Business View Civil & Municipal | Volume 2, Issue 8

87 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8 HARR I SON COUNTY , OHIO The petrochemical manufacturing industry is rapidly expanding across the U.S., with an anticipated 11.8 percent increase in 2021 due to availability of low cost domestic shale feedstocks and growing U.S. and worldwide markets. While much of the build-out for new infrastructure in the U.S. involves expanding in the Gulf Coast, there’s another good argument for a second petrochemical hub in the Ohio River Valley. “You don’t have to be on the Gulf Coast, or even on a coastline, if you want to build a megaproject,” says Homrighausen. “Those can be built inland, in Harrison County, which is actually just 25 miles from the Ohio River. And from a national security and natural disaster standpoint, the Ohio Valley is a much safer location free from hurricanes and other events that can cause supply interruptions. Other critical infrastructure such as electricity, rail, water, and roads is already extremely robust, not to mention a talented and hardworking workforce. Very little is needed in terms of upgrades from an infrastructure and workforce standpoint.” An interesting statistic reveals that the energy produced in the tri-state region of Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania makes it the third largest producer of natural gas in the world. “And the industry has done it safely,” Saucier notes. “It’s not been at the expense of the environment. It’s been balanced allowing both the environment and the economy to thrive. To that end, there’s been over $90 billion of investment that’s come into Eastern Ohio over the last 10 years alone, which is just astonishing. Along side its shale industry, Harrison County is also being pursed by renewable energy developers.” “And Harrison County has been a key player in that,” Homrighausen shares. “On the low end, we’ve seen $5 billion in investments within the county alone during that timeframe because of