The EPA and DOJ announced in a press conference in Washington D.C. on Jan. 21, 2010 some details about a settlement with St. Gobain Containers Inc. and Lafarge Co. that could have major impacts on American industry.

The settlement impacts 15 Gobain glass container-manufacturing plants and 13 Lafarge cement plants. During a routine federal inspection, it was noted that some of the plants had failed to properly comply with New Source Review regulations to install Best Available Control Technology (BACT) emission control systems. Some of the other were grandfathered. The settlement requires both companies to install Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems in every plant the two companies own. The EPA considered this technology to meet BACT requirements to control SO₂, NO_X and PM emissions.

The use of SCR technology will be the first use of such technology in the glass manufacturing industry and the cement manufacturing industry. The actions establish two very important precedents. One, it establishes SCR control systems as BACT for these industries at this point in time. Secondly, it establishes that grandfathered plants can no longer be considered untouchable.

Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno said, “It should be noted that business as usual is no longer acceptable.” When asked what other industries were being investigated, she responded that the DOJ’s policy is not to discuss any ongoing investigations.

Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance was also in attendance and mentioned the agency had previously reached agreement with three power generation companies and were working with others. While she would not be specific, she did hint that their investigations with other industries were an ongoing as outlined in Administrator Lisa Jackson’s earlier memorandum about environmental enforcement.

Industry has officially been put on notice that the agency is upping its enforcement of environmental rules and regulations.