Out of the Ashes: A Steel Mill Grows in Youngstown!

Amidst the economic gloom comes a remarkable story of revival.  The Marcellus shale gas formation is transforming an entire region emptied of jobs.  Youngstown, Ohio was, after Pittsburgh and Chicago, one of the nation’s great steel towns.  From the 1950’s to the early 1980’s, Youngstown lost virtually its entire steel making capacity, as plant after plant closed down.  Now, a French company is spending $650 million to build a new steel plant in Youngstown to make seamless steel tubing needed for natural gas production, which will employ 350 workers.  Other downtrodden Ohio cities, Lorain and Canton, are modifying existing plants to gear up for pipe production. .http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904233404576462562705511704.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsTop

Though environmentalists have concerns about the effect of gas drilling on the water supply, the discovery of the Marcellus shale, if properly managed, could transform not only the region, but markedly reduce our dependence on coal for power generation and, ultimately, oil from the Middle East.  The US now EXPORTS natural gas, and has reserves larger than Russia or Saudi Arabia.  A recent study by Penn State University found that just for Pennsylvania (the Marcellus formation extends into central New York State as well), natural gas discoveries created $10 billion in new wealth for the state in 2010, and $2.5 billion in new tax revenue (federal, state and local) , and will eventually support 256 thousand jobs (directly and indirectly).http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11202/1161933-503-0.stm

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