Nucor Receives Air Quality Permit for St. James Parish Project
05/26/2010 - The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has issued an air quality permit, marking a milestone in the construction of a major greenfield facility in St. James Parish. The issuance of the permit allows Nucor to move forward in its site selection process.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has issued an air quality permit to Nucor Corp., marking a milestone in the process of constructing a major greenfield facility in St. James Parish.
Nucor says it has worked with the residents and area businesses in St. James, as well as state government officials, for the issuance of the permit, which allows the company to move forward in its site selection process. The company completed multiple land acquisitions in 2009, bringing its total ownership to over $50 million and nearly 4000 acres on the Mississippi River.
Nucor notes that it still faces several hurdles, including climate legislation and regulation pending before Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency, that would make construction of a facility in the U.S. economically unviable.
"We're waiting to see what Congress does with global warming legislation," said Nucor's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Dan DiMicco. "Nucor is an American company and we would prefer to invest our resources in Louisiana. At the same time, we have more than 20,000 teammates and millions of shareholders to answer to, and we have to ensure any decision we make is done so with the soundest economic principles in mind."
DiMicco has said that a U.S. cap-and-trade system would add major costs to domestic steel manufacturing and would be an unfair burden—as well as do little for the environment—if foreign competitors, such as those in China, do not face the same restrictions.
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Nucor and affiliates are manufacturers of steel products, with operating facilities primarily in the U.S. and Canada. Products produced include: carbon and alloy steel in bars, beams, sheet, and plate; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; fabricated concrete reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; steel fasteners; metal building systems; light gauge steel framing; steel grating and expanded metal; and wire and wire mesh. Nucor, through The David J. Joseph Co., one of the leading scrap companies in the U.S., also brokers ferrous and nonferrous metals, pig iron and HBI/DRI; supplies ferro-alloys; and processes ferrous and nonferrous scrap. Nucor is North America's largest recycler.
