Eagle Materials Inc said last week that the Environmental Protection Agency believes its facility in Fernley violated federal air quality laws.

Eagle Materials Inc of Dallas, owner of the Nevada Cement Co. facility, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it can’t predict how EPA action will play out, and it can’t predict the potential financial implications.

The plant, which according to state records employs between 100 and 250 workers, is a major supplier of bulk and sack cement to northern Nevada and northern California.

Its annual production capacity is 560,000t of cement and 500,000t of clinker, used to produce Portland cement. Nevada Cement also operates quarries seven miles south of Fernley and along east of the plant.

The EPA contends that the owners of the plant undertook a series of substantial changes between 1992 and 1999 but didn’t get the air quality permits that would have been required.
And as a result, the EPA says the plant has been operating out of compliance with federal and state regulations since 2002.