Dateline: May 23, 2002

Rep. Chisum honored by Nucor Steel Group

By Sandy Anderberg, The Clarendon Enterprise

PAMPA - Nucor Steel’s Bar Mill Group presented Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, with its first-ever “Friend of the Texas Environment” award during ceremonies at the Phillips facility in Borger, Texas.

Jim Darsey, vice president and general manager of the Jewett-based company, praised Chisum not only for his legislative accomplishments, but also “a lifetime of personal contribution that has made our state a better place in which to work and live.”

“Representative Chisum has brought the value of dedication, the discipline of commitment, and the inspiration of leadership to everything he has done and to everyone he has served,” Darsey said in presenting the award. “By any standard, he is a true Texas leader.”

Darsey singled out Chisum’s positive efforts to shape a policy that would enable industry to comply with the federal Clean Air Act without putting their operations - and their employees - at risk.

In the last session of the legislature, there were efforts to impose strict new guidelines on Texas industries that in some cases were so broad, Darsey said, they would have had the “practical effect of shutting down companies throughout our state, eliminating thousands of jobs, and weakening local tax bases.”

Chisum, he continued, “developed a strategy to close a loophole for unpermitted air emission sources that will help us meet the goals of the act - but not at the expense of Texas workers and Texas industries.”

In addition to that legislation, Darsey also credited Chisum for a number of other environmental successes:

• Toughening auto-emission tailpipe tests in counties where pollution is the greatest.

• Changing the name of the Texas Natural Resources & Conservation Commission to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, a name he said “better reflects its mission.”

• Ensuring that the agency primarily focuses its regulatory resources on the “bad apples” rather than companies that obey the law and act as responsible environmental stewards.

• Increasing public involvement in the regulatory process.

He added that these and other achievements are examples of how Chisum “has shaped common-sense policies that protect our natural resources while at the same time preserving our state’s ability to grow, create jobs, and be competitive for new investment.”

He added, “That is not a simple task. Too often, the winds of politics blow elected officials to one extreme or the other. The rhetoric gets hot, and there is a lot of activity…but not a lot of progress. Representative Chisum has resisted those pressures. And we are better off today because of his efforts.”

The comments reflected the proclamation that accompanied the honor, which recognizes Chisum for “his leadership as Chairman of the House Environmental Regulation Committee and his vision for a better future for all of Texas.”

The Pampa lawmaker earned additional praise that went beyond his commitment to responsible environmental policies, as his successful efforts to establish a center for rural economic development were also cited.

Noting that the Nucor facility was in a small community in a rural county, Darsey offered his personal thanks to Chisum for “showing the world that our non-urban areas have a lot to offer - like a great quality of life, productive workers, and a strength of character that is uncommon almost anywhere else in the country.”

Chisum represents the 88th District, which includes Carson, Childress, Collingsworth, Dallam, Donley, Gray, Hall, Hansford, Hartley, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Lipscomb, Ochiltree, Roberts, Sherman, and Wheeler counties. In addition to chairing the Environmental Regulation Committee, he is also a member of the County Affairs and House Administration committees.

Nucor is the largest recycler in the United States, handling more than 12 million tons of scrap metal each year.  Nucor and affiliates are manufacturers of steel and steel products with operating facilities in 10 states, including four sites in Texas. The Nucor Bar Mill Group has been in Jewett for 26 years, and currently produces a wide range of products, including carbon steel angles, rounds, flats, squares, channels, reinforcing bars, and wide-flange beams.