The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit on Wednesday upheld a lower court's dismissal of Nucor Corp.'s lawsuit against competitor Big River Steel.
The appeals court said it affirmed the decision by U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes to dismiss the lawsuit for "lack of subject matter jurisdiction."
Nucor, which has two steel mills near Blytheville in Mississippi County, sued Big River Steel, which is building a $1.3 billion steel mill in nearby Osceola, seeking to stop construction of the latter's plant.
Nucor did not return messages seeking comment Wednesday. Big River Steel also did not return messages seeking comment.
In a 13-page opinion, the appeals court said it disagreed with Nucor's view that the district court was wrong in concluding the case lacked jurisdiction.
It said it came to this decision because the company has "not alleged the repeated or ongoing violations necessary to support a citizen suit."
Nucor has previously said that a state agency and Big River Steel did not follow the requirements necessary to secure an air permit for the mill.
The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission approved Big River Steel's air permit in 2014, following affirmation of the permit by an administrative law judge.
The Big River Steel mill was Arkansas' first superproject to get Amendment 82 financing. The amendment allows the state to issue bonds for major projects to pay for infrastructure, land purchases, site preparation and employee training.
The Big River Steel mill received $125 million in bond issues, as well as other incentives.
Construction of the Big River Steel plant has created about 2,000 jobs, and the mill is expected to employ about 525 workers when fully operational.
The Big River Steel plant was developed by John Correnti, who died in August. Correnti, a former chief executive officer for Nucor, played a role in Nucor building its two mills in Mississippi County.
Nucor's complaints about the Big River Steel facility have gone before several courts and agencies, including: the Pollution Control and Ecology commission; and the administrative law judge for the agency; a Mississippi County circuit judge; a Pulaski County circuit judge; and before a judge with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Distinct of Arkansas.
The suit filed by Nucor in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas alleged that Big River Steel's permit was invalid and that the continued construction of the facility violates the Clean Air Act.
Big River Steel moved to dismiss the lawsuit in 2015 for several reasons, including that the district court lacked "subject matter jurisdiction."
The district court ruled that Nucor's lawsuit "amounted to a collateral attack on a facially valid air permit" and that the Clean Air Act did not authorize it, according to court documents.
As a result, the district court dismissed Nucor's lawsuit.
On Wednesday, the Appeals Court said in terms of permitting requirements, the company can petition the EPA, as Nucor has done.
"Therefore, judicial review via the enforcement proceedings Nucor has brought in the district court are inappropriate," the court said.
Business on 06/09/2016