U.S. Steel cancels upgrades to Mon Valley Works

By JEFF STITT

jstitt@yourmvi.com

After providing hope that the Valley could soon be home to a state-of-the-art and more environmentally friendly steelmaking facility, U.S. Steel announced it has canceled more than $1.2 billion worth of planned upgrades to the Mon Valley Works.

In an “open letter to our Pittsburgh family,” and during a call with investors Friday, U.S. Steel CEO David B. Burritt said “it’s a difficult day,” as he announced the company is “setting aside” a commitment announced in 2019 to invest in more modern, streamlined and environmentally friendly casting and rolling technology and equipment and a co-generation plant for the Mon Valley Works, which includes the Edgar Thompson (Braddock), Clairton Coke Works and Irvin Plant (West Mifflin) mills.

Burritt said Friday the company needs to take bigger strides to become more environmentally friendly and cited issues with the Allegheny County Health Department permitting process and the COVID-19 pandemic as factors for nixing the project.

He said U.S. Steel spent $170 million commissioning the manufacturing of the equipment and beginning site preparations prior to scrapping the project.

The United Steelworkers union expressed disappointment with the decision in a prepared statement.

Burritt also announced U.S. Steel will shut down Batteries 1, 2 and 3 at its Clairton Plant by early 2023 to help reduce emissions.

“In this world — a world that still needs steel — we need to find aggressive decarbonization solutions. The project we had planned in 2019 would have decreased our carbon footprint, but we must now move farther and faster,” he said.

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Saturday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.