The state Court of Appeals has rejected a steel company's attempt to block the air permit for a rival's $1.3 billion mill under construction in northeast Arkansas.
The court on Wednesday upheld the Pollution Control and Ecology Commission's decision to issue the permit for the Big River Steel mill in Osceola.
Nucor Steel, which operates a mill about 20 miles away from the Big River site, had asked the court to reverse the regulatory panel's decision. Nucor argued that the regulatory panel didn't properly follow the law when it issued the mill's permit and that Big River Steel misrepresented whether the plant equipment could meet the emissions standards in its permit.
Big River Steel's attorneys argued Nucor's lawsuit was more about competing with a rival than the law.