A controversial Santa Clara County cement plant has accumulated more than 2,100 violations from different regulatory agencies over the past decade, according to a new report.
Supervisor Joe Simitian recently announced the county has compiled the first comprehensive list of all local, state and federal violations that took place at the Lehigh Southwest Cement property between Jan. 1, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2021. The company was fined more than $12.7 million over the past decade for alleged violations, including the discharging of wastewater and excess emissions that increased air pollution.
The Lehigh plant—also referred to as the Lehigh Permanente Quarry and Cement Plant—sits on 3,510 acres spanning unincorporated Santa Clara County, Cupertino and Palo Alto. It’s the only major cement producer in the Bay Area.
Lehigh, which has had a permit to operate since 1939, applied with the county in 2019 to expand mining operations in the surrounding hillsides. This upset local environmental advocates and residents who for years have expressed concerns about soil erosion, emissions and noise pollution caused by company trucks traveling to and from the plant. Lehigh’s application triggered an environmental review, which is on hold as the company makes revisions.
Simitian requested the county compile a complete record of violations at the plant earlier this year, saying it’s important for residents to have a “one-stop shop” to find information about violations imposed on Lehigh by the 14 local, county, state and federal regulatory oversight agencies. Most of the violations and citations stem from the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, the U.S. Mining Safety and Health Administration and the Bay Area Air Quality Management Board.
Simitian noted more than 100 serious violations were documented in the report.
“I can only conclude that if this record of violations is simply considered to be the cost of doing business, then we can’t afford to have these uses continue for another decade,” Simitian said in a statement.
He added Lehigh was not forthcoming with information requested by the county and questioned whether the company’s lack of cooperation constitutes a violation of the county’s 2012 reclamation plan for the site.
Lehigh spokesperson Jeff Sieg told San José Spotlight the company is committed to operating in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. He said the company disagrees with the characterization that Lehigh has not been transparent or worked with the county to address concerns of non-compliance.
“The narrative provided by the county unfortunately misrepresents the true compliance status at the facility and does not accurately reflect the dedicated efforts of our employees who work in good faith to ensure compliance at the site every day,” Sieg said.
Cupertino Mayor Darcy Paul said it’s good to have all the violations consolidated in one report, but he isn’t surprised by the findings.
“There have been concerns over the years that not all those (environmental) requirements have been met in a particularly positive manner,” Paul told San José Spotlight, adding it’s not practical to have a heavy mining operation near densely populated cities.
Paul said his constituents want to restore the site’s natural environment—a plan Simitian discussed earlier this year when he floated the idea of the county acquiring the plant.
He acknowledged closing the plant would potentially force local construction projects to import cement from sites outside the region, which may not be an environmentally friendly process. He said regional leaders could address this problem by building rapid transit to move materials.
Brian Schmidt, policy and advocacy director at environmental advocacy organization Green Foothills, said it’s alarming that even with the report, residents still don’t know the full history of environmental violations at the cement plant.
“It’s important to note that this is just the last 10 years—this quarry and plant has been operating for decades,” Schmidt told San José Spotlight. “Who knows what else has gone on there at the property, this is not the sum of everything.”
Schmidt is excited about the prospect of at least partially restoring the site to a natural state, noting it would be one of the largest open space reclamation projects in the South Bay.
“We’re definitely following it closely, and I think it could be an important environmental campaign,” he said.
Contact Eli Wolfe at [email protected] or @EliWolfe4 on Twitter.
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I wonder what Supervisor Simitian’s position is on Star Cement Company located in San Jose.? As a resident of Spartan Keyes downtown this cement company drives up and down S. 7th Street in my neighborhood and many of the residents wish they would use a different route. Please note S. 7th Street has older homes and is a residential street. The cement plant creates tons of dust and the pollution from the cement trucks impacts our health and is damaging the roads and homes nearby. In addition, S. 7th Street is a truck route and some of the trucks that travel this street create noise from their braking systems and pollution noise. Years ago we had a noise study done for our neighborhood and it exceeded standards. Just something to think about since we are discussing noise and pollution.
You read my mind. I would love to see a violation comparison of the two operations. While we’re at it, add in the Central Concrete Supply Co. on Stockton Ave and Graniterock near Capitol Drive Ins.
It’s a wonder that the Lehigh operation located in ritzy Cupertino and Los Altos Hills gets all the headlines.
The San Jose Star plant is a concrete mixing plant that makes concrete that is transported in its concrete mixing trucks that have a large spinning drum. Concrete consists of aggregates (sand and rock), water, air, and a small amount of cement (the glue that holds it all together). I suggest that you take your concerns to the City of San Jose and to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD). Recently, the City of San Francisco shut down a Bayview-Hunters Point concrete mixing plant which did not have a valid operating permit from BAAQMD (it was in the news in March 2022). It took a long time for the residents to get some relief there and I hope you do too. It should be possible to run these plants without being so impactful.
The Lehigh cement plant in unincorporated Cupertino makes cement. It is very different from a concrete mixing plant. Cement is a small fraction of concrete. There are 8 cement plants in California and the plant here has not operated for over two years. 16 U.S. states have no cement plant including Alaska, Hawaii, and Louisiana. To make cement, limestone that is mined onsite is mixed with imported materials and cooked in a high-temperature kiln that is fueled by petroleum coke. According to California Air Resources Board data, Lehigh has been a top-ten polluter for Sulfur Oxides, Hydrochloric Acid, Particulate Matter, Nitrogen Oxides, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), and Hexavalent Chromium. Years ago, residents were outraged when BAAQMD allowed the plant to burn tires as fuel without notifying or seeking input from the community.
It is murder central out there too. Shut that hell hole down. https://www.sfgate.com/crime/amp/Chilling-details-of-Cupertino-quarry-killings-2327910.php
Our air is cleaner than it was 40 years ago. If you don’t care for our air, leave. There are plenty of dirtier places to live.
This is just like Reid-Hillview Airport.
The County is taking the correct steps.
I wonder how many violations can be found at Reid Airport. Maybe Joe Simitian should be our representative.
What an absurd witch hunt. Regulate the company out of business so that politicians can achieve feel good goals, meanwhile development and construction needed to solve the regions ACTUAL ISSUES becomes even more prohibitively expensive. You morons encouraging this sort of NIMBY crap are responsible for destroying the bay area
Correction, This is just like Reid-Hillview Airport, rampant city development wins and the City wants them GONE!
I am SURE San Jose Airport’s planes all use unleaded fuel and the ground has not been polluted over the years its been there! I want them shut down! 🙂
Hi Rhoda Fry and thank you for your comments. Unfortunately, our City doesn’t care and in fact with the help of the Teamsters Union we stopped the expansion of the plant. Long story but our Mayor Liccardo was not happy that we did and after years of complaining about the heavy truck traffic and he knew about the complaints he and the council approved S. 7th Street as a truck route. We have contacted the air quality board but it is so hard and expensive to get anyone to. act. I worked with Nora Campos husband(forget his name) otherwise they would of expanded and it would be worse. The union paid the lawyer fees.
We don’t need the lung cancer causing cement plant tearing up our hills.
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