U.S. Steel, Cleveland-Cliffs Challenge New EPA Rule to Limit Mercury Emissions

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Leading steelmakers United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel) and Cleveland-Cliffs have appealed before the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to review the final rule published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which puts forth stricter mercury emissions reduction criteria.

The EPA rule calls for 33% reduction in mercury emissions from taconite iron ore facilities by around 33%. Furthermore, it also urges reduction in hydrofluoric acid and hydrochloric acid emissions.

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In their court filings, the companies argued that the regulations would be too costly and burdensome for the industry. Requesting the court to put the new rule on hold, U.S. Steel argued that it would impose unprecedented, unsafe, and unduly burdensome requirements on the country’s integrated iron and steel mills.

Together, both the companies operate six active iron ore mines and pellet plants in Minnesota. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) estimates suggest that these facilities together accounted for almost 50% of the mercury emissions in the state in 2022. The mercury emissions have remained consistent over the past two decades.

Meantime, several environmental groups welcomed the new EPA rule, stating that mercury emissions reduction has been long overdue.