When LafargeHolcim – the parent of Aggregate Industries – shouts "The time for climate action is now!" it's obviously aimed at others, not itself:
US: The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has approved a request by Holcim US to use more petcoke at its integrated Midlothian plant. Local health and environmental campaigners had hoped to challenge the decision at a meeting in late March 2021, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper. The changes will enable the company, part of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim, to more than double the plant’s carbon monoxide (CO) emissions to 7000t/yr. 35 local residents submitted requests for a hearing to query the application. Holcim US was identified from state data as the leading emitter of industrial pollutants in North Texas in 2019.
More than a year of protests from Midlothian activists came down to a few minutes of discussion among state officials. The result was not what residents fighting cement pollution were hoping for. For @startelegram + @Report4America: https://t.co/0XcSD4gAZw
— Haley Samsel (@haley_samsel) April 6, 2021
Jane Williams, a long-time environmental activist who chairs the Sierra Club’s National Clean Air Team, said Midlothian Breathe’s predicament is not unique to Texas.“No matter what state you’re in, no matter what local jurisdiction you’re in, these cement plants are very savvy at getting local authorities to be friendly toward whatever they want to do. You’re really in a David v. Goliath battle from the beginning. You’re fighting not only the industry, but also usually the process of the state government.”
