Cement maker Cemex reached a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency over its emissions violations Wednesday, while just 10 months earlier the agency was awarding the Mexico-based company for being a model of green efficiency.
Under the deal, Cemex will have to spend $10 million to cut emissions of harmful pollutants at five of its cement plants in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act. That is in addition to a $1.69 million civil penalty and another $150,000 for energy efficiency upgrades to make up for the effects of excess nitrogen oxide emissions from the plants.
“EPA is committed to tackling clean air violations at the largest sources, cutting the pollutants that cause respiratory illnesses like asthma,” said the agency’s enforcement chief, Cynthia Giles.
The Justice Department said the cement sector as a whole “is a significant source of air pollution posing health risks to the communities where they reside.”
But in October, a number of Cemex plants were getting high marks from the EPA, winning the agency’s highly coveted Energy Star certification for efficiency improvements at its facilities in Florida, Ohio, Georgia, California and Texas. The certification “demonstrates that these facilities perform among the top 25 percent of similar U.S. facilities for energy conservation,” Cemex said then.
It is not a new experience for the company. Cemex said 2015 marked the ninth consecutive year of EPA Energy Star certification for the Clinchfield plant, in Georgia. That is an “achievement realized by only one other cement plant in the U.S.,” the company said.
It also was the fifth consecutive certification for the Miami plant and the fourth for the Victorville, Calif., and Fairborn, Ohio, plants.
“Cemex is committed to sustainable practices throughout our operations, including energy efficiency,” said Karl H. Watson, Jr., the company’s president, after winning the honor last year. “We are honored to again be recognized by the EPA and Energy Star for our commitment to sustainable practices.”
The company said the Texas plants that earned EPA commendation had done so by investing in new energy-efficient parts and technologies to reduce energy use, which in turn reduced emissions.
The company said it is a corporate partner of EPA’s Energy Star program “and is an active proponent of the importance of energy efficiency.”
Under Wednesday’s settlement, additional emissions monitoring and reduction equipment will be installed at the five plants that violated the Clean Air Act.
