SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KCBS RADIO) – A cement plant in Santa Clara County is attracting attention after a recently released report found it has racked up thousands of violations over the years.
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The Lehigh Southwest Cement property in Cupertino has received more than 2,135 violations, according to a review of their operations ordered by Santa Clara County, resulting in millions of dollars in fines and penalties.
"It's a remnant of a long-ago day and frankly represents a continuing challenge," Supervisor Joe Simitian told KCBS Radio. "There are air quality issues, there are water quality issues, there are noise issues."
Through the review, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District found 37 violations with fines totaling $524,250; the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board found 809 violations with total penalties of $2.5 million; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found 3 enforcement actions with a total value of more than $8 million and the California Occupational Safety and Health found 20 non-deleted violations with a total of $161,640 in penalties.
While not all violations were serious, Simitian noted that more than 100 were, calling them "deeply disturbing."
He has proposed that the county purchase the property to use for housing or open space. "We're talking about 3,500 acres with a quarry and a cement plant literally cheek by jowl, right next door to open space on one side, residential development on the other," Simitian said.
Lehigh has paid millions in civil penalties and invested $12 million in pollution control technology. A company spokesman said they look forward to hearing the county's ideas for the property.
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