U.S. Steel announced plans to close three batteries at the Clairton Coke Works and cancel a plan first put into motion two years ago for a rolling mill and cogeneration plant at the Mon Valley Works.
In a statement posted to their Twitter account, U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt said "The project we had planned in 2019 would have decreased our carbon footprint, but we must now move farther and faster. Just as steel transformed the world, the world is now transforming steel.
"Over the past two years we have carried the all down the field as far as possible without the issuance of the permits necessary to begin construction, which we applied for when we announced the project, ten months prior to the onset of COVID-19.
"We commissioned the manufacturing equipment and began site operations. However, with over $170 million invested and equipment being stored in Pittsburgh-Area warehouses, we're still only at the beginning stages of project execution. By Contrast, during this same time period, a competing steel manufacturer in another state announced a new steel mill and will be ready to make steel this year."
The three batteries will be permanently shut down by 2023.
Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Fetterman says "It's a profoundly huge deal and this is a $1.5 billion investment and it would have created the greenest steel facility in the entire world. It's devastating. My heart is broken for the working men and women of the steel workers, and it's a sad day for the Mon Valley Works and the future of the Mon Valley Works. It's tragic."
Pittsburgh Works Together says the decision by U.S. Steel will cost the Pittsburgh region high-paying jobs.
According to the organization, 1,000 construction jobs will be lost due to canceled plans for a $1.5 billion rolling mill and co-generation plat at Mon Valley Works.
They also believe that the move signals a dimished future for steelmaking in the region.
Pittsburgh Works says there was a lack of support from elected officials. “Along with a constant drumbeat of opposition from so-called environmental groups, the broad failure of local officials to rally around this massive reinvestment in the last of steelmaking in the Mon Valley reinforces the perception that the region and Pennsylvania are openly hostile to job-creators,” said Jeff Nobers, executive director of Pittsburgh Works.
Zachary Barber, clean air advocate for PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center released a statement following U.S. Steel's announcement saying "Permanently closing the three worst-polluting coke batteries at U.S. Steel’s Clairton plant will come as a huge breath of fresh air to residents in the Mon Valley and across the region.
“For too long, U.S. Steel has run roughshod over our environmental protections and churned out dangerous levels of harmful air pollution. Closing these batteries is a necessary and long-overdue step toward reducing that damage and cleaning our region’s air."
Allegheny County Health Department’s (ACHD) Deputy Director of Environmental Health Jim Kelly issued a statement saying, “We are disappointed that there was a suggestion by US Steel that their decision was based in part on the ACHD’s permitting process. We worked closely with US Steel for an extensive period of time on this project, starting in May 2019. Certainly, COVID-19 had an impact on how all organizations operated. Neither the ACHD nor US Steel were an exception. But I can verify that we continued to work proactively to move this project along.
“The ACHD has received multiple inquiries about the timeline of the permitting process related to the US Steel cogeneration facility. The following timeline shows clearly our diligence and dedication to this process.”
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