US steelmaker Nucor notified Louisiana environmental officials of delays in its plan to expand its Convent steel manufacturing complex, reported local media. The move was according to market conditions, said Nucor’s spokesperson Katherine Miller.
The steelmaker had plans to build an iron pellet reprocessing plant in the Convent complex with an investment of $120mn.
The company had asked for revised air emissions permit from the Department of Environmental Quality on July 27. Nucor notified the government to take away permits that have been issued in advance for the second DI plant that it planned to build. If these units are withdrawn, the facility’s permitted emission levels will be reduced, as per the request. However, the company has also hinted about future requests for expansion at the Convent site, which is a favorable location beside the Mississippi River. It is consistently studying various business opportunities in the steelmaking sector.
Additionally, Nucor settled to pay $89,760 to the state to compensate for the caustic sulfuric acid mist and highly flammable hydrogen sulfide released by the plant since it started operations in 2013.