the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania entered a Consent Decree to implement a settlement between EPA and seven states/local agencies with Lehigh Cement Company LLC and Lehigh White Cement Company, LLC (Lehigh) to correct alleged CAA violations at their eleven cement plants (14 kilns) located across the United States. The Consent Decree was lodged with the court on December 3, 2019 and numerous public comments were subsequently filed in response. DOJ filed a response to the comments on behalf of EPA and the state/local agencies on July 27, 2020.
The settlement is expected to reduce harmful emissions from the companies? cement plants by a total of approximately 4,555 tons per year (tpy) of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 989 tpy of sulfur dioxide (SO2). Among the requirements of the Consent Decree, the companies must install and continuously operate best available control technology (BACT) controls and/or meet enforceable BACT-level emission rates for NOx and SO2 and install continuous emission monitoring systems for NOx and SO2 at all facilities that do not currently have CEMS. Lehigh is also required to replace, at a cost of $650,000, diesel engines in non-road machines at two plants as mitigation projects that will achieve approximately an additional 25 tpy of NOx reductions. Lehigh will spend approximately $12 million on air pollution controls/improved work practices at its plants and pay a civil penalty of $1.3 million, which will be split betwee