DOJ, Cleveland-Cliffs Reach Proposed Settlement to Address Hazardous Waste — Update
By Kelly Cloonan
The Justice Department 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 DOJ 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 DOJ 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.
The proposed settlement would wrap up a civil lawsuit against the company's predecessor AK Steel by the DOJ, 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.
Cleveland-Cliffs said it continues to resolve environmental issues associated with predecessor companies.
"When Cleveland-Cliffs acquired AK Steel in 2020, it assumed responsibility for ongoing environmental remediation activities of the legacy company's sites, including Middletown Works," the company said in a statement.
Cleveland-Cliffs said it established financial reserves at the time it signed off on the DOJ agreement last year for the costs associated with executing the remediation activities.
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 20:15 ET (00:15 GMT)
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