AK Steel to update residents on Dicks Creek status
Company will begin taking inquiries about the $13M cleanup of waterway.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
MIDDLETOWN — AK Steel Corp. announced Wednesday it has created a program geared toward informing Middletown and surrounding communities about a well known local environmental issue.
The Middletown-based steel company said it will begin taking inquires about the $13 million cleanup of the portion of Dicks Creek that runs adjacent to AK Steel's 3,000-acre Middletown Works plant.
Extras
Get latest headlines via RSS feeds"AK Steel hopes the community will benefit from this outreach and learn more about the cleanup," said Alan McCoy, the company's vice president of government and public relations.
Some of the work already is under way, and plans to guide the cleanup effort are being drawn up, McCoy said. Dredging and excavation are expected to begin in 2007, pending EPA approval.
As part of the program, AK Steel established a toll-free information line at (866) 902-4257, which is staffed 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
In 2003, reports showed dangerously high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls — or PCBs, a known carcinogen — in Dicks Creek near Oxford State and Yankee roads and behind Amanda Elementary School. AK Steel says it has no operations that involve PCBs.
According to a 2006 consent agreement, the company said it will remove contaminated sediment and soil from affected areas of the creek.
AK Steel has agreed to comply with specified requirements and pay a $460,000 fine — which will be split between the United States and the state of Ohio, according to the U.S. Department of Justice — and spend an additional $750,000 on an environmentally beneficial project that will remove ozone–depleting refrigerants from certain equipment at the Middletown plant.
The new program's announcement coincides with work on the cleanup, McCoy said.
Documents related to the cleanup of Dicks Creek can be found in a public information repository at the Middletown Public Library, 125 S. Broad St. New documents will be added to the repository as they become available, McCoy said.
Public meetings also are part of the plan to keep residents informed. The first meeting is expected to be held in late 2006 or early 2007, McCoy said.
Dicks Creek time line
1996: Wright State University student Carrie Rowland begins chemical and biological tests at Dicks Creek.
1998: WSU finds the creek has several thousand times the maximum level of PCBs set by federal law.
Feb. 2000: State and federal inspectors test the creek.
June 2000: Ohio and U.S. environmental protection agencies file federal lawsuit against AK Steel for violations of clean air, resource conservation and recovery, and clean water acts involving pollution in Dicks Creek.
June 2001: Arcadis G&M, a private environmental firm commissioned by AK Steel, concludes chemicals in Dicks Creek pose no risk to humans or the environment.
Oct. 2002: Firm finds storm water runoff through 20 AK Steel pipes and culverts to Dicks Creek tributaries could contain PCBs.
March 2003: Ohio EPA tests for PCB levels at Dicks Creek.
May 2003: Sierra Club reports dangerously high PCB level found in creek near Oxford State and Yankee roads and behind Amanda Elementary School. AK Steel says it has no operations that involve PCBs.
July 2003: AK Steel discovers and reports elevated levels of PCBs in groundwater seepage to Dicks Creek.
March 2004: AK Steel and Ohio EPA settle air nuisance claims
April 2004: AK Steel builds a fence behind Amanda Elementary school to restrict access to Dicks Creek.
May 2005: AK installs new controls on Middletown works blast furnace to comply with federal requirements.
April 2006: AK settles lawsuit with state and federal EPAs and agrees to $13 million cleanup and penalties.
Get informed
What: Dicks Creek information
Phone: Call (866) 902-4257, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
In person: Documents related to the cleanup are available at the Middletown Public Library, 125 S. Broad St.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2840 or dgreber@coxohio.com.
