| AK Steel Reaches Landmark Agreement With U.S. EPA, |
| Monday, April 3, 2006 1:38:29 PM - Middletown Ohio |
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio, April 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AK Steel Corporation
(NYSE: AKS) said it has reached agreement with federal and Ohio environmental
protection agencies, as well as the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense
Council (NRDC), to settle alleged violations of environmental regulations in
and adjacent to the company's Middletown (OH) Works. The settlement
agreement, a Consent Decree that has been signed by the above-named parties,
addresses alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), Clean Air
Act (CAA) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as well as Ohio
environmental regulations, without any admissions or findings of such
violations by AK Steel. The settlement was filed today in the United States
District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Western Division, in
Cincinnati, under the jurisdiction of Senior Judge Herman J. Weber.
When the agreement is approved and entered, AK Steel will initiate a
comprehensive plan to remediate environmental contamination within, and
adjacent to, the Middletown Works, including polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)
contamination in certain portions of Dicks Creek and its Monroe Ditch
tributary. The Dicks Creek area has been the focus of environmental and
community concerns in Middletown for a number of years. Portions of the soil
and sediments under and adjacent to these urban waterways will be tested, and
where warranted to meet clean-up standards, will be dredged and removed to
approved landfills. This clean-up effort is expected to cost AK Steel more
than $10 million, representing expenses and capital investments which will be
recognized over the term of the multi-year project.
In addition, under the order, AK Steel will institute a facility-wide RCRA
environmental investigation within the Middletown Works, and submit any plans
for proposed corrective measures to the appropriate agencies and environmental
group before proceeding. In addition to these measures, under the agreement
AK Steel will pay a total civil penalty of $460,000, split equally between the
State of Ohio and the United States, and spend at least $750,000 for a
Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) related to refrigerants at the
Middletown Works.
"We are pleased to have reached this landmark agreement by working
cooperatively with the U.S. EPA, Ohio EPA, Sierra Club and NRDC," said James
L. Wainscott, chairman, president and CEO of AK Steel. "This agreement, and
the investigation and clean-up work that will follow, is yet another tangible
example of AK Steel's commitment to the environment, improved relationships
and to the citizens of Middletown and its surrounding communities."
Since 2003, AK Steel has spent more than $370 million for environmental
capital investment projects and compliance costs across the corporation,
including approximately $65 million to install new air emission controls on
the ironmaking and steelmaking facilities at the Middletown Works, and to
address surrounding neighborhood issues related to air emissions. The company
commissioned the ironmaking air emission controls ahead of schedule in April
of 2005. The new steelmaking air emission controls are expected to be
commissioned within weeks, also ahead of schedule. When fully operational,
the new ironmaking and steelmaking air emission controls together are expected
to capture about 900 tons of non-hazardous airborne dust emissions annually
from the Middletown Works that otherwise would have resulted in offsite
emissions.
Headquartered in Middletown, Ohio, AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon,
stainless and electrical steel products, as well as carbon and stainless
tubular steel products, for automotive, appliance, construction and
manufacturing markets.
SOURCE AK Steel Corporation
Web Site: http://www.aksteel.com
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