On August 6^th, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson signed off on stricter new regulations for Portland cement plants operating in the US. The final regulations—more than ten years in the making—will force Titan to significantly slash the emissions they proposed in the draft air permit currently under review by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR). For example, Titan wanted to emit 263 lbs of mercury each year. Now, Titan can only emit around 46 lbs. per year. Big difference (try about 82 % reduction). Titan’s Particulate Matter (PM) emissions must now be slashed by 98%, and their Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) will go down by about 65 %. Particle pollution is linked to adverse health effects including aggravated asthma, heart attacks and premature deaths. According to the EPA, the cement industry is the 3^rd largest source of airborne mercury pollution and the 4^th largest source of industrial pollution. SO2 is a major contributor to acid rain and ground level ozone (smog).

One of the most important aspects in the final regs is that EPA rejected the Portland Cement Association’s argument that high-mercury quarries should be put in their own category and allowed to emit at higher levels. Lobbyists and spokespersons for the cement industry have been pushing for the sub-category, hoping to give some of the nation’s highest polluters a pass on cleaning up their emissions. But thanks to the efforts of EarthJustice, the Sierra Club and several citizens groups fighting existing cement plants across the country, the tougher regulations prevailed.

EPA’s crack down on cement pollution will help our community as we continue to fight Titan America and the massive cement plant and mine they want to build in our coastal area. Despite the obvious impacts to public health from Titan’s project, Governor Bev Perdue and her Commerce Department continue to ignore our community’s concerns. In case you missed it, Governor Perdue signed the terrible SEPA-gutting bill (S778) last week—which means that state and local governments can use millions of our tax dollars in incentives to recruit heavy polluting industries to our state without such “public money” triggering the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA)—which would require a thorough review of all health and environmental impacts before any state permits are issued. Even though Titan was excluded at the last minute, it is blatantly apparent that our Governor and General Assembly are eager to sign away our rights to clean air and water. At least the EPA is willing to protect our community and our children from harmful industrial pollution. (We really, really need better leadership in Raleigh.)

What does this mean for the Titan fight? Basically, Titan must comply with these lower emissions standards. They have to demonstrate in their air permit application exactly how they’re going to do it and what technologies they will use. They have to use Continuous Emission Monitors (something the cement industry did not want to do) to accurately measure how much mercury they are emitting instead of estimating their emissions. And even with the lower federal mercury emission rate, they still have to prove that they won’t put any mercury in the Northeast Cape Fear River (which flows a few hundred yards from the old Ideal Cement plant stack) under the Clean Water Act. But first, they are going to try to appeal the court decision forcing them to undergo a SEPA review. The appeal is scheduled to be heard in September. We don’t think they’ll win because the lawyers from SELC and Duke are a lot better than Titan’s lawyers and the law is on our side. Either way, Titan has to comply with EPA's stricter new cement regs now, not in 2013 like other U.S. cement plants that already have an air permit.

These latest developments are the reason we're all fighting so hard and why it's crucial our community and others across North Carolina continue to fight too. Because we all live, work and play in this beautiful treasure of a coastal area and we're already burdened with the impacts of decades of heavy industrial pollution. Our river is mercury impaired, our air already contains some of the highest emissions in the state for chromium, benzene, PM, SO2, carbon monoxide, mercury, arsenic and lead (among many others). Our newest schools have just been built adjacent to a contaminated Superfund site over ground water so polluted the schools can't even use it to water the grass. We have a plume of chromium hovering above our aquifer from a former industry that we can only hope won’t contaminate our water supply. Salt water intrusion is already a major issue for many in our area and losing more wetlands and sensitive marshlands will only further threaten our shellfish and other vital marine resources. Allowing a massive, coal burning cement plant and open pit mine to further threaten our health and environment is the last thing we need. We know it, but sadly our Governor and other elected officials seem willing to trade anything just to say they've created jobs. (We really, really need better leaders in Raleigh.)

So, a big boooo! to Governor Perdue, but a big Thank You to EPA and EarthJustice and others for working to clean up harmful industrial pollution from the hundreds of  cement plants across the nation—a process that will create jobs and revenue, not to mention save an estimated 2,500 lives each year and yield $6.7 billion to $18 billion in health and environmental benefits.

From your Friends and Neighbors at
StopTitan.org

For more info, here are a few links to follow:

• EPA Press Release
• PDF file of new EPA regulations
• Article in the StarNews
  
• EarthJustice Press Release