Under the Clean Water Act, U.S. Steel has 60 days after receiving notice of intent to sue to resolve the issues with federal and state regulators. If the company does not meet the deadline, then a lawsuit can be filed. The 60-day deadline comes Sunday.

Mark Templeton, director of the University of Chicago’s Abrams Law Clinic, said they’re prepared to sue U.S. Steel and are seeking punishment for violations, corrective actions to prevent future spills and the establishment of rehabilitative programs to restore the area’s water quality, beaches and lakeshore.

“If they deferred maintenance or didn’t install technology or didn’t have the right number of personnel, then the company should be penalized for that so they don’t reap any economic benefit from it,” Templeton said. “In addition, we’d expect as part of the relief that the company would be required by the court to make those investments in equipment, personnel, training and whatever else."

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