Neighbors, clean air groups want to pump the brakes on Hyundai steel mill pollution permit

Ascension Parish residents and environmental groups are voicing concerns over the speed at which the Hyundai steel mill project in Donaldsonville is moving forward.

The 1,700-acre facility is set to officially break ground Sept. 4, three days after the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality holds a meeting where the public can provide feedback on the company’s air pollution permit.

The final permit has not yet been approved by the state agency, which requires a public hearing as part of the approval process.

The Environmental Integrity Project, Louisiana Bucket Brigade and Rural Roots Louisiana were among the groups who spoke alongside Ascension locals at a news conference Wednesday. They all questioned the rapid pace at which Hyundai’s permit is being drafted and how it would allow pollution levels they say will impact nearby air quality.

“I am deeply concerned about the speed in which they are allowing these permits to take place for these projects,” said Twilla Collins of Modeste, the unincorporated village directly adjacent to the site. She cited fears about pollution from the mill inordinately affecting her and other residents, as well as the industrial park permanently altering the character of their neighborhood.

“We don’t want economic development to come at the expense of the community,” she said.

Plans to build the steel mill in Ascension Parish were officially announced in March 2025 with a proposed $5.8 billion investment at the RiverPlex MegaPark, a 17,000-acre undeveloped tract along the Mississippi River zoned for mixed-use and industrial development. The mill is expected to produce 2.7 million metric tons of steel for Hyundai and Kia automobile plants in the U.S. and other automakers.

According to the draft air permit from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the Hyundai steel mill will be allowed to annually emit 196 tons of particulate matter, 1,760 pounds of lead and 824 tons of nitrogen oxide. Medical research has connected these and other pollutants the permit would allow to health issues that include asthma, lung damage and increased cancer risk.

Anne Rolfes, director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, said the pace at which the Hyundai project has moved doesn’t reflect what should be a rigorous environmental review.

“The Clean Air Act requires a rigorous review of permits before they can be issued, but the groundbreaking is happening before the permit has even been issued,” Rolfes said. “It has a feeling as if this air permit is assured, that it is not the rigorous review as required by federal law, but is instead a rubber stamp.”

The groups were also critical of the use of nondisclosure agreements by public officials to keep communications about bringing Hyundai’s steel to Louisiana out of the public’s eye. NDAs have become a common component of the state’s economic development efforts under Gov. Jeff Landry over the past two years.

Hyundai did not respond to a request Thursday for comment. In a statement to WBRZ-TV, the company said it is “actively working” with local, state and federal leaders to ensure they “strictly adhere to all regulations on emissions, and where possible we go above and beyond to reduce or remove emissions.”

The statement reiterated that the draft permit was revised in June to decrease emissions in response to the community’s concerns and that the mill plans to “generate 70 percent less carbon emissions than conventional methods” of steel production.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality public hearing on the proposed air pollution permit will be held at 6 p.m. Sept. 4 at the Lemann Center Gymnasium, 1100 Clay St., in Donaldsonville.

Hyundai held an open house at the same location Thursday evening to share more information about the steel mill.