Steel pollution rule would have better protected NW Indiana residents. Now it's been put on hold

The Environmental Protection Agency said it won't carry out Biden-era air pollution standards for steel mills until they've been reviewed.

The new standards were supposed to reduce a kind of pollution at steel mills that isn't being controlled right now — leaks of toxic heavy metals and fine particles that don't come from a single point, like a smoke stack. This pollution puts people living nearby at a greater risk for lung and heart problems as well as certain cancers.

Dorreen Carey is the president of GARD — Gary Advocates for Responsible Development. She said these new standards are important to protect the health of residents and steel workers in northwest Indiana.

"It's not like it's off in the distance somewhere. This is a direct impact — and if there's an overcast sky, sometimes our air is just filled with this dust," she said.

READ MORE: Report shows living near a steel plant can harm your health, residents hope for change
 

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The rule was supposed to take effect in April. The EPA put it on hold until July and said steel companies would have trouble complying with parts of the rule. It's one of many air pollution regulations the new EPA administrator plans to reconsider.

"Why you would — the EPA itself would reduce enforcement and compliance with these rules is just not understandable and a real detriment to the community," Carey said.

The steel company Cleveland Cliffs has also tried to put the rule on hold, but that request was denied by a federal appeals court.

GARD has asked Cleveland Cliffs and U.S. Steel to follow the Biden-era standards, regardless of what the federal government decides to do.

The EPA and U.S. Steel declined interviews. U.S. Steel said in a statement that it has a high rate of environmental compliance. Cleveland Cliffs couldn't be reached for comment.

Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.