EPA RCRA ID: PAD004325254
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Facility Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Status
Note: The EPA is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
AK Steel Corp. is currently working with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to close-out several solid waste management units under the RCRA Corrective Action program. The SWMUs includes several sludge beds that were used as sedimentation basins for the removal of disposal of lime-stabilized, waste pickle liquor sludge, and electric arc furnace emission sludge over the years. AK Steel Corp. will continue to monitor groundwater to ensure that the groundwater has not been affected by the sludge beds. The primary contaminants in groundwater at the facility are low levels of VOCs and heavy metals.
In June 2017, EPA issued a Corrective Action Statement of Basis. EPA's proposed decision in the Statement of Basis requires maintenance of the integrity of the sludge bed caps, ongoing groundwater monitoring, and land use restrictions through the implementation and maintenance of institutional controls (I Cs). I Cs are non-engineered instruments such as administrative and/or legal controls that minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination and/or protect the integrity of the remedy by limiting land or resource use. EPA proposes to implement the final remedy for the Facility through an enforceable document such as an order, agreement and/or environmental covenant to be entered pursuant to the Pennsylvania Uniform Environmental Covenants Act, 27 Pa. C.S. Sections 6501-6517 (UECA) and recorded with the deed for the Facility property.
On September 23, 2022, the EPA conducted a Long Term Stewardship assessment to assess whether the remedy was implemented and protective of human health and the environment. EPA determined that the remedy institutional and engineering controls have been fully implemented and no control deficiencies were identified.
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. It is not intended as an extensive list of milestones/activities. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table and the Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility table that follows, a blank in the Status column could mean the action either has not occurred or has not been reported in RCRAInfo.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to the Entire Facility
| Action | Status | Date of Action |
|---|---|---|
| Human Exposure Under Control Human Exposure Under Control(CA725) | ||
| Groundwater Migration Under ControlGroundwater Migration Under Control (CA750) | ||
| Remedy DecisionRemedy Decision (CA400) | ||
| Remedy ConstructionRemedy Construction (CA550) | ||
| Ready for Anticipated Use Ready for Anticipated Use (CA800) | ||
| Performance Standards AttainedPerformance Standards Attained (CA900) | ||
| Corrective Action Process TerminatedCorrective Action Process Terminated (CA999) |
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility
| Action | Area Name | Date of Action |
|---|
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Facility Description
Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.
On September 30, 1999, Armco Inc. merged with and into AK Steel Corporation. The site is approximately 975 acres in size and is located along the Connoquenessing Creek in Butler County, Pennsylvania. It is comprised of two joint facilities. The two facilities consist of the Main Plant, located on Standard Avenue and the Stainless Processing Plant, located on Bantam Avenue. Although there are two joint facilities, the assigned EPA ID only governs the Main Plant, which includes the Melt Shop Area, the Hilltop Processing Area, and the former Sludge Bed Areas.
The facility operations is part of the Specialty Flat-Rolled Steels segment that produces flat-rolled chrome stainless steels, specialty stainless sheet and strip steels, electrical steels and galvanized steels. The various operations throughout the facility require the use of a considerable amount of water. The facility draws most of its water from the Connoquenessing Creek. The water is used in a closed loop recirculating system for cooling.
Contaminants at this Facility
Groundwater:
As required for the closure of the former Sludge Beds # Four, Five, Six and the Chromium Reduction Pond (CRP), groundwater monitoring wells were installed to monitor the groundwater for constituents that were deposited in the former sludge beds and pond. Groundwater monitoring will continue for the next thirty years at such time the monitoring program will be re-evaluated. There are no residential wells within a two-mile radius of the facility.
Subsurface Soil:
The PADEP supervised the closures of the former Sludge Beds, Chromium Reduction Pond, Underground Storage Tanks, and the abandon drum area. As part of the closures, contaminated surface and subsurface soils for these units and area were excavated and disposed off-site. Confirmatory soil samples were conducted to ensure that soil excavation met the clean-up goals. The excavated areas were backfilled with clean soil. In addition to backfilling portions of the former sludge beds and complete backfilling of the CRP , theses units were also capped with a synthetic cover and revegetated.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional Controls include maintenance of the integrity of the sludge bed caps, ongoing groundwater monitoring, and land use restrictions through the implementation of an environmental covenant.
Institutional and Engineering Controls help ensure human exposure and groundwater migration are under control at a cleanup facility. Where control types have been reported by states and EPA in EPA’s RCRAInfo, they are shown below. Not all control types are needed at all facilities, and some facilities do not require any controls. Where there are blanks, the control types may not be needed, may not be in place, or may not be reported in RCRAInfo.
Are Controls in Place at this Facility?
|
Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
Documents available on-line: |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Institutional ControlsNon-engineering controls used to restrict land use or land access in order to protect people and the environment from exposure to hazardous substances remaining in the site/or facility. (CA 772) |
Informational DevicesInformational Devices (ID) |
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Governmental Controls (GC) |
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Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) |
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| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | ||||
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Engineering ControlsEngineering measures designed to minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination by either limiting direct contact with contaminated areas or controlling migration of contaminants. (CA 770) |
Groundwater ControlGroundwater Control (GW) |
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Non-Groundwater |
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For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Enforcement and Compliance at this Facility
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) provides detailed historical information about enforcement and compliance activities at each RCRA Corrective Action Site in their Enforcement and Compliance Historical Online (ECHO) system.
RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Reports from ECHO
Related Information
For more information about this facility, see these other EPA links:
- RCRA information in EPA’s Envirofacts database
- Information about this facility submitted to EPA under different environmental programs as reported in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Alternative Names for this facility as reported by EPA programs in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Cleanups in My Community provides an interactive map to see EPA cleanups in context with additional data, and lists for downloading data
- Search RCRA Corrective Action Sites provides a search feature for Corrective Action Sites
Documents, Photos and Graphics
Contacts for this Facility
EPA Region implements and enforces the RCRA Corrective Action program for and federally recognized tribes.
For further information on this corrective action site, use the Contact Information for Corrective Action Hazardous Waste Clean Ups listings that are accessible through Corrective Action Programs around the Nation.