Sierra Club Files Suit Against Lehigh For Permanente Creek Pollution

Club asks court to impose hefty fines and force Lehigh to stop discharging elevated levels of selenium and other toxins into creek that flows through Cupertino, Los Altos and Mountain View.

Accusing Lehigh Southwest Cement of dumping thousands of gallons of untreated wastewater containing dangerous toxins into Permanente Creek daily, the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit in federal court on Monday, asking that the company be forced to stop, as well as pay multi-millions in fines for violating the Clean Water Act. “After years of unchecked pollution, it’s time for Lehigh to clean up its act,” said Gary Latshaw of the club’s local Loma Prieta Chapter in a statement. “Its refusal to control its water pollution has no place in the heart of Silicon Valley. We intend to enforce the Clean Water Act to restore the health of this precious public stream in Santa Clara County.” The club contends that high levels of selenium and other toxins …

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Air Quality Workshop Set for Monday, Dec. 12

Draft rules proposed by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which may directly effect air quality in Cupertino, will be discussed at a public meeting at Monta Vista High School.

An upcoming public forum gives the community an opportunity to weigh in on air quality in Cupertino when the Bay Area Air Quality Management District hosts a workshop at Monta Vista High School Monday, Dec. 12 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Specifically the workshop is centered on draft Regulation 9, Rule 13 which concerns air emissions—nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and toxic air contaminants—from Portland cement manufacturing, as occurs at the Lehigh Southwest Cement plant just outside Cupertino. Portland cement is commonly referred to as a construction material used to create concrete. "Lehigh is the single largest source of NOx (nitrogen oxides) in the Bay Area that does not have a modern add-on control device," said Robert Cave, senior …

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Lehigh on Potential Health Risk Map, Not on EPA Watch List

A National Public Radio report Monday revealed the Environmental Protection Agency has been keeping a confidential list of serious or chronic violators. Lehigh Southwest Cement was not among 464 facilities on that list.

Editor's note as of Nov. 8, at 4 p.m.: The NPR report "Poisoned Places: Toxic Air, Neglected Communities" to which this Patch article refers, is a multi-faceted, complex story. This article refers to the first of a four-part series. The NPR map and the EPA watch list are separate. It's important to note that Lehigh Northeast is on the watch list, but not Lehigh Southwest. Additionally, the map contains data which NPR said it "relied on analysis of four datasets relating to sources of air pollution regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: the Clean Air Act watch list, the Air Facility System (AFS), the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and the Risk Screening Environmental Indicators model (RSEI)." Lehigh Southwest Cement was not …

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Sierra Club Threatens Suit Against Lehigh For Permanente Creek Pollution

Club alleges elevated levels of selenium and other toxins are threatening wildlife; will sue under Clean Water Act if discharges don't stop within 60 days.

Charging that Lehigh Southwest Cement is dumping elevated levels of selenium and other toxins into Permanente Creek and San Francisco Bay, the Sierra Club stepped into the legal fray against the company, saying it will sue under the Clean Water Act if discharges do not stop within 60 days. In one specific instance, the club said that Lehigh’s own documentation shows “that quarry pit wastewater that Lehigh discharges in the creek has been a staggering 16 times higher than Clean Water Act stream standards,” for certain toxins, according to a statement released Wednesday. The statement added that in popular Rancho San Antonio County Park, immediately downstream from the plant, pollution is “especially dangerous” where selenium concentrations …

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Living Fit

Is Your Brain Fat Enough? Why You Need Omega-3s

The health of your brain depends not only on how much (or little) fat you eat but on what kind of fat you eat.

Most people know that the foods they eat affects their body, but what they may not know is that the types of foods eaten may have even more of an influence on how the brain works—mood, motivation and mental performance are powerfully influenced by diet. The right food, or the natural neuro-chemicals that they contain, can enhance mental capabilities—help people concentrate, keep us motivated, magnify memory, reduce depression, defuse stress and, perhaps, even prevent brain aging. What is this magical food? Foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids. There are two major types of omega-3 fatty acids in our diets: One type is alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is found in some vegetable oils, such as soybean, canola and flaxseed, and in walnuts. …

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Lehigh Quarry Under Microscope for Possible Water Violations

State water board issues notice of violation for unpermitted discharges into Permanente Creek; Los Altos and Los Altos Hills continue scrutiny.

The Lehigh Southwest Cement quarry came under further scrutiny last week, in part after revelations that the company is possibly discharging millions of gallons of unpermitted water containing sediment and toxins into Permanente Creek and San Francisco Bay. Officials from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board were at the quarry outside Cupertino on Wednesday to study the situation, after having sent a notice of violation to Lehigh officials in February stating that the company is violating its storm drain permit and must apply for a more stringent permit.  On Tuesday the Los Altos City Council had voted to support further study by a joint committee with the Los Altos Hills City Council. Los Altos Mayor Ron Packard and Los …

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Two Major Opportunities For Public to Weigh in on Lehigh Cement Plant

A public hearing on Feb. 8 at the county level and a written comment period to the air quality district is now open until March 25 give residents a chance to voice opinions.

A chorus of voices has been raising questions in recent months about whether or not the Lehigh Southwest Cement Plant follows government-mandated rules, and now the public has two formal opportunities to chime in. The first opportunity is a long-awaited public hearing before the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors to determine a major land use issue at 1:30 p.m. next Tuesday, Feb. 8, in the board chambers at 70 W. Hedding St., San Jose. The second opportunity is through submitting written comments to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) by March 25 about the renewal of a permit that regulates air emissions coming from Lehigh's operations. Board of Supervisors to Determine “Vested Rights” The battle over the cement …

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Angry Residents Tell Council to Stand Up to Cement Plant, County

Cupertino City Council members say they have represented the public's interests when it comes to Lehigh Southwest Cement Plant and Quarry; residents disagree.

Editors note: A technical glitch caused some errors to be broadcast prematurely. Please forgive us for any misunderstandings. Some 150 residents packed into Cupertino City Council chambers Tuesday night demanding that the city's elected officials take a strong position against a nearby cement plant's proposal to dump quarried rock on its property. The council let them down. The quarry is in an unincorporated part of the county bordering Cupertino, and the final decision to allow Lehigh Southwest Cement Plant to put a rock pile on its 3,000 acre parcel rests with the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, which will decide on the matter in February.  Fearing that too tough a line with the county supervisors would backfire, the Cupertino …

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Gary E. Jones

4:58 pm on Monday, February 7, 2011

Thanks Se Park; I know the experience. Trying to surf the City's website to find a line item summary of the $3 million plus projected for the Stevens Creek Trail extension with no luck. The staff does a good job of posting stuff, it is probably me.   more ›