[central_va]

I did a yahoo search on “EPA blocks new tin plants” and got nothing.

[Spktyr]

The last tin smelter in America was shut down in Texas in 1989 courtesy of the EPA. The last tin mine was closed in 1993 courtesy of the EPA. This ‘tin mill’ produced stamped steel sheets that were then electroplated with tin. The EPA hates electroplating and tries to shut it down wherever it can; in California the plating business is pretty much dead due to EPA inspired laws and the EPA itself.

More info here:
http://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/guide/electroplating/index.cfm#final

And the recent fun crap they passed down regarding other plating, such as chrome:

http://www.epa.gov/ttnatw01/chrome/chromepg.html

Bottom line: No new industrial electroplating plants.