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EPA Head Resigns from Post Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Admin‐ istrator Lisa P. Jackson released the following statement in late December resigning her posi‐ tion effective after President Obama's State of the Union address this month: progress on all these fronts.' So, I will leave the EPA confident the ship is sailing in the right di‐ rection, and ready in my own life for new chal‐ lenges, time with my family and new opportunities to make a difference." "I want to thank President Obama for the honor he bestowed on me and the confidence he placed in me four years ago this month when he announced my nomination as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. At the time I spoke about the need to address climate change, but also said: 'There is much more on the agenda: air pollution, toxic chemicals and children's health issues, redevelopment and waste-site cleanup issues, and justice for the communities who bear disproportionate risk.' "As the President said earlier this year when he addressed EPA's employees, 'You help make sure the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat are safe. You help protect the envi‐ ronment not just for our children but their chil‐ dren. And you keep us moving toward energy independence … We have made historic EPA Issues Final Emissions Rule, Projects $52 Million Savings for Industry After 28 months of rulemaking, court action, and meetings with industry offi‐ cials, the EPA issued its Final Emissions Limits for Portland Cement Manufactur‐ ing, citing prospective mercury, hy‐ drochloric acid, particulate matter and total hydrocarbon level reductions from 82‐93 percent against agency thresh‐ olds leading into 2010. The revised rule has a September 2015 compliance target for separate existing and new cement kiln standards. It will maintain important health benefits, EPA contends, while reducing cement opera‐ tors' cost of compliance by $52 million compared to the estimated costs of adopting an original August 2010 rule. "PCA welcomes the revised portland ce‐ ment NESHAP final rule. It will provide 50 ROCKproducts • JANUARY 2013 the industry additional time to complete the planning, engineering, permitting, testing and construction of the various new technologies that will be necessary to implement the revised standards," PCA noted in a late‐December statement on the final rule. "[The] rule strikes the right balance in establishing compliance limits that, while still extremely chal‐ lenging, are now realistic and achiev‐ able. PCA and EPA agreed that the revised standards and reset compliance period are essential to preserving jobs at domestic cement facilities, providing direct support for an American manu‐ facturing industry that is critical to our nation's infrastructure. "PCA supports meeting the demand for portland cement through environmen‐ tally and socially responsible business practices, which have been imple‐ mented for decades by our member companies in their local communities. The industry has invested in technol‐ ogy to reduce air emissions, minimize waste production, recycle and recover inputs, enhance energy efficiency and conserve natural resources – all the while producing a reliable and afford‐ able supply of building materials to support our economy." PCA and EPA observations, coupled with the new rule's sharply lower emis‐ sions benchmarks, proved insufficient for the Sierra Club‐aligned Earthjustice law firm and activist groups from six states, which responded to the agency's announcement with a litany of griev‐ ances under the heading, "Christmas Comes Early for Cement Industry." www.rockproducts.com