Lafarge Cement Plant

Spring 2019 -  We received a response to our formal statement of concern for Lafarge’s Low Carbon Fuel project.  Lafarge’s response generally answered our questions and they have agreed to meaningful continuous improvement as part of the 2019 permit renewal process.  Based on this, BVCAS withdrew our formal statement of concern. 

In February 2019, Lafarge announced they were successful in receiving a grant for $10 million from Emissions Reductions Alberta for their Low Carbon Fuel Project.  Our review of all of the projects that received funding from the Alberta government ranks the Lafarge Low Carbon Project as one of the lowest cost per tonne projects that the government funded (estimated at less than about $10/tonne).  This would indicate that the Lafarge project is one of the better candidates to invest in low carbon technology.

Lafarge has created a “Project Advisory Committee” which includes BVCAS along with other environmental groups, researchers, government and municipality representatives. The Project Advisory Committee is tasked with reviewing low carbon fuel alternatives for the plant. We feel that this is a worthwhile effort for BVCAS given that Lafarge Exshaw is ranking the 52^nd largest industrial emitter in Canada while burning natural gas (emissions data from the Canadian government's GHG reporting program).  If Lafarge were to burn coal, we estimate that the Exshaw plant would be the 26^th largest industrial emitter. 

Baymag

Winter 2020 - Baymag has made an application to expand their plant by about 25%.  BVCAS submitted a formal Statement of Concern and had subsequent meetings with Baymag to try to address the following:  Baymag is not willing to demonstrate any effort to reduce or offset the GHG's from the expansion; Baymag has not proposed any measureable signficant 'continuous improvment' over current operations; Baymag is still predicting exceedance of certain air quality guidelines (albeit those exceedances are caused by all industrial activities) and Baymag has not accounted for air emissions from the TransCanada highway or the railway.  Unfortunately, we have not been able resolve these issues and have not withdrawn our Statement of Concern.  Spring 2020 Update - Alberta Envrionmental has approved the Baymag expansion with many of our concerns still outstanding.  Standby for follow-up action.

Baymag Exshaw is the 243^th largest emitter according to the Canadian government's GHG reporting program.

Graymont

Fall 2020 -  Early in 2016, BVCAS submitted a formal "statement of concern" in regards to Graymont’s application for an Ore Sorter Project.  The ore sorter project will result in a slight increase in emissions of particulates.  BVCAS’s position was that (1) any increase, even small, is not consistent with Alberta Environment’s continuous improvement policy and (2) if the emissions increase are so small, surely Graymont can do something equally as small to ensure that the emissions do not increase.  In follow-up meetings with Graymont, Graymont committed to studying and then implementing best available technology (likely a filter baghouse or better) for dust control on Kiln 1 (Kiln 2 already has a baghouse).  As a result of this commitment and after confirming that this commitment had been written into the draft approval for the project, BVCAS removed our "statement of concern".

Update Fall 2020:  we have seen an outlline of Graymont's permit renewal application for 2021 and it shows that the wet scrubber on Kiln 1 is being replaced with a baghouse and that a continuous PM monitor is being installed along with some smaller baghouses.  This is good news. We will review their application once received with regard to modeled excedances and CO2 emissions

Graymont Exshaw is the 244^th largest emitter according to the Canadian government's GHG reporting program.