Ecocem’s US subsidiary Orcem Americas in planning row

Irish cement maker Ecocem's US subsidiary has been accused of attempting to influence the planning process in a city in the San Francisco Bay area where it wants to build a €45 million grinding mill.

Ecocem's US arm, Orcem Americas, is seeking permission for a $50 million (€45 million) grinding plant in Vallejo, close to San Francisco, in the group's first venture in the US. However, the town's residents are objecting to the proposal on environmental grounds.

The company last week found itself at the centre of a row over its involvement with an unofficial economic committee of Vallejo's city council that some local politicians and campaigners say could potentially breach California law.

Brown Act

Orcem is represented on the Mare Island Straits economic development committee, which is made up of local council members, state officials and private sector interests.

The Ecocem subsidiary's involvement in the committee, alongside the city's deputy mayor, Jess Malgapo, at a time when it was seeking permission to build its facility at a sensitive site in Vallejo, sparked anger amongst the project's opponents.

Some of them claim that its activities have potentially breached the Brown Act, a California law that guarantees the public’s right to attend and take part in meetings of local councils and legislative bodies.

However, the councillors involved, including Malgapo, deny the act was breached, saying that the committee was established to aid the city’s economic development and not to pass legislation.

Greenhouse gas

Orcem wants to build its “green cement” mill on a site in the city’s harbour. It will grind furnace slag from iron smelting that is then used as a component in cement. The process cuts greenhouse gas emissions from normal cement manufacture by 90 per cent.

Attempts to contact Ecocem for comment were not successful, however, its chief executive, Donal Ó Riain, has previously said it has been working on the Vallejo project for two years and has complied with local laws, including giving the public extra time to study its environmental impact report.

Locals fear the plant would bring 300 truck journeys a day through a residential neighbourhood.

They are also concerned that an already deprived neighbourhood would be most affected. The proposal must clear a series of planning hurdles before the council can give it the go-ahead.