YORKVILLE, Ohio -- Court documents released this week explained an environmental issue at the former RG Steel plant in Yorkville. A 112-page motion was filed on Aug. 29 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

"A tunnel that transported spent pickler liquor from the pickler to a holding area collapsed," said Jerry Conners, the United Steelworkers Local 1223 president. "At that time, it had actually seeped into Yorkville's sewer system and got into their water treatment facility. Some of the ground in that particular area had been contaminated with the pickler acid. The problem with this is the storage of that particular contaminated dirt on the property."

The bankruptcy court initially set a deadline of Aug. 24 to finalize the sale of the Yorkville plant, but the sale was delayed when the environmental issue was brought to the attention of the anticipated buyer, Esmark.

"There's been a lot of discussion between the area politicians, Esmark and the State of Ohio EPA, Jobs Ohio and the governor's office," said Conners. "All have been involved in trying to remediate this issue. It's a very big issue that could actually cause this plant not to be reopened and go to the secondary bidder, which would be Frontier."

According to the motion, costs to clean up the contamination could range from $843,000 to $2.1 million.