Grassroots Campaign Holds California's Oldest Cement Plant Accountable to the Law

For years, the Lehigh cement quarry and plant in Cupertino, California got away with violating state environmental safety and pollution laws.

Not any more.

A group of citizens—with the help of 26,000 people who signed the petition started on Change.org— have proven they can make a difference, even in the face of powerful interests.

Recently, as reported by Louis Sahagun in today's Los Angeles Times, California state officials issued an "ultimatum" to Lehigh, the oldest cement manufacturer in California. Either shape up in 30 days, or lose government cement contracts, which comprise up 70 percent of the company's revenue.

The letter was a huge victory for the San Francisco Bay Area community activists, which has long been fighting Lehigh's air, water and safety pollution violations, but only recently launched the campaign to remove the plant from California's list of approved government contractors.

"I am convinced that, after many years of inaction, it was public pressure from 25,000+ signatures on our petition on change.org that finally galvanized the state into action.  We couldn’t have done this without your support," said Richard Adler, a board member of the group Bay Area for Clean Environment. (Cupertino Councilman Barry Chang, who launched the petition, is also a board member of the group).

As noted in the LA Times article:

"We were appalled by the failure of the county to enforce the law against this company," said Cupertino resident Richard Adler, a researcher in aging and healthcare. "So we launched an online petition demanding that the state reclamation office finally take Lehigh off the list of mining operations in good standing with the state."....

...An avalanche of petitions overwhelmed state mining authorities.

"I've received more than 23,000 copies of the same petition letter from quarry opponents, so I know they're passionate folks," said Jim Pompy, assistant director of the Office of Mine Reclamation. "But at the same time, Lehigh produces a very important resource for the entire Bay Area, so a lot of careful thought went into the notice we sent the company on July 20."

The state's letter, which sets the terms for a 30-day compliance, is both rare and sure to receive significant pushback from Lehigh. Already, Lehigh reportedly hired a lobbying firm in an attempt to convince California Governor Jerry Brown to intercede on its behalf. We'll report back on the outcome of this process, but in the meantime, it is a significant win for citizen participation everywhere that their voices have been heard.

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