Hazmat crews rushed to the Cleveland-Cliffs Butler Works plant in Lyndora early Tuesday after an acid spill that made its way into the Connoquenessing Creek. The 911 call came in around 6:30 a.m., sending emergency responders to the sprawling industrial site at 1 Armco Drive. Officials kept details tight as teams worked the scene.
The first word of the incident came through a local TV briefing, and 911 dispatchers later confirmed the hazmat response and the timing of the call, around 6:30 a.m., according to WPXI. At that point, no additional information was immediately available.
What We Know So Far
The Cleveland-Cliffs Butler Works complex sits along the Connoquenessing Creek and draws most of its cooling water from that stream, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA records also note that the site has undergone corrective action work and long-term groundwater monitoring tied to historical waste management units.
Regulatory Response
Spills that affect Pennsylvania waterways typically fall to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which runs a 24-hour emergency hotline and can send an Environmental Emergency Response Team to incidents that discolor water or threaten wildlife, according to PADEP. There are also federal reporting channels: the National Response Center, operated by the U.S. Coast Guard at 1-800-424-8802, serves as the federal intake point and directs inland incidents to the EPA or other on-scene coordinators, per the U.S. Coast Guard.
Plant History And Earlier Calls
The Butler Works site has seen emergency crews before this latest incident. A fire in a maintenance building at the Armco Drive address was reported in the early morning hours in January, according to the Butler Eagle. Federal OSHA inspection records also list the Cleveland-Cliffs facility at 1 Armco Drive in Lyndora, underscoring the industrial scale of the operation along the creek.
This story will be updated as Butler County officials, Cleveland-Cliffs or state regulators release more information. Anyone who notices discolored water or unusual odors downstream is urged to report them to 911 and to the PADEP emergency line at 1-800-541-2050.
