Major cement maker awaits permits

Holcim says committed for long-term

By Jim Obert

Business Today

STE. GENEVIEVE -- Holcim (US) Inc., one of the nation's largest cement manufacturers, and until last month known as Holnam Cement Co., insists it will build a $600 million cement plant that will create 1,000 construction jobs and 200 full-time jobs with a $10 million annual payroll.

Several years ago, the company announced its plans to build the cement plant at Lee Island in northeast Ste. Genevieve County. Company officials began the process of applying for permits.

Mike Mullin, director of government affairs and communications for Holcim, said once the permitting process is complete it would take about 30 months to build the plant.

Mullin said there is organized opposition to the plan, and groups continue to contest the issuance of permits. He said the company is prepared for a protracted permitting process.

"We are trying to bring balance between economic and environmental issues," said Mullin. "This project epitomizes our commitment to that."

Mullin said that once the project gets started there will be an economic jump that will be important to the area that will include several hundred spin-off jobs.

Holcim (US) bought 3,900 acres, and about 2,200 acres will be left in a natural state to serve as a buffer zone, according to Mullin. He said about 200 acres would be quarried at any time, and ongoing land reclamation will return mined areas to a near natural state.

Mullin said years of research went into selecting the site. He said the high-quality limestone there will result in a clean manufacturing process and emissions from the facility will comply with air quality standards applicable to both the Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis areas.

Also, the site has easy access to the Mississippi River, making it possible to transport 80 percent of the product on the waterways, which is reportedly the most environmentally efficient means.

Mullin said the Army Corps of Engineers is reviewing all the studies the company has produced for them. Holcim would need to build a harbor at the site.

The company also contacted the federal Fish and Wildlife Service when it learned that two species of endangered bats -- Gray bats and Indiana bats -- were reputed to be in the area.

Ken Fields, senior vice president for the St. Louis-based public relations firm Fleishman/Hillard, said Holcim looked into the bats issue and found that they were on Holcim-owned property.

"The bats were found to be living in the 2,200-acre buffer zone," said Fields. "That's the only place we found them roosting and that area will remain untouched."

Fields said a group of activists opposed to the plant have established a Web site called stopholnam.com. Sponsored by the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, the site makes unproven claims and misleading statements.

"We have responded to some issues raised on that Web site," said Fields. "We're presenting facts so all sides of the story can be told."

Mullin said the plant, which would produce about 4 million tons of limestone annually, will have high-tech emission-control technology. He said all raw materials, finished product and fuel will be under cover. There will be no "fugitive" dust.

"When you build something like this, you have to think long-term environmental," said Mullin. "But we can't do anything without the permits."

Mullin said the company is talking to environmental groups, labor unions, business organizations and community groups, as well as state and federal agencies. He said a local citizen advisory committee will be in regular contact with the company.

"We are committed to the project ... we're in it for the long-term," said Mullin. "This is about economic growth for the region and minimizing environmental impact. We expect the permits to happen."

A 2 1/2-mile access road from Highway 61 has been built to the site. Mullin said individuals and groups are welcome to tour the site.