Hawkeye Reporter

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fined an Iowa cement manufacturer for allegedly violating the Clean Air Act.

Lehigh Cement Co., an Iowa-based company, was fined $197,500 by EPA for alleged Clean Air Act violations, according to the Des Moines Register.

The EPA alleges that the company failed to comply with state as well as federal regulations that limit the amount of harmful releases of air pollutants.

EPA stated that Lehigh Cement is a major air emission source and determined that the air pollution by the company affected nearby overburdened communities, according to a press release by the EPA. The allegations followed an EPA review of Lehigh Cement records for 2019 and 2020 which showed that the company exceeded Clean Air Act emissions thresholds, failed to submit required reports to the state and failed to conduct required testing of equipment.

Lehigh Cement Company will be required to conduct additional air emissions testing to demonstrate compliance with the Clean Air Act, according to the terms of settlement with the EPA.

"Reducing air pollution from the largest sources of emissions, including cement manufacturing plants, is a top priority for EPA," according to a press release from the EPA. "Cement plants are the third largest industrial source of air pollution, emitting more than 500,000 tons per year of pollutants, including particulate matter."