New York state enforcement against cement plant
St. Lawrence Cement has agreed to pay a $285,000 penalty and improve monitoring to settle smokestack emission violations at its Hudson Valley cement plant in Catskill, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis announced today.
The cement plant exceeded state and federal air-emission limits at various times over a three-year period. The emission limits are intended to control the dust generated from the preliminary stages of cement production. The violations dealt with improper levels of smoke density.
The settlement requires St. Lawrence to investigate the cause of the violations and complete any necessary repairs to its pollution control equipment by April 30, 2008. Besides paying a $285,000 civil penalty, the company will be subject to more stringent reporting requirements for the next few years, including monthly kiln stack reports. Further, the company must submit an engineering report evaluating the operation, maintenance and efficiency of the kiln within 120 days, and undertake any recommended repairs.
