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Settlement with Ash Grove to Reduce Emissions Ash Grove Cement Co. agreed to pay a $2.5 mil‐ lion penalty and invest approximately $30 mil‐ lion in pollution‐control technology at its nine Portland cement manufacturing plants to re‐ solve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act, an‐ nounced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice. The agreement will reduce more than 17,000 tons of harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sul‐ fur dioxide (SO2) pollution each year across plants located in Foreman, Ark.; Inkom, Idaho; Chanute, Kan.; Clancy, Mont.; Louisville, Neb.; Durkee, Ore.; Leamington, Utah; Seattle; and Midlothian, Texas. "[This] settlement will reduce air pollution that can harm human health and contribute to acid rain, haze and smog," said Cynthia Giles, assis‐ tant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforce‐ ment and Compliance Assurance. "The new stringent limits on emissions will lead to less pollution and better air quality for communi‐ ties across the country." "This significant settlement will achieve substan‐ tial reductions in air pollution from Ash Grove's Portland cement manufacturing facilities and benefit the health of communities across the na‐ tion," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Robert G. Dreher. "The agreement reflects the Justice Department's ongoing commitment to protecting public health and the environment and will bring Ash Grove's entire system into full compliance with the nation's Clean Air Act." In addition, Ash Grove has agreed to spend $750,000 to mitigate the effects of past excess emissions from several of its facilities. The settlement requires Ash Grove to meet stringent emission limits and install and con‐ tinuously operate modern technology to re‐ duce NOx, SO2, and particulate matter (PM). Ash Grove is required to reduce NOx emissions at nine kilns, some of which will have the low‐ est emission limits of any retrofit control sys‐ tem in the country. In addition, modern pollution controls must be installed on every kiln to reduce PM emissions, and on several kilns to reduce SO2 emissions. Furthermore, at its Texas facility, Ash Grove will shut down two older, inefficient kilns, while a third will be replaced with a cleaner, newly reconstructed kiln. The company will also spend $750,000 on a project to replace old diesel truck engines at its facilities in Kansas, Arkansas and Texas, which are estimated to re‐ duce smog‐forming nitrogen oxides by approx‐ imately 27 tons per year. Mexico's Housing Construction Crisis Lowers Cement Demand Holcim Mexico considers the housing construction crisis in Mexico will take another two years to overcome, with negative effects in the construction industry in general and the cement industry in particular, said the company director in an interview with El Financiero. problems, noted Kretschmer. The housing construction companies that are having difficulties include Urbi, Corpo‐ ración Geo, Consorcio Ara and Homex, according to the ar‐ ticle. "The problem with the housing sector will take some time to be resolved, around two years, because some compa‐ nies have to sort out their difficulties," said Eduardo Kretschmer, general director of Holcim México, previously Holcim Apasco, in the interview. "When it is resolved, it will positively impact construction." Another factor in the deceleration in the construction in‐ dustry cited by Kretschmer has been the lower invest‐ ments in the last few months by businesses and the public sector in construction. Kretschmer estimates that by the end of the year the construction industry will begin to grow and the cement industry will see a 2 percent in‐ crease in demand for cement. Companies who were having trouble needed to analyze their options and business strategies to overcome their Kretschmer also announced that Holcim Mexico will in‐ vest MX$ 500 million in upgrading its production capacity. 52 ROCKproducts • JULY 2013 www.rockproducts.com