Post-Tribune alleges steel company gets special treatment because of IDEM commissioner

'99 report raised concerns about waste, environment-No official inquiries in last 10 years on potential impact

BURNS HARBOR -- ArcelorMittal representatives and government officials dismiss questions about what is in the steelmaking waste pile, what impact it might have on the environment and whether the company's test results can be trusted.

Public records on waste missing

Records about waste at the former Bethlehem Steel and ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor are difficult to come by.

Indiana Department of Environmental Management inspector Scott Ormsby visited ArcelorMittal on Feb. 5 and 6, 2008, and on Nov. 5 and 6, 2008. Both of his reports are available from IDEM's online database, but records show Ormsby also wrote a "draft inspection report" ahead of the formal report in February. IDEM refused to release that draft. Indiana public records laws require agencies to provide a reference to state law to justify withholding documents, but IDEM refused to provide such a reference.

A letter accompanying the two inspection reports states that the Porter County Health Department received a carbon copy of the report.

But county Health Department staffers who are responsible for maintaining those records could not locate any inspection reports for 2008 when the Post-Tribune sought them. They said they file everything they receive but hadn't received anything for ArcelorMittal.