Steel Manufacturer Must Provide Clean Water For Pennsylvania Town

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered a polluting steel manufacturer to provide an alternate source of drinking water for a town of more than 4,000 people. On June 7, EPA issued an emergency order to AK Steel Corp., to provide an alternative water source to the residents of Zelienople, and to reduce dangerous nitrate discharges from its steel mill. Since 1995, AK Steel has more than tripled its waste discharges into Connoquenessing Creek, up to as much as 29,000 pounds per day. These discharges cause high concentrations of nitrate in the creek, a major drinking water source for the city of Zelienople. Routine water sampling has shown nitrate levels above the national standard of 10 milligrams (mg/l). The creek sometimes shows nitrates as high as 100 mg/l, and registered a peak of 175 mg/l on Oct. 26, 1999. The order requires AK Steel to identify all people who draw drinking water from the polluted waterway, including public and private wells near Connoquenessing Creek, and to provide them with an alternate source of clean water. The company must reduce its nitrate discharges by October 2001. Drinking water with high concentrations of nitrates can cause serious illness and death in infants under six months of age from a condition known as "blue baby syndrome." For the past two years bottled water has been provided to pregnant women and infants at the City's expense. EPA's order requires an alternate water source - such as bottled water - for all customers of the Zelienople water system, and shifts the cost to AK Steel.