CEMEX, the cement plant east of Lyons ,says it is working on the future. Its past is riddled with environmental fines.

CEMEX receives Citizen’s Notice of Violation at protest march

Plant manager Goodrich focuses on change

By Katherine Weadley

Plant Manager Steve Goodrich of the cement factory CEMEX finally has a chance to speak his mind. He was hired in May of 2006 but all official corporate communications from the multi-million dollar international corporation came through the headquarters of the CEMEX U.S. operations in Houston. Now they’ve given Goodrich the green light to speak up and out about the past, present and future of CEMEX.

Goodrich is upbeat about the future of CEMEX in Lyons, “As a company we’ve recognized that it is important to frame our story and we think we have a good story to tell.” CEMEX does a lot for the community, according to Goodrich. They are proud of that CEMEX Lyons employs about 108 people. Of those people Goodrich says about 16 employees have Lyons addresses and about two-thirds of the employees live in Boulder County.

Not only is Goodrich proud to supply locals with jobs but he’s proud of the diversity of employees as well. “We have engineers from Jamaica, Italy and one who is originally from India,” he said. “Also, we pay very competitively; an entry-level unskilled position starts at over $16 an hour. They aren’t unskilled for long because we teach them skills and promote from within,” he said. Goodrich said the payroll at the cement plant runs about 8.5 million annually in Lyons.

CEMEX takes a supportive role in the community. CEMEX provides financial support for the annual Parade of Lights, the Community Barbeque, and Good Old Days. “We also provide donations for larger projects from time to time as requested, for example we donated to the Town of Lyons’ Fifth Avenue project. We provided all the material for the sidewalk and underwrote the concrete costs, and last year we provided one of the multi-purpose weight racks for the Lyons Middle-Senior High School.

CEMEX is also a member of the Lyons Chamber of Commerce at the Cornerstone level, which means an annual payment of $1,500. A typical business membership is $125 according to the chamber Web site. The next chamber social is July 17^th and is hosted by CEMEX at their plant.

Volunteer firefighters receive paid time off while fighting fires according to CEMEX policy. “Right now we’re working with the Hygiene Volunteer Fire Department on providing them with space for training,” said Goodrich. “We look for ways to support our employees and our community,” he said.

Goodrich has big plans for CEMEX in Lyons and is looking forward to reaping the results of the all the changes for the better he and his environmental compliance team is making at the plant. The past, however, is riddled with fines from state and federal agencies. The latest fine came just this June 17^th from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. They issued a notice of violation (NOV) to CEMEX, alleging various violations of state air quality regulations and operating permit conditions.

“We are concerned that CEMEX continues to operate this facility without direct and consistent focus on compliance with air quality regulations and the facility’s permit,” said Paul Tourangeau, director of the department’s Air Pollution Control Division. “We expect this plant to be operated in compliance with the law, and will continue to take the actions necessary to produce that result.”

Since 2000, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has entered into four separate compliance orders on consent with CEMEX over alleged noncompliance issues at the Lyons plant. This notice of violation is the latest in a series of enforcement actions taken by state and federal authorities against CEMEX during the last several years, including a state action in 2006 that resulted in a $1.5 million penalty. The 2006 penalty was the second-largest penalty ever assessed by the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division.

In addition to the state actions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued its own notice of violation in March 2007 that has yet to be resolved. These are just some of the reasons that a protest march was held Saturday, July 12 according to march organizers. The march began at the Stone Cup Café on High Street in Lyons and ended at the CEMEX plant east of Lyons on Ute Highway.

Speakers included Jeremy Nichols of Rocky Mountain Clear Air Action and local area activists Richard Cargill and Lois Hickman.

At the end of the march Goodrich was handed a Citizen’s Notice of Violation (CNOV). The CNOV was created collaboratively between the environmental groups St. Vrain Watchdogs, Mothers Against Burning Tires, Colorado Citizens Campaign, and Friends of the St. Vrain River Valley.

Julie Smith, a health practitioner and Lyons local helped write the detailed CNOV which runs about two pages. “The state has been issuing them NOVs. I think they have received seven NOVs in the last year eight years. They pay and pollute. It’s cheaper for them to pay the fines rather than make the changes. That’s why we issued them a Citizen’s Notice of Violation.” Citizen signatures for the CNOV were collected at the Stone Cup Cafe before the march.

Nonetheless Goodrich is still optimistic about the plant and its future in Lyons. “It’s a complicated business, we have a complex permit. We’re trying to achieve 100 percent compliance. Our objective is to meet all those standards and meet the permit requirements and the community expectations as well. It’s our challenge and our opportunity,” he said.

Smith says that she just wants them to come into compliance with their permit. “They are operating unlawfully. Maybe Goodrich likes to paint a rosy picture but reality is bleak.”

This article ran in the July 2008 issue of the Redstone Review.