You are here: EPA Home Compliance and Enforcement Enforcement Civil Enforcement Information Resources Civil Cases and Settlements Lafar g e North America, Inc. Clean Air Act Settlement Lafarge North America, Inc. Clean Air Act Settlement Information Sheet 

# Lafarge North America, Inc. Clean Air Act Settlement Information Sheet Overview of Company and Location of Facilities Violations Injunctive Relief Pollutant Reductions Health and Environmental Effects Civil Penalty State Partners Comment Period 

## Overview of Company and Location of Facilities

Violations
The complaint alleged the following violations: Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD ), Part C of the Title I, at §§ 7661a-f; and Clean Air Act ( CAA ) 42 U.S.C. §§ 7470-7492 Lafarge North America, Inc. Settlement Resources Settlement Summary Consent Decree (PDF) (152 pp, 561 KB , About PDF )

Lafar g e is a French industrial company specializing in four major products: cement construction aggregates concrete gypsum wallboard
Lafarge North America is the largest diversified supplier of construction materials in the U.S. and Canada and is currently the world’s largest cement manufacturer by mass of product shipped. Headquartere d in Herndon, Va., Lafarge North America employs more than 16,600 people who work at more than 1,000 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Lafarge owns 13 cement manufacturing facilities in the United States, making it one of the largest cement manufacturers in the country. The table to the right lists the facilities owned and operated by Lafarge in the U.S. and the number of kilns at each facility. Plant Location Number of Kilns Alpena, Mich. 5 Atlanta, Ga. 1 Davenport, Iowa 1 Fredonia, Kan. 2 Harleyville, S.C. 1 Joppa, Ill. 2 Paulding, Ohio 2 Ravena, N.Y. 2 Roberta, Ala. 1 Seattle, Wash. 1 Su g ar Creek, Mo. 1 Tulsa, Okla. 2 Whitehall, Pa 2 

## Civil Enforcement i le:///N:/Pro j ects/0210426-EPA_SPPD_(Opt4 )/0210426.004.012-Cement/Technical _Record/Docket%20Final% 2 0Additions / 0877 / 4

_ SUPPORTING

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_ Lafar g e%20Settlement%20Information%20Sheet.htm Last u p dated on Thursda y, March 18 , 2010 

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...Nonattainment New Source Review (nonattainment NSR), 42 U.S.C. §§ 7501-7515 The federally-approved and en forceable state implementation plans (SIPs) in each of the states where a Lafarge faci lity is located, that incorporate and/or implement the above-listed federal PSD and/or nonattainment NSR requirements Title V of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. §§ 7661-7661f, and Title V’s implementing federal and state regulations 

## Injunctive Relief
The consent decree secures injunctive relief from all 13 cement facilities. When all controls required under the consent decree are fully im plemented, by 2014, the settlement will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO x ) by more than 9,900 tons per year and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) by more than 26,000 tons per year.
The settlement requires Lafarge to: Install and operate a selective catalyti c reduction (SCR) system to control NO x at its Joppa, Ill. Kiln 1 Install and operate selective non-catalyti c reduction (SNCR) systems to control NO x on 17 of their 23 kilns Install and operate wet gas scr ubbers (WGS) to control SO 2 at 4 of their 23 kilns Install and operate dry absorbent ad dition (DAA) systems to control SO 2 at 13 of the 23 kilns Operate continuous emission monitors (CEMs) on all U.S. operating kilns
The facility-specific NO x and SO 2 controls and limits required by the consent decree are as follows:

Plant Kiln ID Consent Decree Re q uired SO 2 Controls Consent Decree Re q uired NO x Controls Alpena 19 DAA SNCR 20 DAA SNCR 21 DAA SNCR 22 WGS SNCR 23 WGS SNCR Atlanta 1 kiln shutdown kiln shutdown Davenport 1 DAA none (compliance with existing BACT limit) Fredonia 1 DAA SNCR 2 DAA SNCR Harleyville 1 none (compliance with existing BACT limit) none (compliance with existing BACT limit) Joppa 1 none SCR 2 kiln shutdown kiln shutdown Paulding 1 DAA SNCR 2 DAA SNCR Ravena 1 WGS SNCR 2 WGS SNCR Roberta 5 none (emission limit 2.2lb/ton) none (emission limit 2.4lb/ton) Seattle 1 DAA SNCR Sugar 1 none SNCR (run year-round) 

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...1 Tulsa will submit data and EPA will determine whether it can meet 2.5 lb/ton SO2, if it cannot, it will be required to install DAA
DAA - Dry Absorbent Addition
SNCR - Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction
SCR - Selective Catalytic Reduction

WGS - Wet Gas Scrubber IF/LNB - Indirect Firing/Low NO x Burner


## Pollutant Reductions
Upon complete implementation, the projects re quired by this settlement are expected to reduce annual emissions from the 13 Lafarg e facilities by more than 26,000 tons of SO 2 and 9,900 tons of NO x . 

## Health and Environmental Effects
The pollutants reduced under this settleme nt are known to have numerous adverse, significant environmental and heal th effects. These reductions will benefit the environment and the health of persons living near the Lafarg e facilities as well as in downwind areas. Nitrogen Oxides – Nitrogen oxides can cause ground-level ozone, acid rain, particulate matter, global warming, wa ter quality deterioration, and visual impairment. Nitrogen oxides play a major role, with volatile organic chemicals, in the atmospheric reactions that produce ozone. Children, people with lung diseases such as asthma, and people who work or exer cise outside are susceptible to adverse effects such as damage to lung tissu e and reduction in lung function.

Sulfur Dioxide – Sulfur dioxides affect brea thing and may aggravate existing respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Sensitive populations include asthmatics, individuals with bronchitis or emphysema, children and the elderly. Sulfur dioxide is also a primary contributor to acid deposition, or acid rain. 

## Civil Penalty
Lafarge has also agreed to pay a civil penalty of $5,075,000 within 30 days of entry of the consent decree. $3,383,000 will be paid to the United States, and the remainder will be paid to the state and local agencies participating in the settlement.


## State Partners

The states of Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas , Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington , and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Creek Tulsa 1 DAA 1 SNCR 2 DAA 1 SNCR Whitehall 2 DAA SNCR 3 DAA SNCR 

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...participated in settlement negotiations and are signatories to the agreement.


## Comment Period
The proposed settlement lodged in the Southern District of Illinois is subject to a 30-day comment period and final court approval. Inform ation on submitting comment is available at the Department of Justice website. 

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