December 3, 2008

Ash Grove Cement Sues North Texas Cities Over ‘Green’ Resolutions

Ash Grove Texas LP, a part of Ash Grove Cement, recently sued Dallas and other North Texas cities to stop them from favoring cement companies that use dry process kilns that emit less pollution than old-style wet process kilns, the Dallas Morning News reports.

The company, which only has wet process kilns, contends that the cities’ “green cement” resolutions violate the company’s constitutional rights, as well as Texas laws on competitive bidding for public contracts.

Ash Grove attorney Marshall J. Doke said in a prepared statement that although the company has made strides in reducing emissions, the cities illegally impose unfair conditions on cement purchases.

In October, the company received the “Working for Cleaner Air Employer of the Year” award from the North Texas Clean Air Coalition for the company’s efforts to control nitrogen oxide emission. The company says it was one of the first wet process cement plants in the world to install Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction technology to control ozone forming emissions.

In March, Ash Grove Cement, near Baker City in Oregon, the largest source of mercury pollution in the state, reached a voluntary deal with regulators to cut its mercury emissions by 75 percent within 3 years.

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