- The civil complaint filed in U.S. District Court could cost the company millions of dollars.
- The federal government proposed a settlement that would impose a $700,000 fine to be paid in three installments.
- It recognized that Republic Steel closed the facilities and does not plan to resume operations.
The U.S. Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency has filed a new lawsuit against Republic Steel that claims the Lorain and Canton plants violated the Clean Water Act numerous times between May 2017 and March 2023.
The civil complaint filed Monday in the U.S. District Court in Cleveland could cost the company millions of dollars ― a fine of up to $66,712 per day for each violation of the facilities’ National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits. The permits allow certain levels of pollutants to be discharged into waterways with monitoring and reporting requirements.
However, the federal government proposed a settlement that would impose a $700,000 fine to be paid in three installments. It recognized that Republic Steel closed its Northeast Ohio facilities and does not plan to resume operations.