Nucor's permitting process with Corps of Engineers moving too slowly, senator says

HUNTINGTON — The federal permitting process for Nucor’s planned steel mill in Mason County is taking too much time, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito says.

“I absolutely think it’s moving too slowly,” Capito, R-W.Va., the ranking Republican member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said during a virtual press conference with reporters on Thursday.

“I mean, I think I made that clear to the general and I’ve talked with him before.”

On Wednesday, Capito participated in a full committee hearing and asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Commanding General, Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, for an update on Nucor steel mill’s progress on the company’s Section 404 permit, and in particular the Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

“Yes ma’am, first of all want to thank you for hosting the meeting with the Nucor executives and our leadership in your office,” Spellmon said during the hearing. “So since that meeting, several developments, the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Officer has concurred with our assessment that the five cultural properties, five cultural sites and Phase A properties do in fact, qualify for consultation. So we’ve sent letters to the three tribes to initiate that consultation. They’ve asked us for some time. These are 800-page reports, so we’ll get that scheduled.”

Spellmon said the Corps of Engineers did receive Nucor’s cultural assessment on the Phase B properties.

“These are the, if you recall, the properties closer to the Ohio River — two additional sites there that will add to that consultation effort,” he said. “And then we did receive the feedback that we requested on the Nibert site, ma’am. That’s the property just south with the laydown yard. That response included some case law that we were researching with our attorneys and those from Nucor, and it will make a decision here shortly whether or not that is part of the project footprint.”

Capito said the process has been frustrating.

“It’s kind of discouraging, but we’re working with them,” she said. “We’ve had several meetings with them. We had a meeting last week with them with the Corps, but also Fish and Wildlife.”

Nucor announced plans in January 2022 to build a modern steel mill in Mason County between the unincorporated communities of Apple Grove and Mercers Bottom.

The company says it has obtained all of its state permits and is just waiting on the federal permits to begin construction.

“The federal permitting process is going slower than we thought,” said John Farris, Nucor Steel West Virginia vice president and general manager, during an interview with The Herald-Dispatch at Nucor Steel Gallatin near Ghent, Kentucky, last month. “We remain hopeful that a groundbreaking ceremony can take place sometime this summer.”

On Thursday, Nucor released a statement regarding Capito’s and others’ support.

“We are grateful for the staunch bipartisan support we have received from our elected officials in West Virginia at all levels of government, including U.S. Senators Capito and Manchin. Our nation’s economy will continue to be built with steel, and we believe where and how that steel is made matters. Our state-of-the-art sheet mill in West Virginia will produce some of the cleanest recycled steel products made anywhere in the world, and we are excited to build a facility that will provide hundreds of high-paying American manufacturing jobs and transform an entire region. The West Virginia team has received all preconstruction state permits and is awaiting final federal permits, which we anticipate being finalized in the next few months. We expect to complete construction approximately two years after the receipt of all permits,” the statement said.

Capito says she wants to see the new steel mill break ground as soon as possible.

“I think things are on pace now to get the final permitting done at a time where the company will be able to do the environmental remediation that they need to do and the time they need to do it, so that they can really break ground and start building,” she said.

After Capito’s news conference Thursday, the Corps’ Huntington District office issued a short statement.

“We fully understand the importance of the Nucor project to the people of West Virginia and are working our permitting processes as expeditiously as possible,” said Brian Maka, chief of public affairs for the Huntington District.

Maka noted that the Huntington District issued a public notice on April 21 regarding a revised permit application from Nucor for the mill near Apple Grove. The notice includes information about historical and archaeological sites. The Corps is accepting comments on the revised application until May 22.