VICTORVILLE--Desert air quality will improve as a result of the largest settlement in the federal EPA’s cement kiln enforcement initiative.

CEMEX has agreed to stringent new limits for nitrogen oxide emitted by its Victorville plant, one of the largest cement plants in the nation.

The EPA had claimed that within a 4-year period, CEMEX twice expanded the plant’s capacity without regulatory permits.

CEMEX will pay a $2 million civil penalty and reduce emissions by 40 percent. That accounts for about 2,000 tons a year of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide.

Story Date: January 20, 2009