Justice Department, Cleveland-Cliffs Reach Proposed Settlement to Address Hazardous Waste

By Kelly Cloonan

The Department of Justice said it reached a proposed settlement with Cleveland-Cliffs that would require the company to address releases of hazardous waste at a facility in Ohio.

Under the proposal, Cleveland-Cliffs would be required to perform long-term corrective measures at a steel mill in Middletown, Ohio to comply with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

The company would be responsible for addressing closed landfills that historically received wastes from the mill, including industrial wastewater treatment and steel production process sludges. The corrective measures at these areas are expected to cost $12 million, the Department of Justice said.

The proposed consent decree would also require Cleveland-Cliffs to implement corrective measures at other site areas, such as the mill's production and slag processing areas.

Cleveland-Cliffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The proposed settlement would wrap up a civil lawsuit against Cleveland-Cliffs' predecessor AK Steel by the Department of Justice, which was later joined by the state of Ohio and environmental groups. Under a partial settlement, AK Steel cleaned up two streams and agreed to investigate other contaminant releases and evaluate potential corrective measures.

The consent decree was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. It is subject to a 30-day public comment period.

Write to Kelly Cloonan at kelly.cloonan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 28, 2026 18:08 ET (22:08 GMT)