CEMEX to pay $1.5 million

Settlement aimed at cutting pollution at firm's Lyons plant

Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 27, 2006 at midnight

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A cement plant near Lyons must pay $1.5 million in penalties and beefed-up environmental monitoring as part of a settlement with Colorado regulators over air pollution violations spanning three years.

The agreement, among the largest air pollution penalties ever issued by state environmental regulators, stems from allegations that the plant, owned by Mexico-based

CEMEX, violated limits on dust emissions and operating temperatures at various times between 2004 and 2006.

The plant has been the target of a vigorous campaign by activists who have long complained about excessive dust and a tires-to-fuel burning operation and their effects on air quality and respiratory health. Concerns that plant emissions are raising pollution in Rocky Mountain National Park just to the west were also cited.

"The positive aspect of this (settlement) is it shows the seriousness of the problems we're dealing with at CEMEX," said Jaime Rall, program director for Colorado Citizens Campaign, which helped organize neighbors fighting the plant. "The negative side of it is, we've seen before

CEMEX pay its fines, but it doesn't change the behavior."

Under the settlement with the state health department's Air Pollution Control Division, CEMEX must pay a $350,000 fine to the state's general fund, spend $200,000 on air monitoring at the plant site, spend $500,000 toward so-called "supplemental environmental projects" that aid the local community, and pay $450,000 to the StEPP Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports a variety of environmental work.

In addition, the company agreed to a moratorium on burning tires for fuel for 12 months.

The $1.5 million settlement ranks in the top tier of air pollution settlements involving Colorado regulators. In 2002, Rocky Mountain Steel Mills in Pueblo agreed to a $1.8 million settlement. A few other cases involving court disputes or criminal fines have been far higher, however.

"The state takes very seriously instances where facility operators are not vigilant, or are cavalier, about consistently adhering to the specific terms and conditions ascribed to the safe operation of their facility," Paul Tourangeau, head of the air pollution division, said in a statement.

"We have every hope that the magnitude of this enforcement matter is a catalyst for change in the way

CEMEX has operated its Lyons facility and serves to benefit the community that lives . . . around the CEMEX facility."

A statement issued by CEMEX's corporate offices said the agreement "closed a major chapter in (the Lyons facility's) history" and characterized the dispute as about "primarily data-monitoring issues."

Tourangeau, though, differed with the assertion that the violations were about "data monitoring."

"I think we think they're primarily issues of opacity and dust events, and also include temperature limitations in the permit, which we take seriously because they are designed to ensure safe operation of the facility," he said.

Activists also took issue with the company's assertion in its statement that "the plant has been engaged in an aggressive community outreach effort."

Responded Rall of the Colorado Citizens Campaign: "This effort, so far, has not involved actually speaking to their actual neighbors. In fact, CEMEX recently pulled out of talks with their neighbors altogether.

"Their aggressive effort has comprised a barbecue, a glossy newsletter and regular meetings with a handful of persons appointed by CEMEX."

Pollution penalties

The $1.5 million settlement with the CEMEX cement plant in Lyons is among the larger administrative settlements with Colorado air-quality regulators. Some other major fines and settlements related to air pollution in Colorado include:

$1.8 million: Paid by Rocky Mountain Steel Mills in Pueblo under settlement with the state in 2002 .

$800,000 Near amount paid by then-owner Conoco for state violations at a Commerce City refinery in 2001. The company also paid a related federal penalty of more than $2 million.

$500,000 Paid to the federal government by Tri-State Generation and other owners of a coal-fired plant near Craig as part of a court settlement in 2001 with environmentalists and government authorities.

$1.1 million Near amount for fines and required repairs paid by then-owner Ultramar Diamond Shamrock under a federal settlement for violations at another refinery in Commerce City in 1999.

$6 million paid by Louisiana-Pacific Corp. as part of a federal settlement over criminal violations of the Clean Air Act at its plant in Olathe in 1998.

$4.5 million Paid by Public Service Co. under a 1996 settlement with federal authorities and the Sierra Club over power generators near Steamboat Springs.

$600,000 Paid by Public Service Co. in 1992 for failure to make timely installments of pollution controls at plants in Brush and Pueblo.Note: In Several Cases, Facilities Had To Spend Additional Money - Usually Far More Than The Fine - For Upgrades To Reduce Pollution.

hartmant@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5048

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