United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Enforcement
and Compliance
Assurance (2248A)
EPA300-N-00-016
&EPA Enforcement Alert
Volume 3, Number 11
Office of Regulatory Enforcement
December 2000
U.S. EPA Encourages Iron and Steel 'Minimills' to Self Audits
to Address Noncompliance with Environmental Requirements
Nucor Corp. Agrees to Control Practices; Provides Model for Industry
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has identified a
number of multimedia environmen-
tal compliance problems at 'minimiH'
steel production facilities.
Minimills are relatively new facili-
About
Enforcement Alert
Enforcement Alert is published
periodically by the Office of
Regulatory Enforcement to
inform and educate the public
and regulated community of
important environmental
enforcement issues, recent
trends and significant
enforcement actions.
This information should help
the regulated community
anticipate and prevent
violations of federal
environmental law that could
otherwise lead to enforcement
action. Reproduction and wide
dissemination of this
publication are encouraged.
For information on obtaining
additional copies of this
publication, contact the editor
listed below.
Eric V. Schaeffer
Director, Office of
Regulatory Enforcement
Editor: Virginia Bueno
(202) 564-8684
bueno.virginia@epa.gov
(Please email address and
name changes or subscription
requests for this newsletter)
ties that produce steel by melting
scrap metal in an electric arc furnace
(EAF). Minimills are required to com-
ply with a number of environmental
requirements. Violating these require-
ments can be costly.
For example, Nucor Corporation
recently agreed to pay $9 million in
civil penalties and spend an additional
$4 million on related environmental
projects for violating hazardous
waste, clean air, clean water and right-
to-know requirements. It will cost the
company an estimated $85 million to
implement the agreement (see page
2 for more on this settlement).
This issue of Enforcement Alert
highlights:
Recent and ongoing EPA ac-
tivities to address noncompliance in
this sector, including inspections and
investigations at a
number of mills, and
An EPA self-
disclosure initiative un-
derway with certain
minimills.
EPA encourages
qualifying mills to take
advantage of the
Agency's Audit Policy
(see Audit Policy
website http://www. epa.gov/oeca/
ore/apolguid.html). The policy es-
tablishes a framework for the volun-
tary disclosure and expeditious cor-
rection of violations in return for
greatly reduced penalties.
EPA Concerned About
Noncompliance in Iron and
Steel Sectors
EPA's recent experience has
raised serious concerns that iron and
steel mills may not be in compliance
with important federal environmental
requirements such as the:
Clean Air Act (CAA)-New
Source Review (NSR)/Prevention
of Significant Deterioration (PSD)
requirements that are triggered due
to plant construction, expansions and/
or modifications. Some facilities con-
structed after 1978 (the effective date
of the NSR/PSD regulations) have
relied on inappropriate emission fac-
tors based on performance tests con-
ducted under nonrepresentative con-
ditions to estimate their potential emis-
sions.
ome facilities that were con-
structed before 1978 and modified
after that year may be failing to factor in
equipment additions and/or process
changes that increase production ca-
pacity and total emissions in the NSR
permitting process.
Such companies have, therefore,
underestimated their air emissions, in-
cluding estimates for such criteria pol-
lutants as carbon monoxide, nitrous
s
Continued on page 2
,n is found on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore/enfalert/
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Enforcement Alert
Continued from page 1
oxides, volatile organic compounds,
sulfur dioxide and particulate matter.
In such a situation, the source may be
greatly exceeding its permit limits and
may be an unpermitted major source.
Some facilities constructed before
1978 but modified after that year may
be failing to factor in equipment addi-
tions and/or process changes that in-
crease production capacity and total
emissions in the NSR permitting pro-
cess. For example, the addition of a
new EAF or rolling mill at a facility
can increase production and emissions.
Another way facilities can underesti-
mate plant emissions is by failing to
include emission increases from
downstream processes in their emis-
sion calculations. For example, replac-
ing older plant equipment with newer
equipment, such as the installation of
a ladle metallurgy furnace or larger
transfer ladles, can increase plant pro-
ductivity and emissions not only in the
melt shop but downstream in the roll-
ing mill as well. The Agency consid-
ers emissions at all debottlenecked
units when determining whether the
emissions from a modification are sig-
nificant. For more information on the
kinds of violations associated with the
NSR permitting process, see Enforce-
ment Alert, "Compliance with Permit-
ting Critical to Clean Air Act Goals",
Volume 2, Number 1 (January 1999)
at http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore/
enfalert/.
EPA is concerned that some
minimills have significantly expanded
and modified their operations. These
expansions may have resulted in in-
creased production and pollutant emis-
Continued on page 3
Recent EPA Enforcement Actions Involving Minimills
Nucor Steel Inc.: In December 2000, the Department of Justice filed suit against Nucor Steel Inc. and lodged a
settlement agreement for multimedia violations at eight minimills and six steel fabrication facilities. The facilities are
located in seven states in EPA Regions IV, V, VI, VII, and VIM. Nucor violated both PSD and NSPS provisions of the
Clean Air Act and provisions of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. Nucor mismanaged and
illegally disposed of K061 dust, a RCRA listed hazardous waste generated by electric arc furnaces. The K061 releases
also contributed to NPDES and stormwater violations of the Clean Water Act.
The settlement will require Nucor to install pilot technologies for control of NOx (a smog precursor) emissions from its
EAFs and reheat furnaces at two to four mills. The company will then install the best performing technology at all the
remaining facilities. During the eight-year compliance schedule, Nucor's emissions from the EAFs and reheat furnaces
will be capped at current limits until controls are in place. Under RCRA, Nucor will perform sampling of ground water and
soils at all facilities, identify areas of contamination and perform cleanups according to a plan approved by EPA. States
will be given the opportunity to oversee the cleanups. Nucor will also implement enhancements to its management of
K061, process water and stormwaterto ensure continued compliance with RCRA and CWA requirements.
AK Steel, Butler, Pa.: On June 7, 2000, EPA issued an emergency order under Section 1431 of the Safe Drinking
Water Act (SDWA) to AK Steel Corporation in Butler, Pa., for excessive nitrate discharges. The federal order is
intended to protect the health of people drinking the water in Zelienople, Pa. Zelienople has a water intake on the
Connoquenessing Creek 21 miles downstream from the facility. AK Steel (formerly known as Armco Inc.) must
provide an alternative water source to more than 4,000 people in Zelienople Borough and reduce dangerous nitrate
discharges from its Butler steel mill.
Since 1995, AK Steel tripled its discharge of pickling liquors into the creek from its Butler plant (as much as 29,000
pounds per day) causing dangerously high concentrations of nitrates in the Connoquenessing Creek. Drinking water
with high concentrations of nitrates can cause serious illness and death in infants under six months of age from a
condition known as "blue baby syndrome." Too much nitrate reduces the capacity of blood to carry oxygen, turning skin
blue, causing shortness of breath, and depriving the brain of oxygen, which impairs metabolism, thinking and other
bodily functions. These symptoms can develop rapidly in infants.
EPAs standard under the SDWA sets a maximum contaminant level of 10 milligrams of nitrate per liter (mg/l) of
drinking water (that is the same as 10 parts per million). Pollution above that level is unhealthy for all people, especially
young children, and poses an acute health risk to infants under six months of age, pregnant women and nursing
mothers. Water samples from the Connoquenessing Creek in the 30 miles downstream from AK Steel showed
contained nitrates as high as 100 mg/l.
December 2000
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Enforcement Alert
Continued from page 2
sions that may not have been properly
addressed under the existing permit-
ting process.
CAA requirements to con-
duct baseline testing required un-
der New Source Performance Stan-
dards (NSPS) Subparts AA & AAa.
Some companies have failed to per-
form the required NSPS initial per-
formance tests or subsequent moni-
toring. Such testing and monitoring
ensure that particulate emissions are
effectively controlled.
RCRA storage and disposal
requirements associated with elec-
tric arc furnace dust. Some compa-
nies have failed to take steps to mini-
mize the possibility of releases of
K061, a listed hazardous waste. In ad-
dition, when spills do occur, they must
be cleaned up as soon as practicable.
An EPA administrative law judge re-
cently found that a company that
failed to clean up a hazardous waste
spill from its baghouse as soon as its
employees knew of the spill was in
violation of 40 CFR Section
262.34(d)(5)(iv)(B) (see In the mat-
ter of: Morrison Brothers Company,
Docket No. VII-98-H-0012, at http:/
/www. epa.gov/aljhomep/orders/
morison.pdf).
National Pollution Elimina-
tion Discharge System (NPDES)
stormwater permitting require-
ments. In general, pollution control
equipment waste is susceptible to be-
ing discharged with stormwater if not
properly managed. Some companies
have allowed K061 waste releases to
contaminate stormwater discharges in
violation of the Clean Water Act
(CWA). In addition, the poor handling
of slag piles, scrap, and other materi-
als have caused violations of
stormwater pollution prevention plans
Compliance Audit Guides for Industry
PA has developed audit guides for industry that provide
summaries of many of its statutes and regulatory require-
ments, and checklists to guide environmental auditors through
the auditing process. These protocols are optional guidelines
and are helpful, but should not supplant any other efforts to
identify potential violations. Printed copies are available from
the National Center for Environmental Publications and Infor-
mation at (800) 490-9198, or at http://www.epa.gov/oeca/main/
strategy/crossp.html. For more information, contact Rich
Satterfield, EPA's Office of Compliance, at (202) 564-2456.
and NPDES stormwater general per-
mits.
Agency Increases
Enforcement Activity at
Iron and Steel Mills
Since 1999, EPA has taken a com-
prehensive approach to address the
environmental and compliance prob-
lems at all steel mills. The goal of this
approach is to reduce actual and po-
tential emissions at steel mills, thereby
minimizing the health risks and the
harm to the environment. EPA aims
to achieve this goal by:
Improving overall sector
compliance rates;
Reducing the transfer of pol-
lutants from one media to another by
addressing environmental problems
holistically; and
Preventing surface water,
sediment, and groundwater contami-
nation caused by discharges and dis-
posal practices.
EPA's multitrack approach for ad-
dressing environmental and compli-
ance problems at minimills includes
targeted inspections of mills and ap-
propriate enforcement responses, a
voluntary national multimedia audit/
self-disclosure initiative at certain
minimills, promotion of environmental
management systems, and the prepa-
ration of audit protocols and related
compliance assistance materials.
National Minimill Audit
Policy and Self-
Disclosure Initiative
On Aug. 10, 2000, EPA's Office
of Regulatory Enforcement sent let-
ters to 41 minimills inviting them to
participate in a voluntary audit and
self-disclosure initiative based on
EPA's Audit Policy. Companies that
choose to disclose violations have
until Feb. 28, 2001, to do so. Not all
minimills were sent such letters
some were excluded from the initia-
tive because of ongoing investigations
and/or other enforcement activities.
The initiative is intended to help
minimills determine whether they are
in compliance with environmental re-
quirements.
Minimills that received a letter
were invited to perform an environ-
mental audit of their facility and dis-
cover potential areas of noncompli-
ance, and encouraged to consider tak-
ing advantage of EPA's Audit Policy.
December 2000
Continued on page 4
_ 3
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SEFA
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Regulatory Enforcement
(2248A)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
'Enforcement Alert' newsletter
Continued from page 3
The Audit Policy greatly reduces
and sometimes eliminates penalties for
companies that discover, disclose, and
correct civil violations through volun-
tary audits. The policy generally ap-
plies to violations that are voluntarily
discovered and disclosed and does not
apply to violations that are identified
through a monitoring, sampling, or au-
diting procedure that is required by
statute, regulation, permit, judicial or
administrative order, or consent agree-
ment. As of September 1999, 670
companies have disclosed environ-
mental violations under the Audit
Policy at more than 2,700 facilities
nationally.
This year's activities are just the
most recent in a multi-year effort to
assist this sector in achieving lasting
and consistent compliance. This fo-
cused effort began in 1996, when EPA
Region V encouraged minimills to
self-disclose violations to the Agency
to improve compliance among the
minimills within its six states. The self-
disclosures submitted by the compa-
nies and the multimedia inspections
performed by Region V and states
revealed environmental concerns in-
volving uncollected K061 baghouse
dust, slag cooling water puddles, elec-
tric arc furnace shop floor dust and
monitoring, reporting, and mainte-
nance requirements.
As a result of the Agency's inves-
tigations during the past few years,
EPA has become increasingly con-
cerned that serious, substantive vio-
lations of federal environmental regu-
lations are occurring at some
minimills. The Agency strongly en-
courages owners and operators of
these mills to look very closely at their
operations, take steps to remedy any
environmental violations, and ensure
that such conditions do not exist in
the future.
For more information, contact
Michael Calhoun, Office of Regu-
latory Enforcement, Multimedia En-
forcement Division, (202) 564-6031;
Email: calhoun.michael.@epa.gov.
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Useful ComDliance
Assistance Resources
Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca
Iron & Steel Sector Notebook:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/sector/
index. html#iron
Sector Facility Indexing Project
( production, compliance and
emissions information for
integrated and minimills):
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/sfi/
Summary of Environmental
Compliance and Enforcement Data
for Steel Mills:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/main/
compasst/metal.html#is
Process-Based Investigation
Guide; Compliance-Focused
Environmental Management
Systems-Enforcement Agreement
Guidance; Multimedia Investiga-
tions Manual:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/oceft/neic/
pubs1.html
Audit Policy Information:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore/
apolguid.html
Compliance Assistance Centers:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/mfcac.html
Small Business Gateway:
http://www.epa.gov/smallbusiness
major_environmental_laws.htm
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