Nucor clears hurdle for West Virginia project

Nucor Corp., headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, reportedly has cleared a hurdle in its quest to build a new scrap-fed electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mill in Mason County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River.

The West Virginia Economic Development Authority (WVEDA) reportedly has approved a resolution that authorizes the agency to take title to the 1,200-acre property in Mason County and then lease it back to Nucor.

According to Charleston, West Virginia-based MetroNews, the resolution also involves “relieving the company of traditional property taxes.”

Nucor will be able to build the $2.7 billion mill and, rather than adhering to a traditional property tax arrangement, has “agreed to give a $1 million a year contribution to the Mason County Board of Education and entered into a PILOT [payment in lieu of taxes] agreement with the Mason County Commission.”

In the MetroNews writeup, Mason County Commissioner Rick Handley expresses support for the agreement, commenting, “The economic development as a result of this plant will be much greater” than the value of additional taxes that could have been collected. “How could you turn down at least 900 jobs and what impact is that going to have?” he is quoted as saying.