The St. Louis County Board's Committee of the Whole unanimously approved a redevelopment proposal today by the Seaway Port Authority of Duluth for the former U.S. Steel mill site in western Duluth.
State lawmakers are considering a change in state tax laws that would allow the Port Authority to acquire the property and then create a tax increment finance district.
The law change would extend the proposed TIF district to 25 years instead of the usual 5 years. A TIF district allows property taxes paid on the property to go to a special fund to help finance project-specific improvements, such as pollution cleanup, rather than into the general property tax pool.
Several commissioners expressed concern, however, that U.S. Steel Corp. not be relieved of financial liability for the federal Superfund site that includes adjacent polluted waters of the St. Louis River.
The Port Authority wants the land available for any prospective large industrial companies that may want to move to the region, although no specific company has come forward.
