The International Steel Group's $16 million benchmark bid for Georgetown Steel in bankruptcy court this week pours concrete into what heretofore has been a pleasant abstraction: The rising market for steel rods has made it feasible for the mill to resume production. It seems unlikely that the successful bidder for the mill at an upcoming bankruptcy auction - whether ISG or some other steel company - would buy it to sell off its assets.

This is the best news the beleaguered city of Georgetown and adjacent communities have had in several years. The last time the mill emerged from bankruptcy, in mid-2002, an investor who lacked steel-making experience, Daniel Thorne, purchased it in a down market.

This time, buyers with steel-making experience are taking an interest in the mill because the market dictates they can run it profitably - especially if they can keep labor costs low.

The trade-off for Georgetown under this scenario would be a lower level of economic activity than the mill generated as recently as 2000, when more than 1,000 steelworkers had jobs there. Given the pattern at other small U.S. mills bought out of bankruptcy, the Georgetown facility likely would employ a few hundred workers at most. Steelworkers Union Local 7898 would have less leverage than before when bargaining wages and benefits.

The upside of the trade, though, would be reliable work for years to come, as a relatively small supply of steel worldwide is chasing booming demand. As many Georgetonians would surely agree, the sacrifices that come with that sustainability are worth enduring to get the town's sputtering economy running smoothly again.