SKOKIE, Ill. – The Portland Cement Association (PCA) and Cement Americas magazine recognized Lehigh Hanson, Inc., and its Lehigh Cement Company Union Bridge cement plant in Union Bridge, Md., with the Environmental Performance Award as part of the 2014 Cement Industry Energy & Environment Awards.  The award was presented at PCA’s Fall Meeting in Chicago.

Lehigh Hanson implemented a mercury reduction program at its Union Bridge plant as part of a voluntary effort to protect and enhance the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The program will help the plant meet new national emission regulatory limits.

In 2013, the Union Bridge plant reduced the amount of coal burned in the kiln and calciner with greenhouse gas neutral dried biosolids. The plant avoided using 57,000 metric tons of a naturally occurring fossil fuel and replaced it with a renewable biomass material.

Proposed in 2012 and completed in 2013, the Union Bridge plant experimented with using dried biosolids in the preheater tower as part of efforts to increase its use of alternative fuels. As a direct result, the Union Bridge plant nearly doubled the amount of fossil fuel avoided between 2012 and 2013.

The Environmental Performance Award honors facilities that take steps beyond those contained in environmental laws, regulations, permits and requirements to minimize their impact on the environment. The Union Bridge plant was also a runner up for the energy efficiency, innovation, land stewardship and overall environmental excellence categories.

The Energy & Environment Awards honor individual cement facilities that exemplify the spirit of continuous environmental improvement and support this spirit with action.  These plants go beyond government regulations and local laws to ensure that their processes contribute to making their communities better places to live and work.  Five categories are recognized:  outreach, environmental performance, land stewardship, innovation, and energy efficiency.  Additionally, PCA presents a special honor to a plant demonstrating excellence in multiple categories.

The award program was created in 2000 by the Portland Cement Association as part of its environment and energy strategic plan for the U.S. cement industry. The awards honor activities conducted during the previous calendar year, and the program is open to any cement manufacturing plant in North America. Judges for the 2014 awards Program included representatives from U.S. EPA-ENERGY STAR, Wildlife Habitat Council, U.S. Geological Survey, World Wildlife Fund, and Cement Americas.

About PCA
Based in Washington, D.C., with offices in Skokie, Ill., the Portland Cement Association represents cement companies in the United States. It conducts market development, engineering, research, education, and public affairs programs. More information on PCA programs is available at www.cement.org.