St Marys plant recognised for land stewardship activities

The St Marys Cement plant in Charlevoix, Michigan, received the Land Stewardship Award from the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and Cement Americas magazine as part of the 2014 Cement Industry Energy and Environment Awards. The Land Stewardship category recognises efforts to protect and enhance the surrounding environment. The plant was also a runner up in the Environmental Performance category, which acknowledges facilities that take steps beyond those contained in environmental laws, regulations, permits and requirements to minimise their impact on the environment.

In 2013, several St Marys outreach initiatives involved partnerships with the community on biodiversity conservation efforts. These included the US-31 Corridor Enhancement Project and the plant’s fourth eagle release. Other community related efforts include the Phragmites Removal Project and the Rails to Trails Project.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality granted St Marys Cement a permit in 2013, which allowed the plant to discontinue the use of Lake Michigan water for process noncontract cooling and consumptive needs, and instead use the plants own quarry dewatering water for these uses. This means that over a half a billion gallons of water will no longer be drawn from Lake Michigan on an annual basis. This project is expected to be completed by autumn 2014.

Additionally, in September 2013, St Marys Cement announced that the plant achieved recertification in all three ISO systems. It is one of very few plants that have all three ISO certifications. The plant was also the recipient of the 2013 Outstanding Partnership Award presented in December 2013.

Adapted from press release by Rosalie Starling

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/11092014/st-marys-plant-recognised-for-land-stewardship-activities-467/