Mustello advocates for Cleveland-Cliffs at budget hearing
State Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, addressed the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Thursday, Feb. 29, to ask the department to work to prevent a federal rule that could harm the Cleveland-Cliffs plant in Butler.
A proposal from the U.S. Department of Energy finalizing energy standards could be released in May and, if adopted, would come into effect in 2027, according to the department. The energy-efficiency standards proposed by the department favor the use amorphous metal steel cores in electric transformers, which it says are more efficient than grain-oriented steel cores.
The Cleveland-Cliffs plant in Butler is the only domestic manufacturer still making grain-oriented steel cores, according to Jamie Sychak, president of United Auto Workers Local 3303.
Mustello said during a budget hearing that if the code went into effect, the jobs at the Cleveland-Cliffs plant could be lost. She urged Gov. Josh Shapiro to fight federal mandates that could cause the loss of jobs.
“I really don’t think he would want on his conscious that 1,300 jobs are going to be lost in Pennsylvania because he didn’t do enough to advocate,” Mustello said.
Mustello asked questions at the hearing to Jessica Shirley, interim acting secretary of the DEP. In her statements, Mustello brought up the Department of Energy code proposing a change in energy standards and asked Shirley how it would be implemented in individual states. Shirley said certain federal mandates have to be adopted by states, while others simply take effect on a federal level.
“If we have to implement those federal rulemakings through a state rulemaking, which is typically what we have to do with an air quality rule making, we do have to do an analysis that looks at impacts," Shriley said.
Shirley said the DEP would “potentially” advocate for the EPA to allow continued manufacture of grain-oriented steel cores, but asked Mustello to provide her with the code that could rule against their manufacture. The state department gets opportunities to speak with federal employees regarding new mandates and codes as they are in the proposal phase, she said.
“We are usually engaging with EPA or whatever federal agency is developing that rulemaking,” Shirley said. “We provide comments on those regulations, and then we interact directly with some of those EPA staffers to voice our concerns about implementation.”
In February, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, and co-sponsors Reps. Chris Deluzio, D-17th, Dan Meuser, R-9th, Susan Wild, D-7th, Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st, Guy Reschenthaler, R-14th, and Lloyd Smucker, R-11th, and Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, presented the Distribution Transformer Efficiency & Supply Chain Reliability Act of 2024. The bill is designed to stabilize domestic transformer manufacturing to meet increasing demand without disrupting existing supply chains or undermining American steel production.
Sychak said energy-efficient transformers are crucial components of the nation’s infrastructure. He added that if U.S. plants can no longer make cores, the nation will have to rely on international sources for energy products.
“Our jobs will be the first thing that anybody sees as the initial impact of this rule,” Sychak said. “This is important to everybody in America; this has to be recognized.”
The proposed 2024-25 budget includes $500 million in PA SITES funding to initiate more commercial and industrial sites and ensure companies have more options for good business environments to thrive.
The budget proposal also includes $25 million for the new Main Street Matters initiative, to support small businesses and commercial corridors that are the backbone of communities across the Commonwealth. It also includes $20 million to support large-scale innovation and leverage Pennsylvania’s research and development assets, and $3.5 million to create and launch the Pennsylvania Regional Economic Competitiveness Challenge.
