The McInnis cement plant, which boasted last week of being a “pioneer in respecting environmental standards”, has been accumulating breaches and fines for two years.
“Since we acquired the plant, we have strived to make it a model of environmental excellence,” said Jorge Wagner, CEO of Ciment St. Marys, last Wednesday in a press release to mark the 3 years of the acquisition. of the factory by this subsidiary of the Brazilian giant Votorantim.
However, between the 1er April 2022 and March 31, 2024, the Port-Daniel–Gascons cement plant, in Gaspésie, received 33 notices of non-compliance from the Ministry of the Environment, our Investigation Office noted after carrying out a request for access to information.
In addition, the cement plant and a subcontractor received $37,000 in fines and sanctions in 2023 and 2024 alone.
The St. Marys Cement plant, which is the largest emitter of GHGs in Quebec, is also currently the subject of two investigations by the ministry for environmental breaches.
“Not at all exemplary”
“They are not at all exemplary at the environmental level,” says the spokesperson for Environnement Vert Plus, Pascal Bergeron, who has been following the cement plant file from the start.
Even recently, in January 2024, St. Marys Cement received a notice of non-compliance for not having immediately notified the ministry of another dust spill that occurred on August 7, 2023.
St. Marys Cement did not want to grant us an interview. “The subcontractor responsible for the marine terminal operations did not notify us properly. We have now internalized these operations,” the firm explained in writing via public relations firm NATIONAL.
She received another notice for iron dust releases in April of the same year.
The company argues that the numerous notices of non-compliance it has received recently “are mainly of an administrative nature”.
Sticky dust
The newspaper was able to speak in recent days with two residents of Port-Daniel, who live not far from the factory. They asked us not to identify them for fear of reprisals.
According to them, there are still episodes of sticky dust near the factory, the most recent having been observed in May. However, the frequency of these incidents has reportedly decreased recently.
Remember that the company is the subject of a ministry order, issued in September 2022, to force it to respect standards and stop spitting sticky dust into the air.
“The vast majority of corrective measures were implemented in 2023 and the completed work was inspected by the MELCCFP. The rest of the work was completed in 2024 and the independent expert’s certificate has now been sent to the ministry,” explained the company.
– With the collaboration of Annabelle Blais
Carbon neutral by 2050?
The factory that emits the most GHGs in Quebec wants to be carbon neutral by 2050, but this vision raises doubts from the organization Environnement Vert Plus.
“It is the biggest polluter in Quebec. The road map to achieve carbon neutrality is not there yet,” believes its spokesperson Pascal Bergeron.
St. Marys Cement says it has invested $80 million over three years to maintain and improve the plant’s productivity and efficiency, as well as its environmental footprint.
It says it has adopted “cutting-edge technologies” and processes to significantly reduce its carbon footprint.
“It must be emphasized that the aim was to increase the productivity and efficiency of the cement plant above all, and this has a knock-on impact at the environmental level,” Mr. Bergeron explains.
Remember that last December the government asked the four cement plants in Quebec to provide a plan detailing the means they will take to reduce their GHG emissions by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050.
