Silicon Plant Case to Get Day in Court

By Jeff AmyAssociated Press

JACKSON – A federal judge has given opponents of a silicon metal plant in Mississippi’s northeast corner a chance to make their case in court.

U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock, in a November order, set a Dec. 2 hearing in Aberdeen to allow challengers to a permit issued by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to argue for a preliminary injunction. That could halt construction at the $200 million plant being built in Burnsville.

It’s another stage in an elaborate legal effort against Mississippi Silicon by Miami-based Globe Specialty Metals, the only domestic producer of silicon metal. Globe has sued three other times, arguing Mississippi regulators didn’t meet the legal requirements to issue an air pollution permit.

Mississippi Silicon argues the lawsuits are meritless attempts to preserve Globe’s market position.