Nucor Corp. has submitted an application for the first of several permits it will need to build its new steel mill in Mason County.
After Nucor revealed its plan to build a new sheet steel mill on a 1,300-acre site at Apple Grove, along W.Va. 2 and the Ohio River about 28 miles north of downtown Huntington, it said construction was expected to take two years pending permit and regulatory approvals.
Nucor recently submitted its air quality permit application to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ) for approval.
The Nucor air quality permit application (R14-0039) is for a new major source of air pollution under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration Program (PSD, 45CSR14). The 394-page PSD air permit application was submitted on Jan. 21 along with a 24-page air dispersion modeling protocol.
“For a new PSD application the proposed source must submit air dispersion modeling showing that the proposed new source will not cause or contribute to a violation of any National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS),†said Terry Fletcher, chief communications officer for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. “The application must also include a Best Available Control Technology (BACT) analysis, showing that the source will include BACT.â€
The mill would send carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and other pollutants into the atmosphere once production begins. However, the prospect of a new pollution source is not enough to show a discriminatory impact on a community or surrounding area, according to Nucor’s application.
Nucor said in its application that its modeling will be used to demonstrate that emissions of CO, SO2, NO2, PM10 and PM2.5 pollutants after the proposed project is completed will not cause or significantly contribute to a violation of the NAAQS, cause or significantly contribute to ambient concentrations that are greater than allowable PSD increments, or cause any other additional adverse impacts to the surrounding area (i.e., impairment to visibility, soils and vegetation and air quality impacts from general commercial, residential, industrial and other growth associated with the facility expansion).
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Nucor will make steel by melting scrap or processed iron in electric furnaces, a production process that now accounts for about 70% of the steel made in the U.S. It is a lower-cost process with reduced carbon emissions compared with making steel from iron ore melted in a coal-heated blast furnace.
Fletcher said under the air quality regulations, the DAQ has 180 days after it deems the application to be complete (meaning that the application includes all the necessary information for the DAQ to perform its review) to make a final decision on issuance.
“Upon submission of the application, Nucor was required to publish a legal ad in the newspaper located in the area where the proposed source would be built to provide for a 30 day comment period,†Fletcher explained in an email. “The DAQ will accept comments as long as the application is under review. Once the DAQ has performed its review, written an Engineering Evaluation documenting that review, and developed a DRAFT permit for the source, the DAQ will also publish a legal ad in a newspaper in the area of the proposed source asking for public comments [another 30 day comment period]. During this 30 day comment period the DAQ will hold a public meeting to provide information and take comments.â€
Fletcher said at the end of the second 30 day comment period, the DAQ will review and respond to all public comments received, make any changes to the draft permit deemed appropriate, and then make a final decision to issue or deny the permit.
Nucor is a Fortune 150 company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that produces steel by recycling scrap metal in electric arc furnaces. The company says its $2.7 billion investment is expected to create approximately 800 manufacturing jobs and an additional 1,000 construction jobs.
Nucor hopes the Mason County facility to be operational by 2024. The mill will have the capacity to produce up to 3 million tons of sheet steel per year for the automotive, appliance, HVAC, heavy equipment, agricultural, transportation and construction markets.
It will also include advanced downstream processing capabilities, including a tandem cold mill, annealing capabilities and initially two galvanizing lines. Galvanizing capabilities will include an advanced high-end automotive line with full inspection capabilities as well as a construction-grade line.
