Amended settlement puts new limits on cement plant emissions
By DAN MOSHER
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens have announced an amended settlement with Lafarge North America, a cement supplier that operates a plant in Ravena, Albany County. The new settlement gives Lafarge 18 more months to construct a new kiln with advanced pollution controls, while tightening their air pollution emission limits.
In 2010, an original consent decree between the Environmental Protection Agency, 12 states including New York and Lafarge was established to limit pollutant emissions from its 13 plants across the country. The Ravena plant was given two options as to how it could meet these limits, by either retrofitting the kilns already in use with pollution controls or to construct a new kiln with state-of-the-art pollution controls by the start of 2015.
Lafarge chose to design a new kiln but requested an extension of its January 1, 2015 deadline citing the cement industry's slower-than-expected recovery from the 2008 recession. The company will now have until July 1, 2016 to construct the kiln.
"DEC is committed to demonstrating that New York can preserve the quality of our environment while supporting economic development," said Commissioner Martens. "The amended settlement will yield cleaner air while enabling Lafarge to continue with its plan to modernize the Ravena plant, creating and preserving jobs in the process."
Read more at http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2013-07-29-84562.113122-Amended-settlement-puts-new-limits-on-cement-plant-emissions.html