EPA v. REPUBLIC STEEL - CD

Case summary

U.S. EPA conducted an inspection of the Republic Steel- Canton Facility (the Facility ) on September 20, 2021. Inspectors observed leaks at the system generating vacuum and providing control for lead emissions at the Flexcast Vacuum Tank Degasser ( VTD ). The inspectors were not able to observe casting operations due to equipment issues at the Flexcast VTD area. Republic Steel explained that when these recurring equipment issues occur, Republic Steel degases lead in the Flexcast VTD. Following the inspection, a Section 114 Information Request (the Request ) was issued to the facility on October 14, 2021. Based on concerns gathered from the inspection and information from the Request, a Notice of Violation was issued to the facility on November 3, 2021. This case was then referred to resolve the violations through a Consent Decree. The proposed Consent Decree addresses the alleged violations by Republic Steel for its failure to comply with Section 113(b) of the Clean Air Act (the ?CAA? or the ?Act?), 42 U.S.C. ? 7413(b), at its steel production facility in Canton, Ohio. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that Republic Steel violated three requirements under a Permit to Install (?PTI?) issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (?Ohio EPA?) on December 10, 2004, pursuant to federally-enforceable provisions of the Ohio State Implementation Plan: (1) failure to comply with lead emission limits for the Facility?s Flexcast Vacuum Tank Degasser when it performed lead degassing; (2) failure to conduct a performance test for lead emissions from the Flexcast VTD; and (3) failure to conduct parametric monitoring and recordkeeping at various times. The injunctive relief in this Consent Decree, specifically the emission controls pertaining to the Flexcast VTD and a Cooling Tower System, are to reduce any excess lead emissions from Republic Steel?s Facility, and to improve its monitoring and recordkeeping. Injunctive relief for the Flexcast VTD includes the installation of an inertial separator and HEPA filter on the VTD stack while injunctive relief at the Cooling Tower involves the replacement of demisters and fan motors to reduce drift loss. The Consent Decree also obligates Republic Steel to implement a compliance management system to monitor and record parameters established by the Flexcast VTD and Cooling Tower compliance demonstrations (also obligated by the Consent Decree) as well as other parameters in the 2004 PTI. Republic Steel estimates that it will spend at least $458,000.00 to complete injunctive relief required by the Consent Decree. In addition to the injunctive relief, Republic Steel is resolving its civil penalty liability through payment of a penalty of $990,000.

Defendants (1)

• REPUBLIC STEELNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• REPUBLIC STEEL

  2633 EIGHTH STREET NE, CANTON, OH, 447042311

  Registry ID: 110012566927

Statutes cited

• CAA 502 — Operating Permits (Title V)
• CAA 112D — MACT Standards

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• REPUBLIC STEELentered 2023-12-18

  Primary law: CAA

  Federal penalty: $990,000

Timeline (5 milestones)

• 2021-12-27Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2022-01-06Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2022-12-01Final Order Lodged
• 2022-12-01Complaint Filed With Court
• 2023-12-18Final Order Entered