Cement manufacturer Cemex has agreed to pay a $528,325 fine to settle violations of Colorado air-quality laws.
It’s the latest in a string of enforcement actions against the Houston-based company for problems at its cement plant in Lyons.
The facility has been cited six times since 2000 by state and federal regulators for violating emissions regulations.
Friday’s settlement addresses violations from 2006 over problems with the plant’s emissions monitoring system.
The system recorded emissions that were 20 percent higher than actually produced, Cemex spokeswoman Jennifer Borgen said. The company replaced the system in 2007.
Although the plant’s actual emissions were within regulatory standards, the erroneously recorded data was a violation of Cemex’s air permit.
Accurate recording of emissions is “important to the integrity and credibility of our overall air management program,” said Paul Tourangeau, director of the Air Pollution Control Division at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Cemex has agreed to conduct test audits and modify its quality assurance and quality control plans as part of the settlement, Tourangeau said.
The state health department in 2006 fined Cemex $1.5 million, the second-largest penalty ever assessed by the agency.
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
