Dive Brief:
- Environmental groups have it reported the Environmental Protection Agency for alleged failure to respond to a petition challenging the renewal of a clean air permit for US Steel’s largest mill in Gary, Indiana.
- The plaintiffs — The Environmental Law & Policy Center, Environmental Integrity Project, Gary Advocates for Responsible Development and Just Transition Northwest Indiana — are seeking an injunction requiring the EPA to grant or deny their request. originally presented on July 3, 2025.
- They argued that US Steel’s Title V operating permit did not include adequate monitoring and compliance provisions that would ensure the mill could operate within certain air pollution limits. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA has 60 days to respond to requests. More than ten months later, the agency has yet to act on the groups’ request, an ELPC spokesperson confirmed to Manufacturing Dive Tuesday.
Diving knowledge:
The suit it comes as US Steel looks to bolster its domestic operations under the ownership of Japanese parent company Nippon Steel.
Most recently, US Steel’s board of directors approved $475 million in funding to install a quenching and tempering line at its Birmingham, Alabama facility. Steel also plans to invest up to $2.5 billion at their Mon Valley Works sites in Pennsylvania and restart their canning operations at Gary Works in Indiana next year.
At the same time, Gary residents have pressed US Steel to upgrade the city’s mill with technology that would reduce air pollution and improve worker health and safety, as well as the longevity of the facility. In late May, more than 120 people held a town hall where they raised concerns that a significant portion of the $3.1 billion earmarked for Gary would go toward outdated coal-fired equipment.
“Environmental stewardship is a core value at US Steel, and we remain committed to the safety of our communities as do our more than 4,000 employees at Gary Works,” a spokesperson said in an email Tuesday.
Asked about the environmental groups’ air permit petition and what it might mean for the company’s investment strategy, US Steel declined to comment, saying it was not an active party to the lawsuit.
The EPA also declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
In the complaint filed in US District Court in Washington DC, the environmental groups argued that Gary Works’ emissions, including nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants, contribute to ground-level ozone and adversely affect the health of nearby residents, including an increased risk of asthma, lung cancer, heart attacks and strokes.
On April 29, 2024, they submitted public comments to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management on the facility’s draft clean air permit renewal. The state submitted the proposed permit to EPA for review on March 21, 2025, and issued a final renewal permit to Gary Works on May 7, 2025.
On July 3, 2025, the groups filed a petition urging the EPA to oppose the permit. They argued that the permit did not include adequate monitoring requirements to ensure compliance with particulate emission limits, Lake County opacity limits and coal pulverization limits. The groups also claimed it lacked monitoring, recording and compliance reporting requirements to ensure compliance with blast furnace limits, as well as corrective action and maintenance plans.
“EPA’s failure to act prevents resolution of serious questions we and others have about whether the Gary Works permit contains the control and compliance measures necessary to protect public health,” Max Lopez, ELPC’s associate attorney, said in a statement.
Gary Works is US Steel’s largest manufacturing plant, according to the company website. It can produce up to 7.5 million net tons of steel per year.
