IDEM board approves draft plan for NWI pollution rule
Northwest Indiana residents and activists voiced concerns about an Indiana Department of Environmental Management air pollution rule at a Wednesday hearing, but it didn't deter the Indiana Environmental Rules Board from approving a draft plan for new nitrogen oxide pollution rules for Lake and Porter counties.
IDEM has to approve the draft rule before it's sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for approval.
According to IDEM documents, the rule adds to the reasonably available control technologies for nitrogen oxide emissions. RACTs are required on existing sources in areas that aren't meeting national ambient air quality standards, according to the EPA.
On Oct. 17, 2023, the EPA determined that Indiana 'failed to submit NOx RACT for major stationary sources' in Lake and Porter counties, according to IDEM documents.
Eleven sources, including U.S. Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs, will be affected by the NOx rules. Affected sources release more than 100 tons of any pollutant per year into Lake and Porter counties, according to IDEM.
'IDEM worked extensively with the owner or operator of each affected source and U.S. EPA to ensure that the state remains in compliance with the Clean Air Act while avoiding overly burdensome requirements on these sources,' said agency documents.
IDEM held a public hearing during its Wednesday meeting, allowing residents and activists to speak on the rule draft. Participants could speak in-person in Indianapolis or online via Microsoft Teams.
Regional activism organizations, including Just Transition Northwest Indiana, allege that the draft is flawed and does not make enough of an effort to curb pollution and improve public health.
Susan Thomas, director of policy and press for Just Transition Northwest Indiana, said Wednesday that the rule just adds insult to injury for residents in Lake and Porter counties.
Thomas and other activists would like to see a transition to cleaner steel and ironmaking, such as through electric arc furnaces and direct reduced iron, which would use hydrogen instead of natural gas.
Multiple speakers mentioned that Cleveland-Cliffs is converting to direct reduction at its Middletown, Ohio, plant, but Yahoo Finance reported this week that Cleveland-Cliffs has canceled its $500 million hydrogen-powered steel project 'due to concerns about not having enough clean hydrogen supply.'
Some speakers mentioned frustrations with U.S. Steel's Gary Works facility, claiming pollution from the facility has contributed to a high incidence of health risks such as asthma and heart problems.
Wanda Torres, a Gary resident, spoke at IDEM's Wednesday meeting. Torres said she's been living in Gary and near the steel mill for more than 50 years, and she's concerned about how it's impacted her health.
Torres also mentioned that people say Gary has a different smell because of the pollution, and the air can be hazy.
'People from different areas come to Gary, they work here, and then they go back to their areas,' Torres said. 'This is my place, this is my home, this is my land. Why can't people understand that they're killing us and treating us like we're dispensable?'
An October report from Industrious Labs found that most residents in Gary are in the top 10% of U.S. residents most at-risk for developing asthma and at-risk of low life expectancy. In 2020, Indiana had a lung cancer rate of 72.5 per 100,000 people, with Lake County as one of the state's counties with the highest cancer mortality rates, according to the American Lung Association.
A 2016 report from the JAMA Network also found Gary as one of the five U.S. cities with the lowest life expectancy at one point.
U.S. Steel responded to the concerns in a Wednesday statement.
'U.S. Steel continues to meet our environmental obligations and adheres to the limits set forth in our operating permit,' the company's statement said. 'Environmental excellence is a top priority for the dedicated employees at all of our facilities, and we are always working to improve our processes and invest in technologies that will help us meet that goal. We also continue to work collaboratively with IDEM and other agencies to comply with our permit requirements.'
Hilary Lewis, steel director for Industrious Labs, also spoke at Wednesday's meeting. Lewis encourages steel industries and environmental agencies to look at cleaner alternatives for mills.
'I really want to emphasize to the committee that there's a lot of opportunity to clean up steelmaking in Northwest Indiana, and help achieve not only compliance with existing laws, but protect public health and improve the economy,' Lewis said.
Terry Steagall, a Highland resident and retired steelworker, asked IDEM to take residents' concerns seriously. Steagall said steel mills aren't his only worry in the area, and he mentioned that data centers could also negatively impact Northwest Indiana.
'We're going to have to look into renewable energy, but we're also going to have a problem with that because data centers want to come in and take our energy,' Steagall said. 'We've been here for over 100 years, and we want another 100 years, but we've got to do it in a different way with new technology.'
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