Last week, the State of Indiana’s Department of Environmental Management gave the okay (actually, a permit) to U.S. Steel for the construction of the first 2 of 4 plants that U.S. Steel wants to build in Indiana to produce a coke substitute.
That’s four new U.S. Steel plants in Indiana – all designed to produce cheaper, synthetic coal that will be burned as a fuel in the company’s huge blast furnaces used to make steel over in Gary, Indiana.
All that’s needed now, before construction can begin, is the approval of the federal government – and that’s expected to come from the E.P.A. (Environmental Protection Agency) before the end of the month. Once U.S. Steel has the green light, construction will begin.
Creating Jobs Now and In the Future in Two of the Most Dangerous Lines of Work
Even before U.S. Steel’s plan creates new mill worker jobs, it’s going to bring around 500 construction jobs into the local area. That’s good news for the economy. Safety? Construction and steel mills are two of the most dangerous lines of work in this country – let’s hope there’s lots of attention given to keeping people safe.
The first plant will be on Lake Michigan, and it’s estimated to cost $220,000,000 to build. According to U.S. Steel, this will be the first of four plants in their master plan as their goal is to produce 1,000,000 tons of coke substitute annually. All this coke substitute will be used at the Gary steel facility.
U.S. Steel wants to build four plants would make a total of 1 million tons of coke substitute per year. This first phase of the 4-plant project is expected to create 500 construction jobs.
