Cement Manufacturer Cemex Agrees To Reduce Harmful Air Pollution
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) today announced a settlement with Cemex, Inc., under which the company will invest approximately $10 million to cut emissions of harmful air pollution at five of its cement manufacturing plants in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. Under the consent decree lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Cemex will also pay a $1.69 million civil penalty, conduct energy audits at the five plants, and spend $150,000 on energy efficiency projects to mitigate the effects of past excess emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from its facilities.
“This settlement requires Cemex to use state of the art technology to reduce harmful air pollution, improving public health in vulnerable communities across the South and Southeast,†said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “EPA is committed to tackling clean air violations at the largest sources, cutting the pollutants that cause respiratory illnesses like asthma.â€
“The cement sector is a significant source of air pollution posing real health risks to the communities where they reside, including vulnerable communities across the U.S. who deserve better air quality than they have gotten over the years,†said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This agreement will require Cemex to pay a penalty and install important pollution controls to achieve reductions in harmful air emissions, thereby making Cemex a better neighbor to local residents.â€
The five Cemex facilities produce Portland cement, a key ingredient in concrete, mortar, and stucco, and are located in Demopolis, Alabama, Louisville, Kentucky, Knoxville, Tennessee, and New Braunfels and Odessa, Texas. The Knox County, Tennessee and Louisville, Kentucky air pollution control authorities participated in this settlement.
Cemex is required to install pollution control technology that will reduce emissions of NOx and establish strict limits for sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions, which will improve air quality in local communities. Cemex will install and continuously operate a selective non-catalytic reduction system for controlling NOx at the five plants and meet emission limits that are consistent with the current best available control technology for NOx. EPA estimates this will result in NOx emissions reductions of over 4,000 tons per year. Each facility will also be subject to strict SO2 emission limits.
NOx and SO2, two key pollutants emitted from cement plants, have numerous adverse effects on human health and are significant contributors to acid rain, smog, and haze. The pollutants are converted in the air into fine particles of particulate matter that can cause severe respiratory and cardiovascular impacts, and premature death. Reducing these harmful air pollutants will benefit the communities located near the Cemex plants, particularly communities disproportionately impacted by environmental risks and vulnerable populations, including children.
This settlement is part of EPA’s National Enforcement Initiative to control harmful emissions from large sources of pollution, which includes cement manufacturing plants, under the Clean Air Act’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration requirements. The total combined SO2 and NOx emission reductions secured from cement plant settlements under this initiative will exceed 75,000 tons each year once all the required pollution controls have been installed and implemented.
The settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. Information about submitting a public comment is available at:www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees
For more information on the settlement visit:
https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/cemex-inc-global-clean-air-act-settlement
PSD policy IMHO is more strict that the EPA’s Emission Offset Policy for non attainment areas. This is done on a pollutant by basis. IE One could be in attainment for NOX and in non attainment for Particulates or SO2 or CO. So the area has to comply with USEPA’s Emission Offset Policy for the SO2 and CO and then comply with USEPA’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration Policy for any NOX emission. And the Air Quality for NOX can’t even reach the NAAQS for NOX but has to be below that level by a certain amount.
The purpose of PSD is to protect the clean air areas and not let them degrade. The Purpose of Emission Offset Policy is to bring dirty air areas into compliance by making any new source get emission offsets from existing source before they can add new pollution sources. And then the new pollution source has to reduce it’s emission to the Lowest Achievable Emission Rate as possible while also adding pollution controls to other already existing sources. The next effect of a new plant locating in a new area that’s already exceeding the NAAQS for that particular Pollutant is a total reduction of emissions for that pollutant in the area after the new plant is built. NAAQS = National Ambient Air Quality Standards. NAAQS for lead, particulates fine particles, NOX. SO2, CO and Ozone. And then there are NAAQS for hazardous air pollutants that have to be considered under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. There are hundreds of different hazardous air pollutants to be considered and controlled. Asbestos being only one of them but one of the big ones.
The fire at 217 and 219 Main Street in Evansville involved two older buildings that most likely contained some products or building materials that contained some of the 6 regulated asbestos minerals in them. Which could be the reason that the demo will cost more. Asbestos containing building materials are any building material that contains more than 1% asbestos in it. There are special regulations that have to be followed when dealing with asbestos containing building materials. And people have to have special USEPA approved training to handle asbestos products.
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