Settlements to reduce pollution at container glass company, cement manufacturer

Two firms reach pollution control settlements

WASHINGTON — A container glass-maker and a cement manufacturer could end up paying $282 million to cut emissions at 28 plants around the country under Clean Air Act settlements with the government, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

The agreements with the second-largest companies in their business sectors require Saint-Gobain Containers Inc. of Muncie, Ind., and Lafarge North America Inc., based in Herndon, Va., to make company-wide pollution control upgrades and acceptance of emission limits.

Saint-Gobain will install pollution control equipment that the Justice Department estimated would cost $112 million at 15 plants in 13 states.

Under the settlement, Saint-Gobain has agreed to pay a $2.25 million civil penalty to resolve alleged violations of Clean Air Act regulations.

Lafarge and two subsidiaries are expected to spend up to $170 million to reduce emissions at 13 cement plants in 13 states. The company, the second-largest manufacturer of the most commonly used type of cement, has agreed to pay a $5 million civil penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.

The settlements are a message to other companies and other industries that the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency intend to pursue Clean Air Act violations aggressively, Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno, head of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, told reporters.

On the Net:

www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/January/10-enrd-059.html