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2 Groups: US Steel's Indiana Wastewater Plan May Fall Short

Two environmental groups say U.S. Steel's revised wastewater plan for its northwestern Indiana plant could fall short of preventing another chemical spill there.

The National Parks Conservation Association and Hoosier Environmental Council say the steelmaker's wastewater treatment plan for its Midwest Plant in Portage lacks detail and doesn't spell out how employees will be instructed on spill prevention and response.

The conservation association urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Indiana Department of Environmental Management to reject the revised plan. The agencies partially rejected U.S. Steel's initial wastewater plan in May.

A U.S. Steel spokeswoman declined comment.

About 300 pounds of the potentially carcinogenic chemical hexavalent chromium spilled last year from the plant and entered a Lake Michigan tributary about 30 miles east of Chicago.