Mittal Steel USA 'greens' Cleveland plant grounds
10/11/06
CLEVELAND — A green buffer is starting to extend around the Cleveland home of one of the world's "greenest" materials — Mittal Steel USA's plant near the downtown area.
Steel is recycled more than all other materials combined, and the plants where it's made have made huge advances in environmental responsibility.
Now Mittal has drawn on acclaimed local resources, The Cleveland Museum of Natural History and its renowned curator of botany, Dr. James Bissell, to enhance further the way Mittal Steel USA — Cleveland blends into its urban setting — bringing back some plants that haven't been in the area for a century or more.
Bissell also is coordinator of natural areas and director of its Center for Conservation & Biodiversity at the museum.
With Bissell's advice, the first phase of plantings will adorn a terraced hill leading down to the eastern edge of the plant's location in the Flats, along Independence Road. In addition to beautifying the neighborhood, the new vegetation replaces ground left bare when plant operations were abandoned over the years.
"Mittal Steel's endeavor to establish native plants on its grounds provides the opportunity to re-establish several native plants formerly present along the Cuyahoga River that were eliminated from the river valley and river mouth during the 19th and early 20th centuries," Bissell said.
"The return of one shrub, wafer ash, formerly present in Cleveland, will allow a butterfly called giant swallowtail to return to the city."
Bissell said that in general, native plants require less maintenance than most non-native cultivated plants.
"I am delighted that the museum has developed a partnership with Mittal Steel USA — Cleveland," said Dr. Bruce Latimer, executive director of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. "This project is a great opportunity for us to restore the native flora on Mittal's property spanning across three communities — Cleveland, Newburgh Heights and Cuyahoga Heights."
Terry G. Fedor, general manager of Mittal Steel USA — Cleveland, praised the work of Bissell, Latimer and their colleagues at the museum.
"The employees and management of Mittal Steel, this plant and the United Steelworkers have made it a tremendous success story — in the efficiency of its operations, its labor relations and other aspects of the business — including environmental performance," he said.
"Now we also can start to point with pride to the way we look — still heavy industry, to be sure, but heavy industry with a handsome green frame around it."
"This is an excellent project, and fits right in with the partnership our international union entered recently with the Sierra Club," added Mark Granakis, president of United Steelworkers Local 979, which represents workers at the plant. "It further demonstrates that industry and the community can work together to improve their surroundings."
The first phase is along a 700-foot stretch of Independence Road, where a 10-foot-high acoustical fence has trees, shrubs and ivy in front of it and terraced landscaping behind. The next phase will extend that treatment another 750 feet.
The plants that Mittal has chosen for the first phase from Bissell's recommendations include Washington hawthorn, common hackberry, cutleaf staghorn sumac, prairie flame shining sumac, fragrant sumac, September beauty Chinese sumac, New Jersey tea, arborvitae, switchgrass, prairie dock and dense blazing star. The wafer ash plants are being grown from seed and are to be added next year.
Additional landscape design is being prepared for several locations along the east bank of the Cuyahoga, a vacant stretch of land along Harvard Avenue near the southernmost gate of the plant and an area between the western basic oxygen furnace and the Steelyard Commons shopping center. Mittal also is working toward the improvement of the Towpath Trail along the river near its property and its extension downtown.
"This is the most urban steel plant in the country," Fedor said. "Downtown Cleveland and the residential areas of Slavic Village, Tremont, Newburgh Heights and Cuyahoga Heights surround the industrial valley where steel has been produced since the early 1900s, along with several interstate highways.
"Today, we're striving to be even better citizens of this urban area. While we're not quite perfect, we meet or beat all environmental regulations; we're the cleanest that steelmaking has ever been at this location; and we're striving for continuous and rapid improvement.
"Our goal is to be the best in every facet of the business, including environmental performance."
Fedor pointed out that the landscaping is one of multiple initiatives to limit dust and noise in the area — along with the company's own efforts and its work with vendors and other companies in the area to reroute trucks and alter hours of operation.