The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has approved our plan to modernize the existing Lafarge Ravena plant. This is a critical and exciting step that will allow us to upgrade our operation, protect and create jobs, and further improve the overall environmental performance of the facility.

The DEC accepted Lafarge’s Final Environmental Impact Statement on July 9 and issued the permits on July 19.

We would like to thank the public, advocates, and community and business leaders for their widespread support throughout this effort.

Renovating the Ravena plant will make it the most advanced cement facility in New York State, and keep us competitive in the future. For three years we have worked weith the DEC and the community to make this
project the best that it can be.

In 2008, we submitted a proposal to replace our existing wet process cement kilns with a cleaner, more efficient, single dry process cement kiln, to the DEC.

The new process will reduce specific air emissions and add continuous monitoring systems, ensuring compliance with stringent emission limits. The dry kiln technology will also reduce fuel use and produce less solid waste, while using less water, and allowing zero wastewater discharges. Our new facility will be, simply put, even more efficient.

The modernization project is anticipated to protect the 180 existing union and non-union jobs at the Ravena plant, while creating nearly 800 additional temporary jobs during construction.

The new facility is scheduled for completion in 2014, following the formal approval of the project by the Lafarge North America Board of Directors.

The permit documents can be viewed here.

Hard copies of the documents are also available at the Coeyman’s, Stuyvesant, Chatham, Kinderhook, Schodack, and New Baltimore town halls and the Kinderhook Memorial, North Chatham Free, RCS Community, Chatham Public, and Valatie Free libraries.