RAVENA - As if in anticipation of tonight's public hearing on LaFarge Cement's plans in Ravena, as well as tomorrow's look-see on Phase 1 of an ongoing state Department of Health study of those plans, the Register Star this morning runs an unattributed piece on a national coalition of community environmental groups that has come together to support efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to clean up toxic air pollution from over 100 cement kilns atround the country, including those in the Hudson Valley. The story notes how the EPA estimates the pollution limits will avoid up to 2,500 premature deaths, prevent thousands of heart and respiratory incidents, and save billions of dollars in health costs every year starting in 2013 when the rules take effect... while the Portland Cement Association—an industry trade group representing 41 of the biggest cement companies in North America— is challenging the EPA’s protective rule.

Friends of Hudson, which came together to challenge growth plans by St. Lawrence Cement in Columbia County last decade, is prominently mentioned. St. Lawrence has since changed its name to Holcim.

“The Lafarge plant in Ravena has been operating for almost 50 years without the proposed emissions limits and has perpetrated the myth that it is perfectly safe and legal,” Susan Falzon of Friends of Hudson is quoted in the piece. “We’ll never know just how much damage has been done to the public health and the environment, but we know that without EPA limits these companies will continue to pollute with impunity and continue to expose the public to unnecessarily high levels of dangerous emissions.”

A public information meeting about proposed changes at the Lafarge plant will take place at the Ravena High School at 7:00 PM on December 8 and a legislative hearing is scheduled for January 20, 2011. Going forward, the DOH is seeking public input on the report and will hold public meetings. A public hearing on Phase 1 of the new DOH study takes place on Thursday, December 9, 2010 at 7 pm at the RCS High School Auditorium.

For the full story click HERE.