Baltimore's government is forgiving a $1.5 million overdue water bill owed by the former owners of the Sparrows Point steel mill property to settle the company's lawsuit against the city.
The Board of Estimates on Wednesday forgave the bill, owed by ArcelorMittal USA, in exchange for the company dropping a complaint against the city over what it alleges is a $2.2 million erroneous water bill.
"Due to the expense of litigating the two cases, the parties have negotiated a settlement to resolve the disputes among them," city lawyers wrote in a memo to the spending panel "There would be no payment of funds by either the City or AMUSA."
City officials said last year they expected to recoup only "pennies on the dollar" from Sparrows Point's $7.3 million in overdue water bills — the largest overdue water bills on the city's rolls.
The city is a creditor in the former steel giant's bankruptcy proceedings. City officials could not immediately say Wednesday whether any money had been recovered through bankruptcy court.
Baltimore Sun reporter Yvonne Wenger contributed to this article.
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