A bipartisan group of senators and congressmen introduced a bill Friday that would subsidize the use of coal sludge to produce steel.
The Steel Industry Preservation Act, introduced by lawmakers from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, would institute a tax credit for 10 years for the coal sludge to be recycled for use in steel making.
The bill is an example of “exactly the kind of solutions we need to focus on right now — commonsense measures that will help improve both our economy and our environment,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.
The sludge is the byproduct of the steel manufacturing process that involves the use of metallurgical coal. Currently, the sludge must be disposed of as a hazardous waste byproduct in landfills or by off-site incineration.
The bill would create a market for the waste to be recycled, instead of disposed of, turning the sludge into a recycled fuel for steel making.
Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown, who signed onto the bill, dismissed the progressive Green New Deal in February. He said it was not necessary to endorse the green resolution to win over the Democratic base, saying it was better to focus on near-term solutions.
Brown said Friday that the tax credit will help dispose of the hazardous waste by recycling it into new products that help the steel industry compete.
A fact sheet released with the bill identified environmental benefits from using the fuel as accomplished by eliminating the use of incinerators and landfills to dispose of the sludge.
Democratic Rep. Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania, who introduced a companion bill in the House on Friday, said it will help steelworkers keep their jobs, while promoting the “cleanup” of coal waste in Pennsylvania.
Doyle introduced the bill with his Republican colleague in the Pennsylvania delegation, Mike Kelly. Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, joined Capito and Brown on the Senate version.
