Officials from Save the Dunes and the Ogden Dunes Environmental Advisory Board will walk the public through a proposed consent decree with U.S. Steel over the 2017 spill of hexavalent chromium from its Midwest Plant facility in Portage into the Burns Waterway.

The meeting will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Ogden Dunes Fire Station, 111 Hillcrest Road.

“The goal of the meeting is to give the public a better space to understand what’s in the consent decree,” said Natalie Johnson, executive director of Save the Dunes. “It’s an intimidating document.”

Attendees also will be encouraged to submit comments on the decree, she said.

The public comment period continues through June 6 and can be accessed, along with the consent decree, at www.in.gov/idem/cleanwater/2538.htm.

On April 11, 2017, U.S. Steel spilled the cancer-causing chemical hexavalent chromium into Burns Waterway.

In the ensuing days, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore closed four beaches, and Indiana American Water shut its intake at Ogden Dunes out of concerns about contamination.

The proposed consent decree is meant to address that spill, suggesting actions to bring U.S. Steel into compliance as well as request the payment of a civil penalty, reimbursement of response costs from agencies such as the National Park Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other costs and damages as a result of the discharge.

Because of the pending litigation, Johnson said representatives from state and federal agencies involved in the consent decree will not be at the meeting, but she expects officials from an assortment of environmental advocacy groups to be there.

The meeting will include a presentation on the proposed consent decree and how to submit comments, a question and answer session, and an open house with fact sheets and other information, Johnson said.

Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.