Judge dismisses Nucor’s lawsuit against Big River Steel

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Charlotte, North Carolina-based Nucor Steel against Big River Steel (BRS), headquartered in Osceola, Arkansas.

Nucor’s suit sought to halt the construction of BRS’ steel mill in Mississippi County, Arkansas, over what Nucor, which operates two steel plants in the county, claims were violations of the federal Clean Air Act.

In its suit, Nucor claimed that after the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality issued the final permit to BRS, Nucor requested a Commission Review and Adjudicatory Hearing by the state’s Pollution Control and Ecology Commission.

Pursuant to that request, an administrative hearing officer conducted a four-day evidentiary hearing and issued a 71-page opinion recommending that the commission affirm the issuance of BRS’ permit. The commission adopted that recommendation and affirmed issuance of the permit.

Nucor appealed that decision to the Arkansas Court of Appeals and also petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to object to the permit.

In response, BRS moved to dismiss the complaint for five reasons:
 

In dismissing the charge, U.S. District Judge J. Leon Holmes, writes, “The citizen suit provision of the Clean Air Act does not authorize suits such as this one, so this court lacks jurisdiction over Nucor’s complaint. Nucor’s complaint is therefore dismissed without prejudice.”

Following the ruling, BRS, through Baker & Hostetler, a Cleveland-based law firm representing BRS, released a statement, that reads, “Big River Steel is pleased by the decision of the federal district court to dismiss Nucor Steel-Arkansas’ and Nucor Yamato Steel Co.’s legal challenge to the Big River Steel project that is currently under construction in Arkansas.

“As Big River Steel has previously stated, Nucor’s ongoing legal challenges aimed at preventing a competitor from entering the market is an abuse of the legal system.

“Given that Nucor is the largest steel producer in North America with almost 25 percent of the steel production capacity, Big River Steel continues to wonder why Nucor is spending so much time and energy trying to prevent a company that will represent less than 1.5 percent of the North American steel production from entering the market. In some sense, Nucor’s efforts are a validation of the future success Big River Steel is likely to have," the statement from BRS says.