Western Railroad Discussion > Geneva Steel Coming Down

http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?sid=215708&nid=5

The above link is to a news article on KSL.com.
Very sad to see the structures imploded.
Paul H. LIddiard

Perhaps they will be lucky and the land will be developed into a new Walmart like the old J&L/LTV Mill in Cleveland, OH is going to be. Can't beat Walmart wages.

JCB
http://www.bensonrailphotos.com

If it's anything like other past mill properties, it will most likely have nothing built on it for a very long time. Mill properties are among the most contaminated in the world. The cleanup fees are astronomical. The USS South Works property is lakefront, but it still sits empty after all these years.

Dave
-DPD Productions - Featuring the NEW TrainTenna LP Gain RR Scanner Antenna-
http://eje.railfan.net/dpdp/

Sad because of all the railroad history that eminated around it, including a major player for Rio Grande and Tennessee Pass, branch lines and neat things like the U.S. Steel Atlantic City, WY ore line, but always a bit out-of-place looking in the Salt Lake Valley, and a major pollution source. Even in latter days when I became acquainted with it I was surprised that the local governments put up with that thing smelling up and hazing the entire Salt Lake valley. A geographic mistake as the valley would hold in itself all the stink and smoke. It never seemed to me to be quite the utopian vision that Brigham Young embodied. - - - - - - - - - - JLH

those flames, those smells, those stacks were part of the utah valley experience. they put up with the pollution to keep the good jobs. hardly a utah isolated example. but yes, the valleys do trap the smoke.
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now, there are so many people there, the autos are creating the smoke.
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i have not been there for awhile, but it is a beautiful place. getting too crowded. call someplace "paradise", kiss it goodbye.
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btw: one of the most undervalued real estate markets in the usa. if the bubble does not burst, you could make some money there.
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Geneva's not in Salt Lake Valley, it's in Utah Valley, about 30-40 miles south on the banks of Utah Lake. Salt Lake Valley is still home to Kennecott Copper Mine and its associated smelter and refining facilities, which cover a HUGE part of the west side of the valley. As for the real estate market here in northern Utah, it may have been undervalued a few years ago, but the cat's out of the bag and the market's as hot as anywhere else right now. I've been looking for a decent, reasonably-priced home in SLC this year and any bargains are few and far between.

Okay, to an outsider, anything just west of those spectacular mountains that seem to rise straight up is all the same valley, I figured I probably did a misnomer, but the stink and haze from the steel mill certainly drifted as far as Salt Lake proper! I really like that area, the first time I ended up going down the canyon and into Provo, I could not believe how gorgeous the area was! Except for the stink, especially at night. The steel mill in the area just seemed like an antithesis, like it just couldn't belong there. - - - - - - JLH

JLH, you should see the Bay of Naples..........

Geneva Steel was built out of necessity during World War II and financed by the federal government at a cost of $200 million. It was operated by the government from 1944-46 at which time it was sold to US Steel. Factors in choosing the location included close proximity to raw materials, rail lines, availability of a stable, educated workforce, and inland location which offered protection from enemy attack. During Wartime, the contribution of the plant to the war effort and economy probably seemed more important to the local government than fulfilling Brigham Young's utopian vision, smoke and stink notwithstanding. Propoasals on the drawing board are for the area to be redeveloped with mixed-use residential and light commercial/retail within 4-5 years. I'm not sure I'd want to live there though!

Does anyone know what became of the units that they had there? Including rengined BLH.

highgreengraphics Wrote:
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> Okay, to an outsider, anything just west of those
> spectacular mountains that seem to rise straight
> up is all the same valley, I figured I probably
> did a misnomer, but the stink and haze from the
> steel mill certainly drifted as far as Salt Lake
> proper! I really like that area, the first time I
> ended up going down the canyon and into Provo, I
> could not believe how gorgeous the area was!
> Except for the stink, especially at night. The
> steel mill in the area just seemed like an
> antithesis, like it just couldn't belong there. -
> - - - - - JLH

And just where do you think steel mills belong? Pittsburgh, PA?

Dave of Pittsburgh

Well, another place something like this does not belong is on the Front Range of Colorado. The Pueblo steel mill is/was far south of the major population base, though with the way Pueblo grew, pollution became a problem there, too. And the mountains outside of Pueblo are farther away, allowing smoke to dissipate more. With temperature inversions, Denver's "brown cloud" is very well known. The Salt Lake/Provo valley has some of the same characteristics, and there are other geographical areas that have the same problem to different degrees, including the LA Basin, with the San Bernardinos holding in that air pollution. Having spent much time in Wyoming, I thought the idea that came and went to build a small steel mill outside of Douglas, WY was a very good idea, with the natural wind and keeping all that away from major population. Even Gary, Indiana is not a bad location due to Chicago being the Windy City, and all that dissipates the pollution across relatively sparsely-populated Indiana, and the humidity helps to bring the pollution down. Also plenty of trees to convert the carbon dioxide back to oxygen. To build a major smoke-emitting industry in a populated valley that is prone to temperature inversions in the dry, barren west is just not sound placement. At least later on in the west they were smart enough to build most of the coal-fired power plants away from the valleys, including the Salt Lake/Provo valley.- - - JLH

Just because Geneva is coming down doesn't mean steel production in Utah is over. Before Geneva there were various mills between Provo and Springville, the area now known as Ironton. Utah Valley was the logical spot for the mills at the time, the coal came over Soldier Summit, the ore came up on the UP (LA&SL), and the two met right there at Ironton.

If there's a need for a mill again, it will be built in a different valley where the air pollution can either dissipate better or not affect as many people.

I have mixed feelings about seeing it go, I love big, old, tired industrial buildings, and I sure loved the trains the mill brought to the valley. But living in that valley in the winter was the equivalent of smoking a pack a day when the air was bad, and I don't think that should be forced on anyone who happens to want to live in the valley.

If steel comes back up, someone may well put in a mill out east of Price, maybe near Sunnyside Mine, and haul the ore in over Soldier Summit. The cost of rebuilding Geneva wouldn't really be any different than building a new mill somewhere else, I wouldn't think.

Question for davew833--are real estate prices really going up all that much? Are they more expensive than they were a year ago? I see Provo lost 4% of its population in the last 3 years.

Ted in Davis

Okay, I'll toss this in...in paper mill country, that gaging odor when you drove past WAS the smell of money being made; a few mills improved the smell and stayed open, most of them closed and the good paying jobs went away and a lot of the tracks that were needed are now ripped up...but...you can stock shelves (with imported goods) at Wal-Mart and you and your spouse can both work two jobs to get by...

It may end up like the Fontana Kaiser Steel Mill in California; the Chinese came in and removed it piece by piece to China. Now they'er buying Maytag and Unical. Guess we will all being working at Walmart for fantastic wages and trying to buy homes in this inflated market. Good luck!

highgreengraphics Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, another place something like this does not
> belong is on the Front Range of Colorado. The
> Pueblo steel mill is/was far south of the major
> population base, though with the way Pueblo grew,
> pollution became a problem there, too. And the
> mountains outside of Pueblo are farther away,
> allowing smoke to dissipate more. With temperature
> inversions, Denver's "brown cloud" is very well
> known. The Salt Lake/Provo valley has some of the
> same characteristics, and there are other
> geographical areas that have the same problem to
> different degrees, including the LA Basin, with
> the San Bernardinos holding in that air pollution.
> Having spent much time in Wyoming, I thought the
> idea that came and went to build a small steel
> mill outside of Douglas, WY was a very good idea,
> with the natural wind and keeping all that away
> from major population. Even Gary, Indiana is not a
> bad location due to Chicago being the Windy City,
> and all that dissipates the pollution across
> relatively sparsely-populated Indiana, and the
> humidity helps to bring the pollution down. Also
> plenty of trees to convert the carbon dioxide back
> to oxygen. To build a major smoke-emitting
> industry in a populated valley that is prone to
> temperature inversions in the dry, barren west is
> just not sound placement. At least later on in the
> west they were smart enough to build most of the
> coal-fired power plants away from the valleys,
> including the Salt Lake/Provo valley.- - - JLH

The inversion problem was a major factor in contributing to Pittsburgh's reputation for having some of the worst air pollution anywhere. In 1948, over 40 people died in Donora, an industrial community south of Pittsburgh when pollution from a mill just settled over the town.

Dave