The shoreline along the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk Beach closed on Thursday, Oct. 7, due to an oily sheen in the water, but the beaches were reopened to the public on Friday.
U.S. Steel issued a statement about the substance seen on the water:
This morning, we identified a sheen in the Burns Waterway outside of our Midwest Plant. We have shut down the rolling mills, as we investigate. The sheen has been contained by an existing boom, and vacuum trucks are removing any accumulation. At this time the leak appears to be contained, and we are not observing any sheen outside the boomed area. We are working with IDEM, and notifications have been made to other relevant authorities.
It’s the second time in two weeks the shoreline in Portage has had to close due to a discharge connected to U.S. Steel.