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By Keith Matheny --

As global cement manufacturing giant Holcim considers carving out its North American operations for a $30 billion initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, some environmental groups are seizing the moment as an opportunity to push the company to improve on its environmental record. And Holcim's vast cement plant in Alpena, and its repeated history of air and water pollution violations, are a central talking point in their argument.

The Holcim Alpena plant, on the shores of northern Lake Huron in the northeast Lower Peninsula, can produce up to 2.7 million tons of cement annually, making it one of North America's largest cement-producing facilities. The company on its website touts that the plant's cement has been used in construction of Michigan roads, schools, hospitals and high-profile infrastructure projects including the Gordie Howe International Bridge, Little Caesars Arena, Ford Field and Comerica Park.

But the Alpena plant for years been considered in "High Priority Violation" of the federal Clean Air Act and in "Significant/Category 1 Noncompliance" with the federal Clean Water Act, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — the most serious levels of violations in EPA databases.

Mercury, arsenic and aluminum in the water

A Free Press review of Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy records showed Holcim's Alpena plant has received more than 20 air pollution rules violation notices since 2015, including exceedances for carbon monoxide and particulate matter, and repeated instances where required continual emissions monitoring did not occur for extended periods of time.

The Alpena facility has also in recent years exceeded allowed limits of mercury in its effluent, wastewater that ultimately reaches Lake Huron. The facility was in significant noncompliance on total mercury from one of its effluent outfalls from 2016 until returning to allowed limits in March of this year.

A March 2017 EGLE sampling of surface water near Holcim Alpena's Wessel Road Quarry found excessive mercury, arsenic and other potentially harmful metals in all samples. One water sample had mercury at 428 micrograms per liter — nearly 86 times the allowed regulatory limit of 5 micrograms per liter. Aluminum readings in the same water sample were at 9,700 micrograms per liter, some 194 times the regulatory limit.

Repeatedly, the record shows that EGLE will issue Holcim a violation notice, requiring the facility to correct the violation, a corrective action will be taken only for another violation to arise.

"Enforcement has been really, really lax with this facility, and it's impacting the Great Lakes," said Ashley Rudzinski, climate and environment program director for the Traverse City-based nonprofit Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities.

"They dewater the Alpena quarry right into Thunder Bay. This is a major impact for all of the Great Lakes, because mercury pollution obviously impacts our fisheries and our public health."

Holcim statement: 'Committed' to environmental compliance

Holcim did not provide answers to specific Free Press questions related to persistent environmental violations at its Alpena plant, instead providing an emailed statement:

"At Holcim, we take our responsibility as an environmental steward very seriously and are committed to ensuring compliance with all environmental regulations, working closely with regulatory authorities to address and correct any issues that arise," Holcim vice president of marketing and communications Jocelyn Gerst stated.

"Protecting the environment is at the core of Holcim’s sustainability strategy and overall growth. We are dedicated to decarbonizing our industry and leading the transition to clean construction in North America, collaborating across the public and private sectors to meet growing customer demand for sustainable building solutions. From our broad range of low-carbon cement and concrete to our investments in clean-energy startups like Sublime Systems, which will enable near-zero emission cement production, we are driving innovative ways to lower our carbon footprint to enable and achieve a net-zero future."

Holcim on its website said last year that it had invested more than $100 million in "eco-friendly technologies" at the Alpena plant in the last 15 years.

A cement plant has operated at or near the Holcim site in Alpena since 1907 and has long been one of the rural area's largest employers. Holcim merged with LaFarge, the Alpena facility's most recent prior owner, in a global merger completed in 2015.

Holcim in June 2023 announced a state-supported plan to convert 22,000 tons of scrap tires per year into fuel for two of its five kilns, about 10% of the Alpena factory's thermal energy needs. A $3 million EGLE grant helped facilitate the partnership. Scrap tires' heating value is 25-50% higher than coal and 100-200% higher than wood, according to the EPA.

"State and Federal studies have repeatedly shown that using tires to generate energy is environmentally sound when used in appropriate applications that ensure complete combustion, have proper air pollution controls in place, and conduct all required testing, monitoring, and other regulatory requirements," EPA officials state on their website.

Campaign pressures Holcim and the industry to decarbonize

Industrious Labs, a U.S.-based environmental nonprofit seeking decarbonization of heavy industry, has highlighted Holcim in anticipation of the initial stock offering for its spun-off North American operations. It's part of Industrious Labs' "Concrete Change" campaign to push for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the sector. Their reports cite environmental concerns at Holcim facilities throughout the U.S., including in Alpena.

Denise Keele is executive director of the nonprofit Michigan Climate Action Network, which is participating in the campaign.

"We know that the market, that regulations, are all moving toward a climate-regulated world," she said. "And businesses want this; all the Googles and Amazons have carbon neutrality commitments. They've got to ship stuff. They've got to build stuff. They need their supply chain to be just as carbon-neutral.

"So I think this move is really going to put pressure on (Holcim) not just from advocacy groups but from really the entire marketplace."

Rudzinski said the groups want Holcim to commit that at least one of its flagship plants in the U.S. be net-zero on carbon emissions by 2030, and that the company operate no higher-polluting so-called "wet kiln" cement plants in North America by 2035.

The environmental groups further seek to have Holcim pledge to reach a carbon emissions target of 420 kilograms per ton of cement produced in North America. Globally, Holcim's direct emissions intensity was reported at 545 kilograms of carbon dioxide per ton of cement last year. But in 2021, the most recent available information for U.S. factories, Holcim's emissions intensity was 880 kilograms per ton.

"They are one of the largest cement producers in the United States," Rudzinski said. "We want them to make some tangible commitments to reducing their carbon emissions, and we want them to clean up their legacy pollution in this area."

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This article first appeared at Detroit Free Press.