Defendant owns and operates 13 cement manufacturing plants which produce Portland cement. Over a period of years, the Defendant replaced the low sulfur coal burned at these plants with higher sulfur petcoke, thereby triggering PSD review for SO2. Defendant did not obtain PSD permits for these major modifications. The violations at the Ravena, New York plant in Region 2 will be addressed through a global settlement involving Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10. Region 2 has participated in settlement discussions with the Defendant along with DOJ, OECA, and lead Region 5.
The US and the Defendant have agreed to a third amendment of the March 18, 2010 Consent Decree. This amendment grants the Defendant an extension of the time until July 1, 2016 to complete construction of a replacement kiln at the Ravena facility in return for more stringent emission caps for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.