Cement plant sues EPA over mercury levels

BAKER CITY, Ore. (AP) — A Baker County cement company is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency after the agency declined to create a special category of mercury emission rules that could keep the facility operational.

The Baker City Herald reports that the Ash Grove Cement Co. has asked county officials and Baker City to support its suit.

The limestone quarries that Ash Grove uses contain more mercury than is typical of that type of rock. That means the plant, in Durkee, releases more mercury than most other cement plants.

The EPA says the plant is the second-largest source of airborne mercury in the country.

Ash Grove has installed equipment that removes about 90 percent of the mercury from the factory, but that’s lower than the EPA requirement by about 5 percent.

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Information from: Baker City Herald, http://www.bakercityherald.com/