On Thursday, April 15, the Department of Environmental Quality in St. James Parish, Louisiana, held a public hearing to hear arguments from opponents and proponents of an air permit for Nucor Steel Louisiana. If approved, the state-of-the-art iron-making facility would be the first Greenfield pig iron facility built in the US in more than 30 years.
"Nucor would build one of the most modern iron making facilities in the world, employing the latest technologies to reduce emissions," said Nucor Chairman and CEO Daniel R. DiMicco in an earlier release. "This facility would create hundreds of good jobs for American workers and demonstrate the effectiveness of new technology to protect the environment. At the same time, this project would help Nucor achieve our long-term goal of increasing control over our raw materials supply."
If approved, the plant would produce more than 6 million metric tons of iron per year. Nucor has indicated the St. James Parish site has been chosen due to its proximity to the Mississippi River, which would allow the company to easily transport the pig iron to its other plants.