The Environmental Law and Policy Center and several other activist organizations announced that they’ve filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its actions on a Gary operating permit.
An EPA spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit Wednesday, saying the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
The groups — which also include the Environmental Integrity Project, Gary Advocates for Responsible Development and Just Transition Northwest Indiana — allege in the suit that the EPA failed to meet a mandatory Clean Air Act deadline to act on a petition challenging the renewal of a Gary Works operating permit.
The petition identifies the permit’s multiple deficiencies, including alleged failures to require adequate monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting of particulate matter emissions, according to the ELPC.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, according to online court records. It doesn’t ask the court to decide the merits of the permit challenge, but it seeks an order requiring the EPA to act on the petition.
According to an ELPC news release, the groups filed a petition on July 3, 2025, saying the permit fails to include adequate monitoring and compliance provisions to ensure compliance with air pollution limits.
Through the Clean Air Act, the EPA has to grant or deny the petition within 60 days, but the agency still hasn’t acted.
“Congress established clear deadlines so communities, regulators, and industry are not left in limbo,” ELPC Associate Attorney Max Lopez said in a news release. “In the absence of EPA action, this lawsuit was the necessary next step to rein in illegal pollution originating from U.S. Steel Gary Works. EPA’s failure to act prevents resolution of serious questions we and others have about whether the Gary Works permit contains monitoring and compliance measures necessary to protect public health. We are asking the court to order EPA to issue a decision on the petition by a court-ordered deadline.”
According to U.S. Steel’s website, Gary Works is the company’s largest manufacturing plant and employs about 4,300 employees.
A U.S. Steel spokesperson responded to the lawsuit in a Wednesday statement.
“The lawsuit is directed at EPA regarding the timing of its response to a Clean Air Act petition,” the statement said. “U.S. Steel is not a party to that action. Environmental stewardship is a core value at U.S. Steel, and we remain committed to the safety of our communities as do our more than 4,000 Gary Works employees.”
U.S. Steel has previously said that its Gary Works facility has received environmental compliance rates exceeding 99%, according to Post-Tribune archives.
Although the company said the facility has achieved environmental excellence, local activists still say Gary Works harms the environment and public health.
Dorreen Carey, president of GARD, said in a Tuesday news release that the EPA should object to the “deficient air permit renewal,” claiming that it fails to comply with federally enforceable requirements.
“Gary residents have been exposed to deadly air pollution on a daily basis for more than 100 years,” Carey said. “It is time for the EPA to require an updated approach to air pollution control at Gary Works that includes continuous real-time monitoring, timely intervention, corrective action, and enforcement to assure the mill is in compliance with the Clean Air Act.”
According to the ELPC, the EPA designated Lake County as “being in serious nonattainment” of federal ozone standards. Pollution from Northwest Indiana’s industrial facilities contributes to regional air quality issues, according to the law organization.
In the lawsuit filing, the parties allege that Gary Works emits particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants that lead to health issues, including inflammatory responses in the cardiovascular, immune and central nervous symptoms, adverse effects on maternal-fetal and reproductive health and increased asthma rates.
“U.S. Steel’s Gary Works facility is a major emitter of dangerous air pollutants that harm people living and working near the plant,” Environmental Integrity Project Senior Attorney Haley Lewis said in a news release. “We are filing this lawsuit … so that EPA finally responds to our petition to require stronger air pollution monitoring at the plant and provide better public health protections to local residents.”
mwilkins@chicagotribune.com
