Dallas-based Texas Industries, Inc. announced today that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has approved a permit modification to adjust the usage of an air pollution device on one of the cement kilns at its Midlothian Cement Plant while allowing for increased production. At their regularly scheduled agenda meeting on September 28, the TCEQ’s Executive Director recommended the permit be approved after a settlement was reached between concerned local citizens. The participating parties agreed to resolve the matter in dispute to avoid a costly, distracting and unnecessary hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
The permit requires that TXI will continue the use of its regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) whenever TXI’s Kiln No 5 is in operation at the Midlothian cement plant. The TXI Midlothian Cement Plant will therefore continue to be the only cement plant in the country to voluntarily utilize this air pollution control device to control the emissions of volatile organic compounds, a precursor to ozone formation. Under the permit, TXI will also be allowed to increase production on Kiln No 5 from 2.2Mt to 2.8Mt of cement clinker per year, and emission limits for the plant’s Kiln No 5 will be established that are significantly reduced from the limits originally sought by TXI.
For example, the maximum allowable emission rate for total hydrocarbons will be 83.48t per year, 519.16t per year less than the permit sought by TXI and proposed by the TCEQ technical staff. The total allowable emission rate of carbon monoxide will be 2190t per year, representing a 5552.77t per year decrease from the proposed permit. Emissions of total reduced sulfur will be 9.90 tons per year, a 55.8 ton per year reduction from the proposed permit.
TXI, a Dallas-based company, is a leading supplier of building materials, including cement, concrete and aggregate. With operations in six states, it is the largest producer of cement in Texas and a major producer in California. TXI is a major supplier of stone, sand, gravel and expanded shale and clay products, and one of the largest producers of bagged cement and concrete products in the Southwest.
