All beaches at the Indiana Dunes National Park were closed immediately to swimming as a precaution due to a discharge of a “rusty colored liquid” from US Steel Midwest Plant into Burns Waterway near the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, spokesman Bruce Rowe said Monday.

       “An investigation is underway to determine the nature and extent of the discharge,” he said.

       The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is the lead agency investigating, Rowe said. National Park Service personnel are assisting.

       “IDEM staff on site have not observed any dead fish or other wildlife. We hope to have sampling results early this afternoon,” agency spokesman Barry Sneed said Monday.

       US Steel Midwest Plant shut down operations as a precaution after an “upset condition” with the finishing line wastewater treatment plant, spokeswoman Amanda Malkowski said.

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       “Early indications show higher than normal suspended solids in the water, and we are conducting additional sampling and an investigation to determine the cause,” she said. “U. S. Steel made all appropriate notifications to regulatory agencies and some officials have been onsite, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Porter County.”

       Indiana American Water shut down its Ogden Dunes water treatment plant Sunday night, spokesman Joe Loughmiller said. The main Gary treatment plant has the capacity to provide water for its Northwest Indiana customers.

       “Indiana American Water performs continuous real-time monitoring at our Ogden Dunes treatment facility, and although we have seen no impact on the raw water parameters we are monitoring for at this location, the treatment plant will remain offline until such time as additional data and water testing results confirm there is no threat to the company’s source water at this location,” he said.

       Porter County Hazmat has also been called, according to the police department.

       This is a developing news story. Check back for more information.

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