WildEarth Guardians

Tuesday, January 6, 2009
WildEarth Guardians Applauds EPA Lawsuit Against CEMEX

Public Health in Danger over Clean Air Violations at Aging Lyons Cement Plant
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

DENVER-WildEarth Guardians is hailing a lawsuit filed today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency against CEMEX over numerous and ongoing clean air violations at the aging, coal-burning Lyons cement plant in north Boulder County.

"Public health in Boulder County is at risk from illegal pollution--thankfully the EPA has stepped up to hold CEMEX accountable to clean air," said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. "The message to CEMEX should be clear--it's time to stop illegally polluting the air we breathe."

In a complaint filed today in federal court in Denver, the EPA targeted CEMEX's failure to install up-to-date pollution controls to limit nitrogen oxide pollution, or NOx, from its smokestack. NOx pollution is a byproduct of coal burning and reacts with sunlight to form ozone, the key ingredient of smog. The Denver metro region, including Boulder County, is currently in violation of basic health standards limiting ozone. NOx pollution is fueling the region's smog woes.

CEMEX has not updated its NOx pollution controls since it was constructed in 1969. Every year, the cement plant spews up to 5.2 million pounds of NOx from its smokestacks, equal to the amount released by over 130,000 cars (according to the EPA a car releases 38.2 pounds of nitrogen oxide a year, www.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/f00013.htm). Up-to-date pollution control technologies could cost-effectively reduce NOx emissions by 90% or more.

"Today's lawsuit by the EPA is a critical step toward cleaning up the CEMEX cement plant and safeguarding public health once and for all," said Nichols. "We applaud this bold and aggressive effort to enforce our basic clean air laws."

Today's lawsuit is the latest in a string of enforcement actions against the CEMEX Lyons cement plant over clean air violations. In 2007, WildEarth Guardians, formerly Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action, also threatened to file suit against CEMEX over the company's failure to install up-to-date pollution controls on its smokestack. In June of 2008, the State of Colorado cited CEMEX for a number of clean air violations. Today is the first time CEMEX has been brought to federal court over its violations, a sign that air pollution problems at the Lyons cement plant are becoming more serious than ever.

WildEarth Guardians is considering intervening in the lawsuit to ensure that any resolution to the litigation holds CEMEX fully accountable to clean air and public health. For a copy of the EPA's lawsuit, contact Jeremy Nichols with WildEarth Guardians, jnichols@wildearthguardians.org.