By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

CONVENT – The state Department of Environmental Quality will hold a public hearing in St. James Parish Tuesday to receive comments and concerns regarding issuance of an air operating permit for Nucor Corp., which is planning to construct a direct reduced iron manufacturing plant in Convent.

The hearing will be held in Courtroom A at the St. James Parish Courthouse, located 5800 Highway 44 in Convent. Comments begin at 6 p.m., and all interested parties will have an opportunity to speak.

The North Carolina-based steelmaker had already obtained various permits for construction of a previously planned $2 billion pig iron plant, but the scope of that project has changed. Nucor is now planning a five-phase steel manufacturing complex starting with the $750 million direct reduced iron plant. Nucor officials said before construction can begin on the new facility, it must receive permits for the specific operation.

The new planned facility will be built on a 4,000-acre site along the Mississippi River in Convent. The facility will be situated south of LA 3125 and east of LA 70.

The direct reduced iron process reduces the iron oxide content of iron ore pellets into iron metal through direct contact with heated natural gas, which has been reduced to hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The end result produces a product that is 90 percent iron.

The materials are cooled and eventually sold to steel mills that need higher iron content in their metal sources.

Nucor officials said the direct reduced iron facility would produce fewer emissions than the original pig iron plant because it runs principally on natural gas as opposed to coal. The facility would also recycle the used natural gas for future use.

Gov. Bobby Jindal said the direct reduced iron facility would add 150 permanent jobs in addition to 500 construction jobs to the region.

Economists from LSU estimate that the facility could generate more than $560 million in new tax revenue, which includes more than $122 million for St. James Parish alone.

He said the average salary for new plant employees would be as much as $75,000 plus benefits.