The future of the Port of Pensacola was in the balance…or we were told.
Dust Up Over CEMEX
By Duwayne Escobedo, published 3/17/06
In the doomsday thriller, “The Day After Tomorrow,” global warming melts Antarctica and plummets New York City and the rest of the planet into a new Ice Age.
In the doomsday thriller, “The Day After a Pensacola City Council Meeting,” hotheaded city decisions lead to a cement operation at the Port of Pensacola that submerges downtown in clouds of dust for the next 20 years.
At least in the dustups over global warming and the Pensacola port, some factions believe the catastrophic, apocalyptic events could happen.
But will they? The debate, at least, will rage on and on.
The latest port scuffle pits Pensacola leaders against each other over whether to allow Ready Mix USA to turn over its 20-year lease to ship and store cement to CEMEX.
Opponents of the cement operation and any other industrial uses at the port, for that matter, are raising questions about the environmental track record of CEMEX. The Monterrey, Mexico-based company is the largest cement producer in North America and the third largest in the world.
Tim Wright is an outspoken critic of CEMEX and the port’s marine cement distribution terminal.
“They’ve had environmental problems in other places they’re operating,” says Wright, Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition associate director. “We need to make sure we’re not jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.”
Enid Sisskin, Gulf Coast Environmental Defense’s legislative chairwoman, also urges caution about CEMEX.
“Our air in this part of the state is not that clean to begin with,” she says. “We shouldn’t put more pollutants into it. I have a good deal of concern about leasing to a company with so many environmental problems.”
Others argue, though, that the cement-dust-doomsday scenario is hogwash. They also laud the international conglomerate, which generated about $7.9 billion in revenues last year and recently purchased Britain’s RMC Group for $4.5 billion in cash.
Pensacola City Councilman Marty Donovan calls the deal a positive move for the local environment because of its expertise around the globe with about 60 marine cement distribution terminals and the economy by bringing low-cost concrete into the region following Hurricane Ivan.
“CEMEX is good news for the city and county,” he says. “Ready Mix is not really interested in importing. But CEMEX does this worldwide. We’re going to have the best in the world running this operation. They have a wonderful environmental track record.”
Ready Mix spent about $9 million on renovating a warehouse at the port to minimize dust leaving the site. The Department of Environmental Protection allows 11.71 tons a year in particulate emissions, including 7 tons a year in cement dust, and 67 tons a year in nitrous oxide emissions.
A scientist hired by the city, when Ready Mix took over the site, compared the emissions around the site to emissions on part of two Pensacola streets.
Many scientific studies have linked breathing particulate matter, like cement dust, with significant health problems, such as aggravated asthma, increased respiratory problems such as coughing and difficult or painful breathing, chronic bronchitis, decreased lung function and even premature death. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began regulating particulate matter in 1997.
Still, detractors of the port operation point to well-publicized pollution problems CEMEX experienced at cement plants in Lyons, Colo., and Charlevoix, Mich. CEMEX owns about a dozen cement plants across the United States and manufactures about 15 million tons of cement a year.
At the Colorado plant, a whistleblower came forward with a videotape in November 2003 to the alternative newspaper, Boulder Weekly.
For a decade, surrounding residents complained of corrosive cement dust wafting off the site into their homes and even ruining the paint jobs on their cars.
The videotape described by Boulder Weekly showed cement dust leaking from open doorways and conveyor belts and dust piles up to 4-feet deep.
Colorado regulators a year ago fined the company $282,000 for violations, including visible dust emissions in excess of state air pollution limits, incorrectly calculating particulate pollution from a variety of sources, and claims for two years to have a dust-control system on one of their buildings, which, in fact, was not working.
CEMEX hired an environmental compliance manager and made numerous upgrades to the cement plant.
At the Michigan cement plant, the EPA discovered in February 2003 the Mexican-based company violated Clean Air standards by not properly maintaining or operating their air pollution control devices and exceeding limits on opacity, which is the amount of light obscured by particulates.
City Councilman P.C. Wu says he finds the revelations alarming. Wu, along with city councilmen Mike Wiggins and Mike DeSorbo stopped the lease change over from going through last week and asked city staff to investigate CEMEX’s environmental record, including looking at West Palm Beach and Tampa Bay operations.
“The only reason they got caught in Colorado was because they had a whistleblower,” Wu says. “I want to see whomever we do business with is environmentally friendly. The environment is very important to me because we make so much of our money from tourism that it’s crucial we have clean air and clean water.”
CEMEX’s Frank Craddock tried to allay any council members’ and citizens’ fears at a recent city council meeting. He pointed out the Pensacola operation is a cement terminal and not a cement manufacturing plant like in Colorado and Michigan.
Craddock also said CEMEX’s two facilities on Olive Road have operated without problems for more than 12 years.
In fact, the most recent DEP inspection in 2003 at those terminals found no visible emissions. DEP inspector Blair Burleson wrote “Good Job!” in several areas and commends CEMEX for having a dust collector in place at the point where cement is loaded onto the trucks.
All eight of CEMEX’s facilities between Escambia and Okaloosa are in compliance with state regulations, the DEP reports.
Currently, the DEP is citing CEMEX for violations at its operations near Tampa Bay. But details about the violations, fines or corrective actions from the draft consent order were not available.
CEMEX has more than 15 years of experience operating both land and marine cement import terminals, and operates more than 60 marine terminals. The company staunchly defends itself against accusations of being a big polluter.
“We have an excellent environmental record at our marine terminals in the U.S.,” says Sarah Simpson, Director of Communications and Community Relations, in an e-mail. “CEMEX is committed to conducting its operations in full compliance will all local, state and federal requirements and to being a good neighbor in the communities in which we operate.”
The city council is expected to vote on Ready Mix assigning the lease to CEMEX at its first meeting in April. Under the lease, the city can only deny the change for a “reasonable” cause.
Donovan says there is no reason to deny CEMEX the lease, which it bought. Terms of the purchase are not being disclosed by Ready Mix or CEMEX.
“It baffles me that we’re bringing this up,” Donovan says. “It’s a non-issue. This could hurt the city’s business reputation.”
In its defense, CEMEX officials also argue that shipping and storing cement at the Pensacola Port will benefit the region’s and state’s economy.
Statewide, builders use about 9.2 million tons of cement each year, nearly twice Florida’s annual production. The state currently imports nearly 4 million tons of cement. Recent demand caused by an unprecedented four hurricanes hitting Florida last year, plus a building boom, have driven concrete costs up.
“It is important to point out that there is a growing need for building materials in Florida and cement is a key component of these materials,” CEMEX’s Simpson says. “We believe that this marine terminal is important to Florida’s local and state economy since it will be supplying the region with a much needed commodity.”
The operation could bring an estimated $228,000 to $1 million to the Port of Pensacola. Plus, the facility will pay local and state taxes. Marine terminals typically employ fewer than 10 people.
Wiggins says he hopes the council can come up with six votes to deny CEMEX the lease based on environmental concerns.
He still agonizes over a decision by the 10-member council in October 2002 to grant Ready Mix a port lease that doesn’t expire until 2023. Wiggins voted against the measure when Ready Mix officials pressured the council to approve the lease quickly or it would go elsewhere. Ready Mix hasn’t operated the facility since then, but reports it had planned to begin operations this spring.
Wiggins and other city leaders see industrial uses at the port keeping Pensacola from following the lead of other coastal cities and revamping its waterfront for commercial and residential uses.
The city’s “Port of Pensacola Business Strategic Analysis” issued in September recommended moving away from industrial uses at the port that first began in 1754.
“We have this big guy coming in here and there’s going to be more noise and more trucks, more dust and more problems,” Wiggins says. “I am just quite frankly disappointed with the lease going back to the deal with Ready Mix.”
Wright says besides environmental concerns, he too believes the operation could hinder development, such as the proposed $77 million Community Maritime Park and other downtown projects.
“It looks like we’re getting ready to start developing the Trillium property and a few 100 yards away will be a cement distribution plant running in plain view,” he says.
But Wiggins warns, if CEMEX does get the lease, they better watch out.
“If nothing else, hopefully they will realize we are keeping a very close eye on them and we will ensure that they meet all the environmental requirements,” he says.
WHO IS CEMEX?
Founded in 1906, CEMEX is one of the three largest cement companies in the world, with close to 83 million metric tons of production capacity. CEMEX has operations in 33 countries and trade relations with over 60 countries worldwide. In addition, the company is the world’s leading producer of white cement.
CEMEX’s U.S. operations take advantage of the country’s attractive, long-term opportunities and its close proximity to Mexico. CEMEX is the biggest cement producer in North America and the U.S. largest distributor of cement with a geographically diverse network of 13 cement manufacturing plants located in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas, and 54 land distribution centers and marine terminals. CEMEX also operates 90 ready-mix concrete plants and 23 aggregates facilities in the United States. The Monterrey, Mexico-based company has a manufacturing capacity of nearly 15 million tons of cement annually. In addition to cement, CEMEX USA makes and sells ready-mix concrete, concrete block, and aggregates.
CEMEX is headquartered in the United States in Houston and employs over 4,800 people nationwide.