United States v. AM/NS Calvert LLC

On October 10, 2024, AM/NS Calvert LLC (AM/NS), a steel production facility pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(B)). The court also sentenced the company to pay a $750,000 fine and complete a three-year term of probation.

AM/NS is a joint venture by ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel operating in Calvert, Alabama. It held a Clean Air Act permit issued by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. The permit required the treatment of certain air emissions for chlorine. AM/NS determined in 2015 that it could not achieve emissions within regulatory limits using water and switched to a caustic solution with ADEM's approval.

AM/NS stopped using a caustic solution and switched back to using water in early 2017, after it determined that the caustic solution was incompatible with piping material in use, and that pipes were failing which necessitated expensive repairs. In August 2017, ADEM and EPA conducted an inspection at AM/NS finding at that time that the company was no longer using caustic solution, which was necessary for emissions to be within regulatory limits.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.