Second lawsuit filed to block Ste. Genevieve cement plant

From news releases

ST. LOUIS - A coalition of environmental groups has filed another lawsuit seeking to block construction of a cement plant in northern Ste. Genevieve County.

The Webster Groves Nature Study Society, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Ozark Chapter of the Sierra Club and the American Bottom Conservancy filed the lawsuit against Holcim (US), which is planning to build the plant, and the Missouri Land Reclamation Commission, which in early August issued a permit allowing Holcim to quarry limestone on the site.

Earlier the same four groups filed a lawsuit challenging U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits that were issued to Holcim.

Holcim issued the following statement concerning the lawsuit.

"We have not seen the lawsuit, so we are not able to comment on the specifics of this litigation. However, we can tell you that the issuance of this (quarrying) permit should be upheld. It would appear that the plaintiffs in this case have, once again, completely ignored the numerous and very real steps that Holcim has taken to protect the environment.

"This litigation seems to be another attempt to delay and prevent Holcim's efforts to bring hundreds of good paying jobs and economic development to this region in an environmentally sound manner.

"Our permit application received a very thorough and exhaustive review by the state prior to issuance and the state determined that our land reclamation plan will meet or exceed their stringent environmental and land reclamation requirements.

"By way of background, the Land Reclamation Commission approved Holcim (US) Inc.'s application for a quarry permit expansion on August 12, 2003. The original permit has been issued in 2000. A public hearing was held earlier this year by the commission where Holcim introduced significant scientific evidence proving that the quarry will not adversely affect the safety or livelihood of any of our neighbors, which is the legal standard for approving a permit expansion application.

"As a condition of this permit expansion, Holcim will use proven land reclamation techniques to regularly restore land that has been quarried. Instead of reclaiming land only at the end of the quarry's life, our reclamation efforts will begin just 8-10 years after mining starts. This ongoing 'as you go' restoration process will ensure that no more than approximately 200 acres of land will be actively quarried at any one time.

"We will save topsoil and unused rock from quarrying operations in order to reuse it when reclamation begins and we will plant native vegetation and tree species. We will also recreate 3.2 miles of intermittent streams and introduce new upland ponds. Also, Holcim is committed to maintain a 2,200-acre buffer area of undisturbed land that will surround the proposed plant and quarry."

According to a news release from the four environmental groups:

"The permit for open-pit limestone mining would authorize Holcim to destroy approximately 1,600 acres of forest. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is still reviewing the air pollution impacts of the proposed cement plant and no permit to build the plant has been issued.

"The proposed quarry site is located in a biologically diverse area. This forest is home to the endangered Indiana bat, many species of migrating and breeding birds, salamanders and other wildlife. The steep rugged hillsides and the extensive watershed of streams that drain into Isle du Bois Creek and the Mississippi River would all be obliterated by Holcim's limestone mining activities."

The four organizations are represented by attorneys from the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic of the Washington University School of Law.