CEMEX controversy continues:
State APCD director comments on CEMEX
By Joanne Irwin
July 2008
Last week the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE) issued a notice of violation (NOV) to the CEMEX plant just east of Lyons. The NOV alleges the plant violated 18 regulations of the plant’s operating permit and related agreements. This NOV is the latest in a series of enforcement actions taken by state and federal authorities against CEMEX during the last several years, including a state action in 2006 that resulted in a $1.5 million penalty. The 2006 penalty was the second-largest penalty ever assessed by the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division (APCD).
In response to the NOV issued on June 17, Jennifer Borgen, Director of Communications for CEMEX, USA, said, “It is important to note that at no time has the public’s health, safety or the environment been impacted.”
Paul Tourangeau, the director of the Colorado APCD, did not agree. “This is similar to what CEMEX has said in the past. These are issues that relate to the environment and public health. Opacity and dust relate to the environment and public health.”
Opacity is a measurement of dust or pollution particles released into the air. CEMEX’s operating permit allows emissions of 10 percent opacity or less. The NOV reports four incidents from June 2007 to January 2008 when the opacity was between 19 and 60 percent.
Additionally the NOV asserts the cement plant failed to conduct necessary stack tests in a timely fashion, failed to operate monitoring equipment within requirements, failed to file appropriate and timely air pollutant emission notices, and made multiple record keeping errors.
Borgen explained that the Lyons plant had actually over reported emissions levels. “This is good news, as our emissions levels were actually lower than originally reported. However, because the equipment reported the data higher than reality, this was the basis for several alleged violations. [The plant] immediately remedied the situation by installing a new Data Acquisition System that is more sophisticated and transparent.”
Tourangeau said,“It is important for the state and for the public to have timely, accurate and credible information about facility operations to ensure protection of public health and the environment.” This error affects data collected during 2002 through 2007.
CEMEX reports they have replaced the system that manages the data. “If they have done it well, then that should be very helpful in addressing the reporting problems,” added Torangeau. “We expect CEMEX to be a sophisticated operator, to understand and comply with all the specifics of their permit. Improvements are being made, and we need to see more.”
“CEMEX has invested more than $4 million in voluntary improvements to the plant over the last two years,” Borgen explained. “We plan to implement many more in 2008 and future years as several were part of multi-year changes. In 2008 we've installed an entirely new plant control system that is easier to track and more transparent.”
Tourangeau stated, “Improvements are welcome, warranted and beneficial. The company has voiced to the public, the state, and the Air Quality Control Commission it is improving in its operational standards. The state wants to see that happen. We will assess if they are.” Tourangeau concluded with a simple question, “Are they having fewer upsets?” (See sidebar.)
The current notice of violation is the result of several on-site inspections of the plant by the APCD and inspectors from the Boulder County Health Department in 2007 and 2008.
As part of the notice of violation process, the company will have an opportunity to respond to the allegations, submit data and discuss whether assessment of civil and noncompliance penalties is appropriate. The date for this meeting is not set.
John Martin, a Lyons-area resident who lives near CEMEX commented, “It isn't hard for CEMEX to know what improvements to make. They have a highly detailed permit that spells out clear guidelines for their operations. State and County inspectors make frequent visits to check for compliance with this permit. Year after year CEMEX fails to comply with its operating permit despite increasingly severe fines leveled by the state. It's simple: make whatever improvements required to come into, and remain in, full compliance with the laws of the state of Colorado. Until this minimum standard is met, no laundry list of improvements, however technical, will be satisfactory.”
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Sidebar:
Number of upsets, by year since CEMEX purchased the Southdown plant:
Year (Number of Upsets)
1999 (13)
2000 (0)
2001 (6)
2002 (19)
2003 (16)
2004 (28)
2005 (24)
2006 (11)
2007 (13)
2008 (12 - thus far...)
Information provided by the Colorado APCD