900 SW Fifth AVEnue. SuitE 2600 

## STOEL Portland. Oregon 97204 main 503.224.3380

# ~V.ES fax 503.220.2480

### ~,LLP W\\w.sloel.com

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

THOMAS R. WOOD Direct (503) 294-9396 

### July 18,2011 trwood@stoel.com



### VIA US MAIL
Ms. Vanessa Hinkle United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 8 1595 Wynkoop Street Denver, CO 80202-1129


### Re: Substantiation for Confidential Business Information Claim for Information Submitted for Best Available Retrofit Technology Analysis
DearMs. Hinkle: This firm represents Ash Grove Cement Company ("Ash Grove") in relation to both its Montana City Best Available Retrofit Technology ("BART") analysis as well as discussions with EPA's Office ofEnforcement and Compliance Assurance ("OECA") as well as the Department of Justice ("DOJ"). Ash Grove believes that wet scrubbers are no hngertechnically feasible and should not be considered as a potential BARTtechnology for the Montana City kiln. I have received your July 13, 2011 email to Bob Vantuyl and Kasi Dubbs requesting information regarding the wet scrubbervendor quote providedto your office by letter dated February 28, 2008. Please be aware that the scrubber quote you were provided is no longer valid and should be considered withdrawn. On September 9,2010, EPAissued a newparticulate matter standard that will become applicable to the Montana City facility on September 9,2013 (Subpart LLL). The new limit of0.04 lb PM permilliontons ofclinker produced makes it technically infeasible to utilize wet scrubbing as a technology. No wet scrubber manufacturer with experience inthe cement industry will guarantee that their unit can meet the 0.04 lb/MM ton clinker PM standard. While 1 cannot go into detail as to the confidential settlement negotiations that we have beenhaving with EPA headquarters, I am at liberty to state that this issue has been fully discussed with OECA and DOJ. Laurie Ostrand ofyour office has particinated in those discussions by phone. As a result ofthese discussions, wet scrubbing is no longer being contemplated as technically feasible for MontanaCity. Therefore, Ash Grove does not believe that there is any reason to further discuss wet scrubbers and the company will not be able to submit an updated vendor quote.

70801548.1 0012028-00054**Ala~ka** Ci:I\dornia Idaho**Minne~ota** Oregon Utah Wa

... hingLonMs. VanessaHinkle July 18, 2011 Page 2

In light ofthe discussions we have had with OECA and DOJ, we believe thatthere is the potential that BARTwill not apply to the MontanaCityplant. Ifthe negotiations result in a settlement, we anticipate that the Montana Cityplant will install pollution controls that equate to BACT. Having gone through that process, we do not believe that the BART determination process would still be relevant. Again, I cannot discuss ourconfidential settlement negotiations and nor can I state with certaintyhowthey will ultimately resolve. However, I do want to ensure that you are aware oftheir existence and theirpotential to impact the BARTprocess. In relation to the April 2007 proposal submittedto your office on February 28, 2008, Ash Grove continuesto believe that it is Confidential Business Information ("CBI") that should notbe released to the public. Your office previously asked that Ash Grove substantiate its confidentiality claim. This was done by a letter from myselfto Ms. Callie Videtech dated June 18, 2008 (copy attached). Ash Grove believesthat the same basis for substantiation ofthe CBI claim applies today that applied in 2008. Specifically, the vendorproposal contains a great deal ofproprietary information (e.g., process flow data) that would cause serious injury to Ash Grove ifreleased to the public. We understand from your email that EPA has notreached a final confidentiality determination as to the attachments to the February 28, 2008 letter. IfEPA ultimately concludes thatit will not manage those attachments as protected confidential business information, we anticipate that your office will inform Ash Grove so that it can evaluate whether to take legal action to protectthose documents.
Ifyouhave any questions about this letter, please feel free to contact me immediately.

Smce

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### ~R.WOOd
Enclosure: June 18, 2008 letterto Callie Videtich cc: Bob Vantuyl Curtis Lesslie Kasi Dubbs

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