Made In America: Big River Steel Lawsuit Discussed

Editor”s note: Editor’s note: Each Sunday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Made In America,” a wrap-up of manufacturing news in our email newsletter, which you can sign up to receive daily for free here.

BIG RIVER STEEL LAWSUIT DISCUSSED
On Friday, attorneys for Big River Steel and Nucor Corp. were in federal court Friday arguing the merits of their case involving the state”s first superproject. Nucor owns two steel mills in the same county that Big River Steel is building its $1.3 billion factory.

Nucor claims that the state”s permitting process was flawed. It also contends that if Big River Steel comes online it will add to air pollution in the region and possibly create violations of the Clean Air Act.

Big River Steel claims the permitting process was not flawed and that the superproject, which would create 525 jobs in Mississippi, has already addressed all of the issues raised in Nucor”s legal actions throughout the regulatory process.

Judge Leon Holmes is presiding over the case, but did not give any indication when he might rule on the case.

BOOZMAN: KEYSTONE casino online XL “GOOD NEWS” FOR ARKANSAS
Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., gave a speech late Tuesday on the floor of the U.S. Senate in support of the Keystone XL pipeline, which passed a key vote of support in the U.S. House more than a week ago.

Supporters of the project have said it would create nearly 40,000 jobs and a new source of energy, while opponents have stressed concerns over environmental issues.

Boozman said his office sent out an email survey to residents recently, asking them about what issue was important to them. The answer was direct, Boozman said.

“Participants told me that one of their top priorities is an all-of-the-above energy policy that addresses current and future energy needs. The Senate has an opportunity to pass legislation that is a commonsense plan to improve our nation’s energy supply by approving the Keystone XL pipeline,” Boozman said.

“Tapping into these Canadian oil sands will offer us a reliable source of energy from one of our strongest allies and trading partners. This is good news as we work to reduce our dependence on oil from regions of the world that are hostile toward our country and it’s good news for Arkansas,” Boozman added.

WATTGLASS LANDS $150,000 SCIENCE GRANT FOR R&D
WattGlass has received a $150,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to further develop a nano-particle coating for glass, which makes the glass anti-reflective, self-cleaning and highly transparent. The company is part of the Genesis Technology Incubator at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park.

“We’re particularly interested in solar panels because they collect dust, dirt and grime, which reduces output and increases the cost per watt,” said Corey Thompson, chief technology officer of WattGlass, adding that the coating has many other applications. Read more at this link.