Displaying items by tag: Ash Grove
EPA fines Ash Grove US$2.5m
21 June 2013US: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fined Ash Grove Cement US$2.5m and is forcing the American cement producer to invest US$30m in pollution controls at its plants in nine US states that are alleged to have violated the Clean Air Act.
The EPA and the US Department of Justice announced the penalty jointly on 19 June 2013. The EPA said that the action would reduce thousands of tonnes of harmful pollutants at plants in Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Texas. In addition Ash Grove Cement will spend US$750,000 towards mitigating the effects of past excess emissions.
Ash Grove acknowledged the agreement in a statement and said that it is striving to comply with environmental regulations at all its facilities. It disputes that it violated the Clean Air Act, saying it opted to enter this agreement with federal regulators rather than face rising costs in time and financial resources that would have accompanied further discussions with the EPA.
"The agreement with the EPA will allow Ash Grove to move forward and provide an environmentally sustainable product that is the foundation of our economy," said Charles T Sunderland, the company's chairman and chief executive officer.
The EPA said that its agreement with Ash Grove Cement, lodged on 19 June 2013 in the US District Court for the District of Kansas, is the first settlement with a cement producer that also requires injunctive relief and emission limits for particulate matter, a combination of combustion gasses and fine dust. There is a 30-day public comment period before final court approval.
The US$2.5m penalty will be distributed to eight states and one agency that took part in the agreement: Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Washington and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. Ash Grove will also spend US$750,000 on a project to replace old diesel truck engines at its facilities in Kansas, Arkansas, and Texas, estimated to reduce smog-forming nitrogen oxides by approximately 27t/yr.
EPA signs rule to cut Montana’s haze pollution
20 August 2012US: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a new measure meant to help approve US state Montana's levels of haze pollution. The signing follows widespread criticism by industry, conservationists and even other federal agencies.
The proposal aims to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that cause haze. It details US$85m in upgrades needed at the state's major contributors of small particles that contribute to park haze, mainly at the Colstrip coal power plant. Holcim's cement plant near Three Forks requires selective non-catalytic reductions totalling US$1.32m to achieve annual NOx emissions reductions of 556t/yr. Ash Grove cement plant near Montana City requires selective non-catalytic reductions and low NOx burners totalling US$1.19 to achieve annual NOx emissions reductions of 1088t/yr.
Many of the commenters, including Holcim and Pennsylvania Power and Light, questioned the computer models used to calculate the effect of various technologies on emissions. Companies also complained that the EPA underestimated the costs required to retrofit their plants with new equipment. In response to a Holcim comment, the EPA decided that Holcim did not have to install lime injection and scrubbers because the reduction in emissions didn't justify the cost. The total price tag for Holcim was originally estimated at US$6.2m.
Under the Clean Air Act, the air in national parks and wilderness areas in the US is supposed to be as clean as possible. To achieve that goal, regional haze programmes in several states set pollution limits on industries. The goal is to restore visibility to natural conditions in national parks and wilderness areas from Idaho to North Dakota by 2064.
Ash Grove announces major upgrade at Midlothian
25 May 2012US: Kansas-based Ash Grove Cement has announced an investment of over US$125m at its Midlothian plant in Texas in an effort to make it one of the lowest-emitting cement producers in the state. The decision to install a new preheater/precalciner production system was taken at the company's May 2012 meeting on 24 May 2012 and has been prompted by the need for the plant to lower its emissions ahead of the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) portland cement National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) rule that is scheduled to take effect in September 2013.
The decision, which comes hot-on-the-heels of a request to close the plant's existing wet production lines, was one option being considered by Ash Grove."We concluded that we wanted to continue to provide Texans with locally-made cement from our Midlothian facility for the foreseeable future and therefore approved the modernisation project," said Ash Grove Chairman Charles Sunderland. The decision secures jobs for the 110 people that work at the plant.
Ash Grove has invested millions of dollars in the Midlothian facility over the past four decades to reduce production emissions. Since 1996, Ash Grove has reduced the plant's NOx emissions by more than 60%. "Our employees appreciate the confidence the board has shown in them by making this decision," said Midlothian plant manager Kevin Blankenship. "We have generations of employees working here, many with decades of service. This decision demonstrates that Ash Grove will maintain its strong north Texas presence for our families, our community and our customers."
Reaction among community leaders also has been favourable."We are very pleased that Ash Grove has committed to investing to upgrade its plant here," said Midlothian Mayor Bill Houston. "Ash Grove is an outstanding corporate citizen and has always worked hard to be a good and responsible neighbour. "By investing in this key technology upgrade (the) plant will remain viable, competitive and environmentally-friendly for many years to come."
Ash Grove seeks tax break for Midlothian plant
16 May 2012US: Ash Grove Cement is seeking tax abatement for upgrade projects on its Midlothian plant in Texas. Plant manager Kevin Blankenship presented plans to the Ellis County Commissioner's Court on 14 May 2012.
Ash Grove needs to upgrade its plant in line with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that will go into effect September 2013. The company is considering two options that will put the plant in compliance with the new regulations. The first option is to upgrade the plant enough so that it will comply with the new emissions standards. The second option is to fully modernise the plant by upgrading to a single dry kiln and shutting the other two existing wet kilns, a project that would cost US$130m. Since the presentation was not an agenda item at the meeting the court took no action.
The Midlothian plant has been in operation since 1966. Ash Grove currently intend to continue running the plant until 2050, but filed a request to shut the wet kilns in April 2012.
EPA proposal to cost Montana plants US$10m
26 March 2012US: A proposed clean-up of Montana's air pollution by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could cost nearby cement plants up to US$10m. Plans to improve visibility in public land, including Yellowstone and Theodore Roosevelt National Parks, would require upgrades within five years at the Ash Grove cement plant near Montana City and Holcim cement plant near Three Forks.
The EPA's action has been prompted partly by a legal challenge from environmentalists who sued the agency to set deadlines to follow through on haze rules adopted in 1999. Two of the groups involved, WildEarth Guardians and the Montana Environmental Information Center, said that the agency's proposal does not go far enough. Representatives of the groups criticised the EPA's rejection of even stricter pollution limits that would have required tens of millions of dollars in additional spending by the plants.
"People might gasp a little bit and say that's a lot of money but you have to look at how much these companies are profiting off these facilities. It dwarfs these costs," said Anne Hedges with the Montana Environmental Information Center.
The first phase of the EPA's program is aimed at plants built between 1962 and 1977 that churn out at least 250t/yr of pollutants. The goal is to eliminate haze in parks and wilderness areas by 2064. The cost of reducing haze across the US has been estimated at US$1.5bn/yr. Spin-off benefits from reduced health care spending on pollution-related illnesses were estimated at US$8.4bn/yr or more.
The proposal could become final after a 60-day public comment period. Public hearings in Montana hosted by the EPA are scheduled for 15 May 2012 in Helena and 16 May 2012 in Billings.
Between a wet and a dry kiln
29 February 2012A US environmental pressure group is reportedly claiming that Ash Grove has started the process to close two of its wet kilns in Midlothian, Texas. Ash Grove has retorted that the decision is not final yet.
The move fits with a new emissions timetable imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) due to come into effect in 2013. Yet Ash Grove's response also suggests that it is keeping an eye on the impending Cement Sector Relief Act. Approved by the US House of Representatives in October 2011 with strong Republican support, if this bill makes it to law then the EPA will be forced to recind some of its existing rules concerning emissions from cement plants. This situation could help Ash Grove to manage its kiln investment. Either way, it's no wonder that Ash Grove hasn't committed yet.
All this democratic uncertainty contrasts rather nicely with the last missive from the Chinese Ministry of Information and Technology announcing more cement industry targets as part of the latest Five-year Plan. China's cement industry will source 65% of its electrical needs from waste materials by 2015. Simple! China is currently dealing with wet kilns in a similar fashion. They are being 'eliminated.'
Before we become too fixated on supposed Western decline, our third kiln-related story this week follows a test run at the Lafarge-Strabag plant in Hungary. Billed as one of the most environmentally friendly plants in Europe, the 1Mt/yr facility is due to be finished by 2015. Just in time for China's next Five-Year Plan.
Ash Grove files request to close Midlothian wet kilns
29 February 2012US: Ash Grove Cement Company has reportedly filed a permit amendment with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) seeking to close two of its three cement kilns in Midlothian, Texas. A local environmental pressure group, Downwinders at Risk, reported that it would convert the third kiln to dry production.
Ash Grove said that it was 'premature' to talk about the permit because the decision was not final. Downwinders' director Jim Schermbeck said that he expects the state agency to approve the change."They're going to reduce emissions. TCEQ will let them do that," Schermbeck said.
US cement kiln operators face a 2013 deadline to meet new emission standards from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The proposed changes would take production down by 20% at the site to around 0.95Mt/yr.