Lehigh Cement Co. agreed in a consent order by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to pay a US$10,000 penalty in regard to air quality permit violations, according to the DNR in Des Moines.

A consent order is issued as an alternative to issuing an administrative order. It indicates that the DNR has voluntarily entered into a legally enforceable agreement with the other party.

Lehigh has received prior notice of violation letters, administrative orders and attorney general actions for previous environmental violations, according to www.iowadnr.gov.

The DNR concluded that Lehigh did not adjust the height of its emissions stacks to meet construction permit requirements and has been in violation of the construction permits since at least 2001, when permits with stack heights were initially issued.

Lehigh agreed to pay $2,000 for delaying consulting and engineering fees, and postponing or avoiding substantial construction costs due to the fact that most of the stacks were shorter than required.

The company will pay $3,000 for construction permit violations and $3,000 for Title V Operating permit violations, plus $2,000 because officials knew of the air quality regulations, and because Lehigh has been cited for a variety of violations in the past, including failure to obtain supplemental permits.

Source: Globe Gazette