CEMEX is a Global 2000 Mexican multinational materials company. They manufacture and distribute cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates in 50 countries. The CEMEX Lyons plant produces Portland cement, which is the main basic ingredient of ready-mix concrete.

Cement is largely produced from combining limestone, shale, and silica from local mines & quarries; the Dowe Flats mine adjacent to the CEMEX Lyons plant is where the majority of the plant’s raw materials were sourced from until 2022, when its permit expired. Materials are now being trucked in from various facilities up to 90 miles away. To combine the ingredients, the plant burns coal (approximately 7 tons per day), and heats a kiln to >2300 deg F.

Not really. Cement is a commodity and is easily transported via cement terminals located throughout the country. 13 US states don’t have any cement plants and get cement easily at competitive prices; Colorado is home to 3 cement plants. Colorado also produces a surplus of cement, and is a NET EXPORTER. Research shows that Colorado ships out about 10% of our state's total production, and the CEMEX Lyons plant is a small operator (permitted with 1960s air quality standards) that only produces somewhere in the neighborhood of 10% of our state's cement, so it's a bit of a wash. Industry experts have indicated that Colorado’s other two cement plants could easily absorb what CEMEX Lyons produces (at a much lower carbon footprint).

CEMEX was built in 1969 and granted a nonconforming use within the Boulder County Land Use Code when the code was adopted in 1994. An un-permitted $10.3M expansion, additional new and un-permitted structures, and 230 new truck trips per day in and out of the facility are all events that warrant termination of their nonconforming status.

CEMEX is also subject to the Clean Air Act, and their past 25 years of inspection reports include a cover page that clearly states they are not in compliance, along with hundreds, if not thousands, of violations.

The Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety mandates that reclamation bonds must be up-to-date at all times, reflecting the current cost estimates for site remediation. This ensures that sufficient funds are available to restore the land to a safe and usable state if the operating company fails to do so, as the burden would then fall on taxpayers. CEMEX’s $8.9 Million reclamation bond had not been materially updated in 20 years; we estimate that the conservative cost to reclaim the land is $30-40M.

CEMEX Lyons is the #1 polluter in Boulder County, emitting 357,000 tons of CO2 per year per the EPA.

For context, Boulder County’s #2 polluter (the CU Power Plant) only emits 55,000 tons of CO2 per year.

The plant was also subject to a $1 million settlement with DOJ and EPA for Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions, a result from a $10.3M expansion project conducted from 1997-2000, in 2013.

The short answer is that their 25-year Special Use Permit expired and the Boulder County Commissioners denied their application for 15 more years of mining, largely citing the lack of the required Environmental Impact Study that should have accompanied the application. Cemex had the opportunity to appeal their decision and/or submit a new application, but has opted to do neither.

Well, we don’t think so. Cemex’s 100%+ increase in truck traffic (230 new trips per day) is a violation of their non-conforming status within the Boulder County Land Use Code, which means it should be terminated.