s efforts to address this important issue. “I commend the current efforts of the EPA and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to develop U.S. Steel Corporation’s NPDES permit and, more importantly, I appreciate your agency’s willingness to work with IDEM to revise the current draft permit.”

[Full Visclosky Letter to EPA Below]

October 17, 2007

Ms. Mary Gade

Regional Administrator

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region V

77 West Jackson Boulevard

Chicago, Illinois  60604

Dear Ms. Gade:

I write in support of local environmental groups’ request for the U.S. Environmental Agency (EPA) to hold a public hearing in Northwest Indiana in response to the EPA’s concerns with the U.S. Steel Corporation, Gary Works National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

            I commend the current efforts of the EPA and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to develop U.S. Steel Corporation’s NPDES permit and, more importantly, I appreciate your agency’s willingness to work with IDEM to revise the current draft permit.  As stipulated in recent correspondence, in which EPA notified the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) of its concerns to the draft NPDES permit, EPA outlined clearly the measures IDEM must take to satisfy the federal regulations.

            Regrettably some have seized the review process for the draft permit and have tried to manipulate it for political gain.  Their rhetoric has focused upon generating political heat and ignored the cold fact of the ongoing participation of each regulatory agency – EPA and IDEM – to use this opportunity to reposition industry in a world that has become more environmentally conscious.  Rather than simply shutter one of the largest steel facilities along the lakeshore, EPA and IDEM are working with U.S. Steel to ensure the permit reflects federal and state discharge limits, which will allow the company to be more competitive as it updates its facilities, while preventing further impairment to our waterways.

            It is important to note that due to the oversight of the EPA and IDEM, U.S. Steel is responsible for removing contaminated sediment from approximately five miles of the Grand Calumet River, pursuant to an agreement with EPA contained in a 1999 Clean Water Act Consent Decree and a 1998 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Corrective Action Order.  This work is currently in progress and will ultimately be complemented by future remediation projects. 

To date, design plans for the west section of the river are being developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), and the City of Hammond.  Further, the dredging of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal in East Chicago, under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in cooperation with EPA, IDEM and the East Chicago Waterway Management District, will remove contaminated sediment within the canal and harbor, and the Grand Calumet River Feasibility Study, once complete, will determine a course of action to improve this waterway.  Whereas I share the concerns expressed by the public for the Great Lakes System, it would be remiss to not highlight the significant efforts underway to remediate the environmental degradation of a bygone era during which industry despoiled our surroundings with little or no regard. 

Continued improvement of the quality of water in the Great Lakes system is in the interest of everyone in Northwest Indiana, the Chicago metropolitan area, the surrounding states, the nation, and the planet.  Elected officials, policy makers, and industry must work together.  Press conferences and political grandstanding will not purify the waters of Lake Michigan, but sound policy, investment in new technology, and all parties working toward this shared goal, will.

            To that end, I would encourage the EPA to hold a public hearing, pursuant to 40 CFR 123.44(e), in Northwest Indiana to explain the reasoning for the concern with the draft permit and the steps by which it will work with IDEM on revisions to assure the draft permit complies or exceeds with the Clean Water Act and EPA regulations.  It is imperative the communication between the regulatory agencies and the company be very public and transparent in order to allow the facts to be presented openly rather than being buried by sensational headlines. 

If I or my office may be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me personally, or Mark Lopez, District Director, in my Merrillville District Office at 219-795-1844.

Sincerely,

Peter J. Visclosky

Member of Congress