By Robin Shannon

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Two weeks ago today, Gov. Bobby Jindal officially announced plans for a new $3.5 billion steel and iron manufacturing complex to be built by Nucor Corp. on land along the Mississippi River in Convent in St. James Parish.

The announcement was met with excitement and positive energy from various state and local leaders, but what does this multi-billion dollar five-phase project mean to the people that live and work in the region?

Last week, L’Observateur asked that very question to visitors to its website and the results show that most residents believe it to be a good thing.

Roughly 35 percent of those who responded to the poll said that anything that brings new jobs to the area is a good thing. Another 14 percent responded that the announcement offers newfound confidence in a local economy that is weathering a national economic downturn fairly well.

On the other side, about 16 percent of those who responded said they are happy about the economic boost, but are concerned about the potential environmental impact new industry might bring to the region. Some respondents, about 23 percent, also said that the announcement means little or nothing to them.

A full breakdown of results follows:

• 35 percent of respondents said “anything that brings new jobs to the area is a good thing.”

• 23 percent of the respondents said “the announcement didn’t mean much to me.”  

• 16 percent of the respondents said “I am happy about the economic boost but worry about the environmental impact.” 

• 14 percent of the respondents said “the announcement has given me newfound confidence in the local economy.”

• 9 percent of the respondents said “the announcement showed me the state doesn’t just care about the population centers such as New Orleans and Baton Rouge.”

• 2 percent of the respondents said “other or none of the above.”