Nucor News

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) announced today that the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has issued an air quality permit, marking a major milestone on the road to constructing a major greenfield facility in St. James Parish.

Nucor has worked with the residents and area businesses in St. James, as well as state government officials, for the issuance of this permit. In 2009 the company completed multiple land acquisitions, bringing its total ownership to over $50 million and nearly 4,000 acres on the Mississippi River.

"We remain very excited about this process and the prospect of doing business in Louisiana and St. James Parish," said John Ferriola, Nucor's Chief Operating Officer of Steelmaking Operations. "We would like to thank Governor Bobby Jindal, Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret, and the men and women of St.

James Parish, who continue to support this project and the jobs it will bring to Southeast Louisiana."

As a sign of continued support, Governor Jindal issued the following statement: "We have made economic development our top priority since day one. As a result, we've had more significant business development wins per capita than any other southern state for the last two years. But we're not stopping there. We will continue to do all that we can in Louisiana to convince Nucor that St. James Parish is the right choice for Nucor's exciting new project."

While the company still faces several hurdles, including climate legislation and regulation pending before Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency, which would make construction of a facility in the United States economically unviable, the issuance of this permit will allow the company to move forward in its site selection process.