Chemical Lime Co. Calera, Alabama Consent Order from ADEM Public Notice June 23, 2010

PUBLIC NOTICE - 350

Alabama Department of Environmental Management

P O Box 301463 (Zip 36130-1463)

1400 Coliseum Boulevard (Zip 36110-2059)

Montgomery, Alabama

PROPOSED CONSENT ORDER

SHELBY COUNTY

Pursuant to the provisions of the Alabama Environmental Management Act, Ala. Code §§22-22A-1 to 22-22A-16 (2006 Rplc. Vol.), the Alabama Department of Environmental Management is proposing to issue a Consent Order to Chemical Lime Company (CLC), the owner/operator of the CLC O’Neal Plant, a lime manufacturing plant located in Calera, Alabama.

The order references three instances in which measured particulate matter (PM) emissions exceeded the allowable PM emissions rate for Kiln No. 1.

The Department is proposing a civil penalty in the amount of $120,000.00. The order, if issued, would require Chemical Lime Company to maintain compliance with the permitted PM emissions limits.

Interested persons may submit written comments, including request for a hearing, within 30 days of the publication date of this notice, to:

Alabama Department of Environmental Management

Attention: Ronald W. Gore, Chief of the Air Division

P.O. Box 301463

Montgomery, Alabama 36130-1463

The comment period shall end at the close of business 30 days from the publication date of this notice. A copy of the proposed order is available on the ADEM web page at adem.alabama.gov or may be obtained by written request to the above address. A nominal fee for copying may be charged.

This notice is hereby given June 23, 2010, by authorization of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

Lance R. LeFleur

Director

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Let's talk about where this PUBLIC NOTICE was not found; conspicuously placed in the Shelby County Reporter newspaper, which would really allowed "interested persons" to take ADEMs "new director" Mr. LeFleur, up on his invitation to comment and to request a hearing.

Kind of defies the meaning of PUBLIC NOTICE does it not? Perhaps ADEM should qualify their definition of a PUBLIC NOTICE to really mean one you have to go and find only if you know where and when to look for it.

Now, with three days left before "time is up" according to ADEM, the chances to be heard are slim. We would like to ask the Shelby County Reporter why this was not published in their PUBLIC newspaper, so the local PUBLIC who it serves and that lives in that area of the county could have input on this?

Stephen Bradley lobbies for Chemical Lime, and was instrumental in getting them into Calera as their PR man, so perhaps he can tell the citizens of Calera why they were not informed of this PUBLIC NOTICE, since it is his client, and he had such high regard for the citizens and officials of Calera when he needed them to go along with the project.

Maybe he is too busy coming up with additional excuses as to why the 7,000,000.00 "World Class Sports Complex" has still not been built which Chemical Lime "promised" Calera.
SCRJuly2008SportsComplexDelayed 

In exchange for a favorable zoning ordinance of course.

We don't know why, but something about that "contract zoning" sounds vaguely familiar...Vincent, Alabama and WRQ maybe?

Some say that at times the "real story" is in the reader's comments sections, what the heck, let's see what the comments were on the above story shall we?

Posted by packing on August 1, 2008 at 10:45 p.m. 

Is this the Bradley that is not a Chemical Lime employee?
Is this the Edwards that works for Calera some, sells real estate some, found money to run for Commissioner some and sold certain properties to Chemical Lime but not others?   Just curious.   And by the way, since the land is now rezoned high-value commercial instead of farm land, how much more taxes is Chemical Lime paying Calera and Shelby County than when the property was zoned farm land?  Just curious.  Anybody know how much added revenue from the taxes for the land being valued as quarries now?   I don't know the answers to any of this, but I do wonder and article didn't say.

Posted by packing on August 1, 2008 at 11:01 p.m. 

Since Chemical Lime has been able to retain the $7 million for let's say a year and you picked a number, say a small one like you wouldn't get at the bank, maybe 2% what would that work out to for every year you could retain $7 million?  And what would it have worked out to if you used a realistic number, say like the prime rate or 5%?  2% rate gives you about $140,000 ($137,000), while just the prime rate of 5% would have been $350,000.  The longer you delay paying, the closer, business wise, it comes to not costing you a thing.  Or am I wrong in the way I'm thinking about average hard working person vs government vs deals vs big business?

A few more citizen opinions from March 2007:

SCRLettersToTheEditorChemicalLime