TOXIC DUST FROM CEMEX?

THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY ARE TESTING TOXIC DUST IN RUGBY?

YES WE CAN!
ON SECOND THOUGHTS
OH NO WE CAN'T!
WE ONLY PERMIT!

JUST A MINUTE:
while we talk without hesitation, repetition, or deviation, about CEMENT plant EMISSIONS! At first the Environment Agency's own National Laboratory Service said they could quote for the analysis of the CHROMIUM VI in the ambient air and dust downwind of the Cemex Rugby plant, but now suddenly, (seemingly after reading this blog site), they cannot! They now suggest we get help elsewhere and contact AEAT for a quote, which we have done, as instructed by the EA's own laboratory, while the EA, which is supposedly the "regulator" which is "responsible for the permitting of toxic emissions in Rugby" (and elsewhere) stands by, in blissful ignorance, "head-banging" and "not knowing"!

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY AND CEMENT PLANT WORLD IN SHOCK!
as Davenport investigation reveals very high chromium VI readings, but it is still business as usual! "We have already TOLD YOU dumbos in Rugby so many times that ALL THE RAW MATERIALS AND WASTE FUEL SUBSTITUTES used in the CO-INCINERATING CEMENT PLANTS, such as TYRES and RDF which replace COAL, and MILL SCALE and SLAG which replace iron oxide, are all the same in terms of emissions, and ALL THE SAME TO US!" says the UK's Environmental pollution permitting Agency.

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY JUST GUESSING?
Maybe the Environment Agency are still wondering what chemical contents the substituted mill scale and slag actually have, as these "industrial waste alternative raw material replacements" are being merrily substituted in the UK's cement industry WITHOUT the MANDATORY EU WASTE CODES or the MANDATORY DUTY OF CARE NOTES - so maybe the Environment Agency are actually in the same position as the rest of the UK - JUST GUESSING!. Perhaps its time for a little science lesson for the Agency, which for so long has poured scorn on the Rugby residents, scoffing at us, and dismissing our genuine concerns?

TOXIC DUST FROM CEMEX?
The answer is blowing in the wind - see Nov/Dec 2008 edition of THE HIGHLANDER from the Bonny Doon, as it explains how the hexavalent chromium was discovered in the air at the local elementary school, where the internal air is now being analysed. Young people are much more at risk, and it accumulates in the body and is one of the causes of lung cancer. The Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBUAPCD) is now studying the Cemex operations and air quality impacts with a view to allowing the plant to start up again. Visit www.mbuapcd.org/index.cfm/Cat/67.htm to learn more. Ed Kendig apparently told the Santa Crux Sentinel: "We have to remember it will take a long period of stable operations and monitoring before we can draw conclusions about how satisfactory the Davenport plant's emissions are."

ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL UPDATE:
Despite the Rugby Cement Community Forum being told by Cemex on 8 October 2008 that there was NO chance of any funding for the planned September/early October meeting of the FOCUS GROUP, which gained endorsement and support at the WORKSHOP 17 September, and that the community should "pay for it ourselves", a change of heart has occurred among the "big three". Further additional funding to add to the £25,000 already invested by the Environment Agency, Cemex and Rugby Borough Council in finding a "new way forward with open honest meaningful community engagement and timely provision of accurate independently verified data, and with a real opportunity for the local stakeholders to have a say about their environment, amenity, air quality and health" is now back on the Agenda. Watch this space.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT FAILURE:
The two Cemex applications for a waste plant at either, or both, SOUTHAM or RUGBY MALPASS seem deficient, in that they have not complied with the EIA Regulations. Even WCC planners have spotted that - although they did initially accept the proposals, which have not made the mandatory BPEO assessments and have not compared the two alternative proposals. It seems these will not now be able to go to the WCC Regulatory Committee on 15 December as scheduled, and it is back to the drawing board for Cemex and GOLDERS ASSOCIATES. See WCC planning portal.



HOUSE OF LORDS TOLD
"NO-ONE BUT LILIAN IN RUGBY OR IN
THE WHOLE WORLD,
CARES ABOUT CEMENT PLANT EMISSIONS!"
by gullible, or loyal, or misdirected, or misinformed, or misunderstanding, scientifically-challenged Agency lawyers : in order to extort costs! Meanwhile the five Lords, in their wisdom, have handed down a most "peculiar and controversial" judgment in which they could not even agree between themselves on most of what they had heard, and some of them seem to think that "secret communications" behind the public's back, in order to prevent environmental, and air quality information about health damaging toxic pollutants from getting into the public arena, is quite OK by them, and is only the expected and usual course of the UK's government departments.

* Para 54: LORD HOFFMAN: "But the present case does not involve the construction of anything, so in my view falls outside of the EIA Directive." Err - so excuse me but how do they get the wastes into the plant then? What are these new constructions , that have been nodded through by the WCC planning department (see WCC web 23 January 2003), buildings presumably invisible to the eye of some judges?

* Para 84: LORD MANCE: "Second the plan to change to tyre burning did in any event involve not inconsiderable physical adaptation of the company's site and plant..... covered reception area with sprinklers for 300 tonnes tyres (now 600 tonnes!), mechanical conveyors, metering system, airlocks, and new combustion chamber." Lord Mance has done his homework, and sees quite clearly.

* Para 30: "There is an unchallenged finding of fact that the ONLY change in operation proposed by the application, namely the use of TYRES, would not have significant negative effects on human beings or the environment", totally ignoring the actual facts of the case regarding the turning of the works into a full scale co-incinerator, which then allowed unlimited substitution by various WASTE FUELS. Ignoring also the HEALTH EFFECTS of the substitution of the various raw materials by INDUSTRIAL WASTES that were discretely added, unseen, into the (hidden) IPPC application. There was only one closely-guarded copy in Rugby, at the Borough Council's so-called Environmental Health Department, and no-one got any chance to see that until after the consultation was closed - while they kept on holding sham-meetings, and giving out misleading and false information and non-technical summaries (the kid's version?) about tyre burning and about NONE OF THE OTHER WASTES that were included in the IPPC application!!

* Para 64: "In the present case there was no breach of European Law, and the ONLY breach of domestic law was the FAILURE TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION about the predicted effects of emissions." Well done for that recognition that it does not matter to mislead the public and not to tell the truth about environmental impacts.

* Para 64: "Since then, however, the actual emissions from the plant have been monitored." Err.. no my noble lord, sorry yet again but , the emissions from the plant have NEVER been monitored, nor has any attempt to monitor them ever been made!

WHAT EVER NEXT?
A little bird told me that the Environment Agency's own lawyers have now suddenly decided that "environmental issues are indeed serious concerns!" Not then their usual dismissive approach. They plan a yet more devious trick planned in order to "infiltrate groups, and to keep an eye on the public", and that they, in order to poach work from long-standing dedicated environmental public interest lawyers are setting up a new department. This will then "co-incidentally" enable them to mislead, and to spy on the campaign groups, and to "keep the enemy closer to them". They now propose to run with the fox, and hunt with the hounds, by setting up an ENVIRONMENTAL LAW DEPARTMENT to assist the members of the public who are concerned and weary and wary of being polluted by - the Environment Agency and those it purports to regulate. STRANGER THAN FICTION!

CEMEX SHUT DOWN!

DAVENPORT CLOSED!

Image copyright Jodi Frediani

WHAT IS GOING ON?
APPARENTLY the people who live DOWNWIND and near the CEMEX DAVENPORT USA plant are being POISONED and EXPOSED to a TEN-FOLD CANCER risk due to the CEMEX operations. Cemex have been forced to shut down the KILN, and LOW LEVEL POINT SOURCES in MILLS etc and the TRANSPORT - because the authorities in the USA believe the CANCER-CAUSING CHROMIUM VI is being emitted from everywhere!

CHROMIUM VI: GOOGLE IT! FIND OUT! for yourself, DON'T take my word for it!
Search: Cemex; Davenport,USA; chromium VI/hexavalent chromium; mill scale; slag; Rugby Cement; CANCER!

SEARCH AND YOU WILL FIND!
..that ANY replacement by "alternative fuel" in co-incinerating cement plants REQUIRES (sham) trials, like the 700 - 1,000 TONNES each day at Rugby; BUT the raw materials have NO trials when substituted by "industrial wastes" with NO EU WASTE CODES and NO DUTY OF CARE NOTES!


SUBSTITUTE RAW MATERIALS IN SECRET
So WHAT exactly causes the EXCEEDANCES (ten- fold) of CANCER-CAUSING pollutant?
What exactly are they burning at RUGBY?
Dont't ask me, ask the UK's ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY!
IF they will answer!

VEXATIOUS! is the name given by the EA to anyone who asks questions! So "he who asks no questions will NOT be told a lie! So watch the wall my friends while the Environment Agency go by!"

(Thanks to Jodi Frediani for permission to use her photograph.)

CEMEX : SALE OF THE CENTURY?

CEMEX'S AGGRESSIVE EXPANSION COMES TO A STICKY END as Cemex try to reduce costs by £288 million by selling off assets and re-financing  the £2 billion loan it used last year to buy Australia's RINKER group. So far sales of cement, concrete and aggregate plants are anticipated in Australia, Austria and Hungary and possibly in the USA, according to the press reports, which say that product sales are down by 20-30%, or so. The Credit Crunch has hit home hard, and the loan has been restructured from 2009 to 2010 with a higher interest rate.


JOB LOSSES
worldwide equate to about 10% of the work force - about 6,000 jobs - as concrete sales flop and Cemex sells assets. In the UK Cemex has been working on efficiency; prioritising capital expenditure, and cutting back on investment in new projects  and in some cases putting them on hold;  reducing the cement and aggregate fleet to improve productivity, reducing shifts, overtime spend and head count across the business by at least 10%. Underutilised assets are to be closed and mothballed. Won't come a moment too soon for Rugby residents, who eagerly plan the street party to celebrate the permanent mothball of the monstrous plant.


WASTE PLANT PLAN: IN JEOPARDY AS CO-INCINERATOR CANNOT BE USED FOR INCINERATION ONLY -  will not meet the more restrictive Waste Incinerator Directive limits, without the cement-related exemptions it currently "enjoys", which permit much higher emissions than incinerators.

PROXIMITY PRINCIPLE?
SOUTHAM /RUGBY WAR CONTINUES:

GOING IN:
North Warwicks  42,000 tpa =  151 tpd  = 14 HGV.
Nuneaton            75,000 tpa =  270 tpd =   24 HGV
Stratford             30,000 tpa  = 108 tpd = 10 HGV
Stratford             30,000 tpa  = 108 tpd = 22 REFUSE TRUCKS.
Warwick             66,000 tpa =   257 tpd   = 20 HGV
Rugby                57,000 tpa =   205 tpd  =  42 REFUSE trucks
SUB-TOTAL    300,000 tpa = 1,099 tpd = 132 HGVs per day.
RDF                124,000 tpa = 354 tpd = 34 HGVs
TOTAL             424,000 tpa = 1,453 = 166 HGVs?


GOING OUT
250,000 tpa - 713 tpd = 68 HGVs to the Cemex co-incinerator.
70,000 tpa - 210 tpd to landfill
35,000 tpa - 107 tpd to recycle
335,000 tpa - 1,030 tpd


TOTAL POLLUTION/GAS/AIR/WATER/ETC DRIED OFF AND VENTED OVER RUGBY 400  tonnes each day!! Why bring in about 1,500  tonnes waste daily  then DRY one third of it off over our heads with all these POLLUTANTS in it - nearly 20 tonnes an hour over us from a 45 metre stack with a semi-permanent plume?  And that is without counting the Cemex co-incinerator emissions from the 30 tonnes an hour of refuse burning - for which they have no IPPC Permit as yet!

SENSITIVE LORRY MILE ASSESSMENT:
In a detailed planning application for a half a million tonne a year waste plant one would expect the required  assessment of the SENSITIVE LORRY MILES which involve the costing to the community, infrastructure, health service etc of the different lorry routes to be used. Obviously the motorway miles are priced most cheaply  as they do the least damage to the environment, where as those miles in small country lanes are more costly  to the public, and those in towns, especially  in air quality management areas, are even more costly adding as they do to the damage
to the infrastructure, the environment, pollution, air quality problems and associated health damage.



LAING RAIL REPORT April 2004 as submitted is five years out of date, and only considered the 140 clay lorries each day, and is not relevant to this new proposal. The railway needs to be re-assessed as an alternative form of transport and  the SOUTHAM site shows there would be much less environmental, air quality and health damage if that site were to be used, AND even more if  the rail link re-opened. It would take off the road some 140 clay lorries each day, and the RDF 160, so say 300 HGVs a day on a 30 mile round trip. That would save about 4,500 lorry miles each day on small B roads and in the town of Rugby.
How much pollution is that - tail pipe, brakes and tyres, and the SAVING of 4,5000 miles a day of fossil fuels?  No attempt has been made to seriously address the total lorries and the pollution that could be avoided.

CEMEX HITS THE BUFFERS

AS RESIDENTS START TO FIGHT BACK!LONG LAWFORD PARISH COUNCIL decided last night that the planning application for the half million tonne waste plant was a step too far. They threw it out unanimously on many varied grounds, including : the air quality deterioration; increased health risk; fire risk; transport  and pollution impact of the hundreds more Heavy Goods Vehicles; danger to public health of the bacteria emissions from the planned  MBT in an urban area; unsuitability of location; already high levels of
industrial emissions;  cumulative total of environmental and pollution impacts of Cemex operations; Health Impact Assessment required!.

SOUTHAM IS THE ONLY POSSIBILITY! THE DISUSED RAILWAY MUST BE RE-OPENED - IT WAS SAFE-GUARDED FOR RUGBY CEMENT'S USE AT A COST OF MILLIONS TO THE PUBLIC! THIS WOULD REMOVE 400,000 + DAILY LORRY MILES BETWEEN SOUTHAM/RUGBY!

CEMEX IN BIG TROUBLE -DAVENPORT USA ITS NOT ONLY THE WASTE FUEL TRIALS, BUT ALTERNATIVE RAW MATERIALS

ALSO cause  trouble for Cemex , with the MONTEREY BAY air quality department, after the substitution of  some raw materials by  industrial waste . This  appears to have lead to a TENFOLD  increase in CHROMIUM SIX being formed, and found in the dust down wind of the plant, apparently  from the MILL SCALE and STEEL SLAG. Erin Brockovich is rushing to help,  as public  meetings are called,  and health checks carried out for the increased cancer risk associated with these emissions.

ALTERNATIVE WASTE RAW MATERIALS - WITHOUT  EU WASTE CODES!
Where else are they trialling the use of these wastes?  No prizes for guessing!
Is this dust from the main stack, low level point source stacks, and vents or fugitives?
How does Rugby Borough Council test  for this cancer-causing toxic dust?
It doesn't even know about it - RBC hiding its head, ostrich like, in piles of cement kiln dust!

SLOWLY SLOWLY CEMEX & RUGBY OBSERVER

CEMENT FUEL PLAN SUBMITTED - Rugby Observer 2 October 2008
 
PRESS COMPLAINTS TO DECIDE - IS IT FACT, OR FICTION?

EDITORIAL, OR CEMEX ADVERTISMENT?
 
QUOTE:

"CEMEX has submitted a second planning application to build a plant which would turn much of Warwickshire's unrecyclable rubbish into a fuel for its cement plant.  The application for land known as MALPASS FARM next to the plant on Lawford Road was submitted this week and is a carbon copy of the one made for the company's quarry in SOUTHAM in August.
 
 
JUST ONE will be built, but CEMEX believes by seeking permission for both is the best way of seeing which one the public would prefer.  Ther Climafuel plant will cost £35 million and will employ 25 people at which ever site it is built at. It wil be up and running by 2010 if approved. It would see as much as 75 per cenet of unrecyclable household waste produced by the county's residents saved from landfill by being dried out, packed into blocks and then used to power the cement plant. The use of climafuel would reduce levels of CO2 equivalent to that produced by 72,000 cars in a year a company spokesman said. The plans will be on show to the Public outside CEMEX HOUSE in October 23 and 24 from 2pm to 6pm, and on October 25 from 10am to 2pm.
 
 
COMMENTS can be emailed to ian.southcott@cemex.com or sent by post to Ian Southcott, Community Affairs Manager, CEMEX UK, Evreux Way, Rugby Warwickshire CV21 2DT."

I would like to know whether this report, by an unidentified person, was in fact a paid advert by Cemex or a  VERY misleading  and MISINFORMING  article published by the  RUGBY OBSERVER  ?    But in either case surely no excuse can be made for misleading the public in this way?   If it was an advertisement then surely it should have said so?
 
WARWICKSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL is asking for the comments during the  PUBLIC CONSULTATION  into the Cemex Malpass Parkfield Road planning application which ends on 21st October, but  in this apparent  Cemex advert it asks people to view the plans outside the Cemex House on October 23-24 from 2.00 to 6.00 pm and on 25th October from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm, and then asks them to send comments direct to Cemex as they claim they have put in the two applications at Southam and Rugby as "the best way of seeing which one the public would prefer."
 
The Report/Advert  is factually inaccurate, and misleading,   and ends by asking the public to email or post comments to Ian Southcott of Cemex, which is in itself misleading as comments must go to the County Council. This is exactly how Rugby Cement  operated as well, with a "hot line" to the plant so that the complaints can be dealt with by the management , discretely ,   by whatever means they "feel is  appropriate and beneficial to them",   with no-one knowing, and no public record  -   as they try to divide up the community.  
 
 
PUBLIC  ASKED TO COMMENT ON WHAT?
Rugby in Plume are offering a prize for the person who spots the most "deliberate mistakes" in  the article/advert, riddled with misinformation, which  makes no reference to the WCC web and public library where people can see the "actual"  application and Environmental Statement, or  pay £75 to Cemex for a copy, nor that the consultation closes on 21 October. What are the public supposed to coment on - the misleading information given in the Observer?  Are Cemex and the Rugby Observer making monkeys of Rugby residents - yet again?
 
 
CEMEX SHOULD WITHDRAW THIS AUDACIOUS UNSUSTAINABLE UNSUPPORTABLE RUGBY APPLICATION WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT!!

Shall we make a video like this in Rugby!?

PLEASE PLEASE help us - New Bilton and Newbold will be poisoned...

250,000 T. REFUSE DERIVED FUEL TO BE TUMBLE DRIED USING COAL AND RDF FURNACES BEFORE CO-INCINERATION AT CEMEX RUGBY - DOUBLING THE RATE TO 30 TPH!

WHICH IS WORSE?
To construct this monstrous plant at Southam's rural site - or in urban Rugby - where the cumulative total of pollution from the Cemex co-incinerator plus this 500,000 tpa Refuse Processing plant may well turn out to be "overwhelming" for the local residents during the "short term pollution incidents", and to have long term health effects. The plant is to have a 91 metre stack if built at Southam, in order to "safely" disperse the pollution over a wider area - but at Rugby in order to disperse it "less safely" and closer, over more local residents, they are only to have a 45 metre stack. Of course it is not actually about the BPEO (Best Practicable Environmental Option) that they decide to vent more onto Rugby, it is because it is cheaper, as they already have a 91 metre stack at Southam. CHEAP SKATES!

WHERE THERE'S MUCK THERE'S MONEY!
Who ever first coined the phrase certainly knew what he was on about. And of course we will pay WCC to collect the waste from us, and then we will pay Cemex to process it, and then pay Cemex to burn it, and to pump it back out over our heads, dumping our own waste back on us. That is better than landfill - pumping it into the air I suppose? Is this RECYCLING, or the BPEO?


WARWICKSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL - STINGY!
say 21 days is all they are prepared to give local residents and all they are legally required to "give" us in which to comment, and then if we are not happy with the decision, which is to be made on 15 December as a nice CHRISTMAS GIFT to the lucky winers, we can take them to JUDICIAL REVIEW, and waste another EIGHT years of our lives, and ALL OUR OWN MONEY, battling them in the court trying to get JUSTICE for RUGBY RESIDENTS. Maybe WCC should manufacture some WCC sticks of rock for suckers?

Not only are they holding this gun to our heads, but also this planning permission is dependent on a doubling of the waste burning at Rugby, so it seems we are to get it all ways. And of course there was NO PRE-APPLICATION CONSULTATION as is supposed to happen, only a "scoping" which did NOT tell the truth! And a few secret village meetings held in backrooms with a very small handful of specially selected local peasants invited. Rugby residents were not even informed and there was NO MENTION of DOUBLING the waste burning in the Cemex Co-incinerator, much less of tumble drying 250,000 REFUSE over our heads. They even said there was no need to have a chimney as it was to be ever-so environmentally friendly - and so very CLEAN - the "clean pollutants" could all be vented out at roof-top level.

SLOWLY SLOWLY THE TRUTH IS COMING OUT
Rugby has the co-incinerator and now we have to be polluted more to fuel the beast! Read the Health Protection Agency web site for more details about the dangers of RDF and how the COMEAP committee can guarantee nothing, but they are HOPEFUL that the pollution from waste burning will be "no worse" than the pollution from coal - as long as all is going "well". The Environment Agency POINT BLANK REFUSE (and have for FIVE years) to answer why they have to stop burning wastes and to start burning coal when things go wrong! And when it doesn't go well - and emission limits are not met and fugitives are oozing out - well that is a different story, and it doesn't take the HPA's "emminent body of so-called experts" to inform us that it will NOT be BENEFICIAL TO OUR HEALTH!

RUGBY TO BE WASTE DUMP 18 OCTOBER..

..AS INSULTATION PROCESS CONTINUES.
CEMEX REBUILD DEMOLISHED CHIMNEY.
WARWICK'S and IMPORTED 500,000 TONNES WASTE DUMPED ON DUPED RUGBY RESIDENTS - AS DUPLICITOUS COUNCILLORS POCKET & EXIT!!CEMEX STICKS OF ROCK for SUCKERS!
On Heritage Open Day!

INSULTATION PROCESS - OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS BUT ONCE as Cemex plans to double air quality and health impact on DOPEY RUGBY!!

While the Environment Council DIRECTS PUBLIC ATTENTION AWAY from MAJOR POLLUTION ISSUE using £25,000 from Rugby Council Tax Payers' Health Protection Budget, and PETTY cash from the Environment Agency and Cemex, as we ALL jointly try to find "a new way forward together". Look out for flying pigs, and what they drop! It seems there is an "IMMINENT desperate need" to re-organise the way Cemex and the Agency " liaise, communicate, and engage " with the Rugby community.

Stakeholder relations reached "an all time low", as the RCCF, was virtually destroyed and emasculated by RBC, EA, WCC and by Cemex in an ideal demonstration of "joint-working for the *good/BAD* of the community". Worse is yet to come as the "BIG FOUR" - a name coined for WCC, RBC, the EA and Cemex at the Workshop on 17th September - now collude and try even harder to dupe Rugby residents, by pretending to turn over a new leaf, while secretly planning more environmental disasters. See local press for stories and letters about the "Chameleons".

RUGBY STAKEHOLDERS have had enough of paying while being polluted, and under the polluter-MUST-pay principle need funding in order to obtain openness, honesty, joint fact finding, timely access to full validated data, a proper say in the activities in our environment, and a change in the status quo so that we are not only listened to, but also what we say has an impact on the outcomes. Call me a cynic, but these very spotty leopards are hardly prepared, willing or able to change their spots, and qualities such as these, (honesty?) have never ever been seen in Rugby. Just pass the sticks of Cemtex rock.

WASTE PLANT DOUBLES CO-INCINERATION
Two planning applications are on WCC web for Southam and Rugby's MALPASS proposed Parkfield Road waste plant, have already hit the buffers as the pre-application Scoping Assessment was for a plant 50% smaller than what is now being proposed. Warwickshire CC is firmly in the Waste Partnership with RBC and their BIG GAME PLAN is to "BURN IT ALL IN RUGBY" - to add in another 100% - 250,000 tonnes a year of REFUSE DERIVED FUEL. Meanwhile we can look forward to another 360 lorries or so on 20 kilometres of our local roads, which have many accidents involving 133 personal injury accidents in five years, of which 3 were fatalities and 37 serious. All this for a cement plant cum co-incinerator that never had an EIA, a lawful planning permission, a lawful operating permit and any meaningful public consultation of any kind. WCC is busying itself yet again with more retrospective planning permissions - this time to validate the unlawful fly tipping of 20,000+ tonnes a year of hazardous waste that has been going on at Southam under their watch for EIGHT years. With of course the blessing of that great protector of the environment - the Environment Agency.

THE ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL has taken Rugby residents eye of the ball, during this deliberately most untimely process, and is wondering how to build TRUST and CONFIDENCE in Rugby, doing its level best to improve relations, but Rugby people are sick of being treated as suckers, and would like to reclaim their town from the usurpers. After Monday's press release there is now to be a working party to try to put flesh on the bones of the skeleton future-engagement. But at the same time as we are paying for this, and engaging, Rugby is burning. Cemex was inviting a chosen few to the Southam open days 18-20 September, surprisingly and most disappointedly overlooking the obvious necessity of an invitation to the 60 delegates to see Cemex's plans for our futures! In yet another application to "enhance" our environment, air quality and health there is to be yet another 91 metre chimney to vent off the fumes and odours from the MBT/IHT plant and from the furnace required to tumble dry the Refuse Derived Fuel. They do not seem to have thought about the huge environmental impacts of the transport and processing - and even less about the impact of the increase in co-incineration at Rugby.

TRANSPORT: AND LAING RAIL REVIEW
WCC/Cemex have submitted an April 2004 report, ( see chapter 12 WCC web held in secret between Laing, WCC and Rugby Cement), into the feasibility of the railway being re-opened ONLY for the 160 clay lorries daily. Certainly now there is a plan to more than double the total HGVs going between Southam and Rugby with clay, and climafuel lorries then a new report into the disused railway should be carried out, and submitted. Obviously it will be much more economic and affordable now they are planning such a huge increase in lorry journeys, and will save the public and roads from millions of lorry miles, which cost so much in terms of accidents, risk, air pollution and damage to the roads, and other road users vehicles, and to the infrastructure.

It appears the Inspector and public were kept in the dark about this secret LAING report, at the Public Inquiry into the route of the Western Relief Road, which resulted in farmers being forced out of their land as the road was routed through the green belt because it was claimed the rail route was required for the Cement plant operations. The WRR was placed in the green belt, at a huge and ever-increasing cost, (£40 million up from the original £11 million), when there was a secret report in which there was no intention of re-opening the railway.

WCC CONSIDERED INSISTING RAILWAY RE-OPENSas a planning condition in 2004, so now they have another golden window of opportunity?
The canals have been ruled out as too costly, too slow and too many locks, Let the narrow gauge train take the strain? Or will it be the repetitious cry: "Alternative rail transport has been considered but without significant external funding, none IS OF economic consideration."

RUGBY ADVERTISER EDITOR'S VIEWPOINT:
INDEPENDENT CHAIR ESSENTIAL!
"It is a GOOD thing that the RCCF MAY be recreated as a new body - the current version is unworkable and ineffective."
The RCCF needs an independent chair, access to data, and the public need more access to meetings, an independent venue, trust, access to data, and the Editor criticises the Agency for their non-attendance - the vital ingredient - and for their NON- PROVISION of vital information.

CEMEX UNDER FIRE

AS SOUTHAM-RUGBY WAR CONTINUES….

TEMPERATURES RISE
WCC notes that “the previously jovial Southam Cement and lorry routing community liaison group has now become hostile” as WCC grants Cemex a new CLAY lorry route to and from Southam, causing COMPLAINTS and letters in the press from the village inhabitants. Residents of Marton , Princethorpe and Long Itchington suddenly awaken and realise their 3 villages will now endure all the (current) daily 140 Cemex clay HGVs , as the circular route limiting the number to just 35 is scrapped, and the 140 are now to be “in their back yards” on narrow dangerous roads they insist are “not fit for purpose”. They are not amused at having “just a taste” of what the Rugby New Bilton residents have suffered / had inflicted on them for years – over 70 lorries an hour at times, and an average of around 800 a day. Letters of congratulations and thanks can be sent to Warwickshire County Council planners and councillors, who have more tricks up their sleeves yet!

SOUTHAM WASTE PROCESSING PLANT
Temperatures have yet to reach fever pitch as locals in Southam and Rugby have still not realised the massive implications for them of the first of the two CEMEX WASTE/RECYCLING/CLIMAFUEL applications. The County Council and Cemex are trying to keep the two applications completely separate, and thus presumably to divide the community, to prey on the weakest and most vulnerable, to discourage any “joined up thinking”, and to avert any consideration of the BPEO - best practicable environmental option? Local people have just a month in which to voice their concerns about the first-proposed 360,000 tonne a year waste processing plant in the old cement plant at SOUTHAM.


PLENTY OF LANDFILLS AVAILABLE AT SOUTHAM
At least Southam has a massive ever increasing landfill, as they excavate the clay, about 2,000 tonnes each day, in which they then dump the hazardous waste bypass dust. Residues from their new “processing” can easily be dumped without having to transport all that back to Southam from Rugby. It appears several operational landfills are available which can take hazardous and non-hazardous waste – even though there is still no IPPC Permit for the site, which it is believed makes the landfills unlawful, operating in contravention of EU and UK Law, without a PPC permit!

LORRY TRAIN TO RUN NIGHT AND DAY SOUTHAM-RUGBY
A smaller scale application (see WCC web site Reference “NW 08CM032”) made to the County Council in August by RMC/Rugby Cement for a 120,000 tonne a year waste processing plant at COLESHILL needs 100 HGVs a day – so can the Southam/village residents look forward to another 300 lorries a day on top of the 140 they are so upset about? Or will there be even more as the HGVs convoy back and forth – as virtual “lorry trains” between Southam and Rugby? Why do they, and the County Council, go on ignoring the disused railway line, the availability of which was claimed by Rugby Cement to be one of the main reasons for building the plant in an urban area in Rugby instead of at any of the other available more suitable rural sites. Rugby Cement in 2000 (see WCC and RBC committee meetings on web) “saved” the railway route for its own future use, as it “forced” the Western Relief Road into the green belt, delaying the construction by 8 years, and costing the public purse £40 million instead of the £11 million quoted in 2000, and also polluting and poisoning Rugby residents, contributing to the high levels of particulate in the “hot spot lorry routes” and to the AQMA for Nitrogen dioxide, which affects health.


WASTE PLANT? IMPOSE IT ON POOR URBAN LONG-SUFFERERS!
Will the more powerful Southam residents and coalition of county councillors try to force the new waste plant, along with all the extra pollution from lorries and plant pollution into the RUGBY SMOKE LESS ZONE AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT AREA, on to long-suffering down-town Rugby residents? After all it will ONLY be a grand total of 1100 juggernauts daily for New Bilton residents? What can it matter as in this area lives and the environment are already obscenely blighted by the CO-INCINERATOR – its emissions - uncontrolled/controlled - and fugitive pollution, “nuisance dust”, hovering, menacing plume/s, and low level point sources which remain unregulated and unmonitored. What does it matter if this already disadvantaged area gets more muck heaped on it? They are used to it.

ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION DENIED
Where is the Sheriff when you need him? Questions and reasonable applications for access to environmental data, and even Freedom of Information requests, remain unanswered as the “outlaws”, the notorious Environment Agency, are “above the law.” The public and Rugby Cement Community Forum are refused access to environmental data by both the Environment Agency and Cemex, as they work together to “slip in all the applications between the meetings of the Forum” – so that no proper response is ever made. In this atmosphere of concealment and refusal to co-operate, how can community relations improve?

Trials and “waste burning” experiments go on and on, year in year out, as the trials are extended without the public’s or RCCF’s knowledge, and presumably outside of the PPC Permit and its conditions. There are endless variations and secret negotiations going as the back-slapping “back room boys” meet at the OK Corral. Any person who asks pertinent questions, and who understands the issues, is slapped down, labelled as a trouble maker, ejected from meetings, and threatened with ASBOs, and worse. Now the search is on by Cemex, the EA, WCC, and RBC for a “new” malleable Community Forum, to be peopled by “no brainers!”

SEVENTEENTH SEPTEMBER GANG TO MEET AT BENN HALL RUGBY
On 17 September the experienced ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL will attempt to facilitate an evening of “cordial discussion” and of “shaping the future for the community engagement process around the cement works in Rugby.” You can find the report under discussion on their web site. We nervously wish them well, as under their auspices Cemex, the Environment Agency, WCC and RBC will meet with about 40 delegates in a battle for pole position, as the “warring factions” (see Rugby Times articles) have their heads banged together.

“CONTINUED EXPOSURE TO A DUSTY ENVIRONMENT will generally result in receptors becoming less sensitive to dusty impacts and an acceptance of a certain level of dust deposition.” So there we have it, in a nutshell, dump more dust on folk and they will give up complaining? The WCC/Coleshill application NW 08CM032 is full of such little gems, and it also contains RMC’s own May 2003 assessment of how “nuisance dust”, that they NEVER acknowledged existed in the Rugby Cement application for IPPC, is a very difficult issue. So why was there never ANY dust assessment for the Rugby Cement plant – considering all its Low Level Point Sources and fugitive emissions? Because they did not want anyone to know!

LITTLE GEMS ON MINERAL DUST FROM RUGBY CEMENT/RMC 2003 that somehow “slipped their mind to tell Rugby residents in their application?”

“Road traffic can be a significant source of dust in urban areas.” – especially from 1,000 lorries each day! “Dust is defined as particulate matter in the size range 1-75 microns.” “Accurate and reliable quantitative prediction of dust impacts is accepted to be very difficult principally because dust emissions depend on a wide range of factors many of which are site specific and vary from day to day.” “Deposition of particles causes soiling on windows and cars and is considered a nuisance. In addition occasional clouds of dust can cause a visual and sensory nuisance.” “Attitude surveys undertaken by the department of the Environment have indicated that in terms of nuisance to nearby residents continual or severe concerns about dust are most likely to be experienced near to dust sources.” “Nuisance dust in the community is normally perceived as an accumulated deposit, however the point at which an individual makes a complaint is highly subjective.” “Wind direction from the South West occurs most of the time and will cover areas to the North and East.” “Particles greater than 30 microns will deposit within approximately 100 metres of the source, while 10-30 microns will travel 200-500 metres and small particles less than 10 microns can travel up to 1 kilometre” into Rugby town centre?

“LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE” was a County Councillor’s response to the question as to whether Rugby residents should be informed of the massive increase in size of the Rugby cement plant. While the Environment Agency said they only got away with it in Rugby because there had been “no intelligent opposition!” Is it now a case of one bitten twice shy – or will they dump it on RUGBY once again?

Who cares in Rugby?

>
Recent Comment:

Dear Lillian,

I can't tell you how much I admire you courage on this issue. You are a true hero to the citizens of Rugby. Unfortunately I believe, after speaking to officers like Sean Lawson, that the Borough Council can't actually do anything. The EA is at the whim of big business too.

The way forward must be the ballot box. I am so pleased you will be contesting Rugby at the next General Election. We need more Ind Cllrs on RBC, this may come about in the next few years because an "all out" system of electing our Cllrs may come into being. I have always believed this makes Ind Cllrs more likely.

Fight on and be strong,

Paul Holdsworth

Thank You Paul, you don't realise how much your comment means to me. I am more used to receiving comments of support through my email and letters in the press, and sometimes think that the little comment box beneath goes unnoticed.

Thank You for taking the time.
Lilian.

TROOPS TAKE OVER CEMEX !

AS RUGBY AND VENEZUELA ENJOY CEM-EXPERIENCE!
FAULTY TOWER PLANS FAMILY FUN DAY.
AT CO-INCINERATOR HERITAGE SITE!

Rugby Cemex plans "happy family fun day", with "friends of the kiln club" membership, (half price for juniors and OAPs), and with a Victorian theme as small children are pushed up chimney carrying brushes.

Meanwhile adults enjoying the CEM-EXperience, where it snows every day, will have hair automatically grey-streaked, and will buy raffle tickets for a chance to use the carbon dioxide blasters, to unblock kiln. Eat dust-coated popcorn, play dodgems with HGVs, and "bash a kiln rat", with Basil and resident Manuel, banging them over the head with a bit of 2 by 4 when they pop out of the kiln or any other emission release points. JOHN CLEESE is invited to inaugurate.

All this is completely FREE, along with a HERITAGE visit to the EIGHT year old co-incinerator plant on 11 September for 40 lucky residents, as part of Rugby's celebration of Rugby's magnificent achievement : "historical/ hysterical 8 year-old co-incinerator heritage!"

Surely this is not a cunning ploy, an attempt to woo Rugby residents, who are apparently TPO on a grand scale with CEMEX RUGBY.

Ideas are flooding in, " for hours of fun for old and young", as Alton Towers looks set to go out of business in the face of such grandiose pleasurable opportunities.

VENEZUELAN TROOPS
RE-NATIONALISED Cemex cement 19 August by force after Cemex refused to accept a "reasonable offer" , after negotiations with CEMEX reached nowhere! Troops seized control of Cemex's plants and offices as workers at the factory cheered and waved in approval.


CEMEX asked for $1.3 billion in compensation for relinquishing control of its plants which account for HALF of Venezuela's total cement, after the government issued a tax bill for $37 million, as takeover talks hit rough weather. Now Cemex will have to settle for a low deal, while the government paid $552 million for an 85% stake in HOLCIM SWITZERLAND, and $265 million for 89% shares in LAFARGE FRANCE.

VENEZUELA BLAMES CEMEX
for exporting TOO much of its local output that denied enough cement for its local consumption, and prevented the provision for home-building and infrastructure targets for providing housing for the poor.

The socialist government has already taken oil, and telecommunications, a bank and a steel company, from private hands. The takeover bill for the cement companies may yet reach $3 billion - as reported in international press today. But Cemex may have a silver-lining as its $19 billion debt from the takeover of RINKER Australia last year could be reduced (by $?) IF they get a "reasonable compensation".

RUMOURS UNCONFIRMED
as yet, suggest that the troops may be invited to take-over Rugby plant - but so far this remains unconfirmed. Other rumours suggest a £1 a ticket raffle for the whole Rugby plant, though some say this is excessive, and that 50p a ticket would be more realistic.

HAND OF GOD STRIKES RUGBY AGAIN!

AS PERIODS OF CALM, AND LOW WIND SPEEDS INCREASE DUST/PARTICULATE IN RUGBY!


CEMEX AND RUGBY RESIDENTS CAUGHT OUT BY WEATHER, AND KILN, AND BY LOW EXIT VELOCITY, YET AGAIN!


IT ONLY TAKES TWO MINUTES TO SMOTHER AN AREA 800 METRES SOUTH SOUTH WEST IN DUST?

CEMEX ADMIT DUST IS INEVITABLE IN NOTIFICATION OF UNAUTHORISED BREACH: WHY DID BAG FILTERS NOT WORK?
WHAT FUEL WERE THEY BURNING?


EXCESSIVE EMISSIONS: 22nd April 2008, of clinker dust from KILN FLUSH 05:38 to 05:43. "Kiln off - stopped at 05:35 by the operator to "minimise environmental impact" , "after a lump fell into the kiln which did not clear using the normal blasting and jetting procedures." Cemex decided NOT to report the fugitive emissions at an "AVERAGED" (??) 357 milligrams/357,000 MICROGRAMS each cubic metre, because they did not believe the fugitive releases, which breached the operating Permit, had reached the "wider world". Unfortunately for Cemex at least five wide-awake residents in FROBISHER ROAD reported that their cars were covered in dust.

WHAT HAPPENED?
QUOTE: "In the hour of 0500 to 0600 a lump fell into the kiln inlet which did not clear using normal blasting and jetting techniques. The kiln controller immediately stopped the kiln as per normal operating procedures. As the lump cleared it was holding back some raw materials which then passed through the kiln system after the kiln had been stopped. Elevated particulate emissions occurred for the five minutes at a lower than normal flow rate through the main stack after the kiln had been stopped."

FROBISHER ROAD COMPLAINTS:
"During this period the wind direction monitor indicated a variable wind direction, that for NO MORE THAN TWO MINUTES was in the direction of Frobisher Road. The wind speed was LOW, less than 2 mph. The only possible explanation is that due to the LOWER FLOW and VERY CALM WEATHER conditions the PARTICULATES will NOT have DISPERSED effectively as under 'normal operations' but were deposited in Frobisher Road.

PRE-HEATER KILNS CHARACTERISTIC:
Build-ups such as this are characteristic of a pre-heater system and are 'effectively' (??) ,managed by checking and clearing. CEMEX have made various improvements since the kiln was first commissioned (and since the 250 stops/starts in 2005??) by the installation of extra blasters in the COMBUSTION CHAMBER".

WHAT NOW?
The usual pay off: "CEMEX has written to residents (ONLY those) that made contact regarding 'dust nuisance' and offered reimbursement for cleaning cars."
Cemex claim: "Kiln flushes are rare and are IN THIS CASE small in nature. It would unfortunately appear that, on this occasion (we were caught out by!) CALM WEATHER conditions resulted in a limited nuisance for a small area of local residents. It is NOT possible to guarantee that a fall of this nature will not happen in the future. However, the management procedures already in place, and techniques used, 'are considered BAT' to MINIMISE the risk of this event.

SEVERAL OTHER RECENT TEST FAILURES:
frequently cement mills for excessive particulate: main stack for dioxins and furans; particulate; cadmium and thallium: 'climafuel' for excessive lead and chromium: bypass dust for increased dioxins;

SENSITIVE ISSUES AND CONTENTIOUS SITES:
WHAT DOES THE AGENCY DO?
They have little meetings in which they discuss how to silence the people who genuinely ask for information, by having them labelled as "vexatious complainants", in accordance with the EA's Complaints and Commendations Policy. They are very worried about how to thwart any Freedom of Information requests - "we are discussing how we will deal with such requests."

WHY IS RUGBY SUCH A HUGE PROBLEM?
Apart from the obvious: i.e . the unlawful construction of an old-fashioned environmentally disastrous semi-wet process 2 million tonne a year cement plant in an urban area's smokeless zone; which then 'morphed' into a 600 tonne a day waste-burning CO-INCINERATOR without any valid planning permission, without a valid IPC or valid IPPC operating permit, without any public consultation; ALL in contravention of the UK's own laws, EIA Directive, PPC Directive, Aarhus Convention and Public Participation Directive; AND apart from the afore mentioned also the obvious problems of emissions, pollution, hundreds of lorries each day. loss of amenity, visual, pollution episodes, air quality and health impact (health in ALL senses of the word!) also there is the POLITICAL climate in Rugby, according to the EA.

EA AND POLITICAL ISSUES:
"We have fully briefed JEREMY WRIGHT CONSERVATIVE Member of Parliament for Rugby and Kenilworth. RBC is a 'hung council and its political leadership has changed 3 times in the last 5 years. One third of the Borough Councillors are up for re-election in the May 2006 local government elections. This presents a challenge to all involved!" And now that the Tories have gained more seats? Since when did health and air quality become a political football?

FOOTNOTE ON LORRIES!
WAST PLANT CONTROVERSY AT SOUTHAM:
The £35 million 1,000 tonne a day proposed waste processing plant seems to be having a lot of trouble already. The Rugby Observer 7th August said it would need an extra 69 lorries going in each day - and presumably then going out making 138 extra journeys to bring in all the waste from across the county? And then an extra 48 lorries to take the waste/RDF/Climafuel to Cemex Rugby for burning; presumably them returning making 96 in all. So at Southam it seems there would be an extra 234 each day? On top of the "usual" 140 clay lorries which ply between Southam and Rugby. making a grand total of 378 movements each day?

AT RUGBY:
The £35 million 1,000 tonne a day proposed waste processing plant if built at RUGBY would only, according to Cemex and the Evening Telegraph 5th August, need "about 11 extra loads a day"?

Anyone confused?

CEMEX SHOWS TRASH PLANS

1,000 TONNES A DAY
ONLY 11 EXTRA LORRIES!

Telegraph: "Cemex admitted the development would mean more lorries accessing the site - with about 11 extra loads a day." This follows on from many years of rows about the many hundreds of incessant Rugby Cement/Cemex lorries that Warwickshire County Council has permitted to pass unrestricted through New Bilton every day, and night, massively impacting on the lives and amenity of all local residents - not to mention the heavily pitted surfaces on the Lawford Road, in the Air Quality Management Area - traffic fumes!

Now a novel solution is to be found. The old cement plant had an average of about 80 small 20-tonne 2-axil lorry movements each day, but the County Council then gave planning permission for 800 40-tonne six-axil juggernauts, to go in and out of the site daily. They called this a "cement works upgrade!" Presumably in order to appease local residents and to prevent further complaints, and to cut down the number of lorry movements, the HGVs are to be made bigger - carrying approximately 100 tonne each? The good news is "Cemex also promised there'd be no increase in noise or emissions levels." Super quiet, massive lorries, with no emissions, as well! Great!

PLAN B. IS TO RE-OPEN THE RAILWAY
instead of having lorry trains? 27 May 2002 RMC write to the Environment Agency: "Traffic clearly is a planning issue. In a general sense we appreciate local concerns over traffic. It is our preference that the works become rail connected. We have had discussions with both parties - Strategic Rail Authority and Railtrack. We will work towards a viable solution for rail connecting the works if one is achievable. This would relieve traffic issues significantly." Shame they actually built a bagging plant on the actual rail connection that had always gone into the works! When? Not quite last week, but after they started building the new plant in 1996! Anyone know any planners - the County and Cemex both need more than a bit of help?

WASTE FACTORY BID FOR RUGBY
RUGBY TIMES : front page 5 August. "Cemex has unveiled plans to build a waste processing plant at its factory in Rugby. Pre-treated rubbish known as Climafuel is currently being imported from London and Wales to burn as a trial replacement for coal. But now the firm wants to manufacture it on-site IF it wins permission to burn the household and industrial waste permanently. A similar application has also been submitted for the firm's old cement works site at Southam, but only one would be built if both were approved by the County Council."

RUGBY'S OWN 42,000 TONNES
rubbish produced by the entire Borough each year is not enough! The Cemex factory can burn 15 tph, 360 tonnes a day, 125,000 tonne each year of RDF Refuse Derived Fuel. "The £35 million plant would import into Rugby urban area 360,000 tons a year of Warwickshire's (?) raw trash, sifting out 250,000 tons of non-recyclable wood, plastic, paper, textile, and card to make Climafuel. Cemex claims the processing is safe and that Climafuel eases pressure on landfill and creates fewer emissions." 125,000 tonnes of ready-made Climafuel will also be imported to be blended in.

DEPRIVED AREA, POOR AIR QUALITY
"Rugby is already an air quality management area for nitrogen dioxide. Also in various parts of the town, but particularly around the cement plant, there are high levels of particulate emissions. New Bilton and Newbold are already areas of deprivation. They shouldn't have more and more dumped on them!" says Rugby in Plume. Ian Southcott Cemex community affairs manager said: "Any odours are retained within the facility. The operation would be regulated and closely MONITORED by the ENVIRONMENT AGENCY!" Just as they "monitor" the cement works eh? That's all right then?
NOT! Just one monitor on the main stack that only works when the raw feed
gets up to 200 tonnes an hour - and no monitors on the other 15 or so small stacks? Or if there are monitors the data is not for the public to see.

FACTORY PLAN TRIGGERS CONCERNS
says Warwickshire Telegraph 5 August. County Councillor John Appleton said he would seek reassurances for the 16 acre factory at Southam quarry, as "this will have an impact on all residents living in the SOUTHAM area." The multi-national corporation aims to produce 250,000 tonnes every year from 300,000 tonnes of household, commercial, and industrial waste. In addition they would blend in another 125,000 tonnes of imported Climafuel brought in from other manufacturers outside the county.

MRS P FIGHTS FOR POOR AND PROPER CONSULTATION
Mrs P was quoted "Why don't they hand in both applications at the same time? I think they are trying to draw the process out so that people will lose interest and not bother fighting. The problem in Rugby is that people in the most deprived wards will be affected. The poorest areas are situated nearby down wind of the proposed site."

RUGBY REJECTS MORE DARK SATANIC MILLS as the BUTCHERS pet food factory application in Rugby, was thrown out, after no less than a record-breaking 21 Rugby Councillors deigned to attend: "We already have one dark satanic mill in Rugby - we will not allow another chimney - and no more pollution!" So where are these caring councillors now?
But of course this decision is in the hands of the ever-so experienced WCC REGULATORY
Committee - 'secret site visits', 'nodding through', and 'retrospective' are their forte!

PUBLIC INQUIRY might just provide the answer to the 35 million pound question:
SOUTHAM or RUGBY?

I'M NOT ON MY OWN

MAYBE SMOKESCREEN, OR DUST, THAT MAKES PEOPLE INVISIBLE TO ENVIRONMENT AGENCY?

RUGBY TIMES 29 JULY
She was told she was on her own, but Cemex campaigner Lilian Pallikaropoulos has proof it's not a one-woman crusade. Lilian said she was accused of being "the only one who cares" about tyre-burning at the Lawford Road plant. Now she has hit back with thousands of names on a petition.


She said: "They say I'm the only one who is bothered but we've got 8,000 signatures on this petition and I didn't even collect them, so I wasn't exactly forcing people to sign it!

Some of the public did stop paying attention, and naturally you will if you're being treated like dirt!"

Lilian added that Rugby in Plume would take its battle against the Environment Agency for approving tyre-burning to the European Commission, despite a £100,000 personal legal bill after the case was thrown out by the House of Lords. She said : "I feel very depressed at times but we have got to keep going!"

DEMOLITION PROGRAM CENSORED!
Funny too how Rugby Cement was nominated by very many people (I had only one vote!) for the competition to identify the "worst most ugly harmful building in the country", and came fifth over all. BUT, despite two days of filming in Rugby the program was "censored", and Rugby Cement was not allowed to be discussed, and the the film was not shown! The reason? It was said that it was not permitted to show it because it is "an industrial building"! So where did it ever say in the competition that the rules excluded industrial buildings? Northampton bus station was allowed to be discussed, and that film was shown - another industrial building.

HUNDREDS OF LETTERS IN PRESS
While I do write the "occasional" missive to the press I am not the ONLY person who writes, as people in Rugby well know. But pathetically the Agency selectively cuts out bits of the local papers to "influence" the judges decisions. "Now look what she has done!"

HEALTH PROTECTION AGENCY
Yet more and more reports on cement plants - co-incinerating waste.
Why is that then if no-one is interested?


BRITISH SOCIETY FOR ECOLOGICAL MEDICINE
Has regularly updated reports on the impact of emissions from cement co-incinerators.

See LINK: www.ecomed.org.uk


RUGBY HEALTH PROTECTION BUDGET USED:
ENVIRONMENT AGENCY PAYING TO CONSULT:
FUNNY isn't it how the Agency, that claims to the Lords that "no-one cares about the continuing operation of the cement works," is jointly funding the Reports, and Meetings and Workshops with the ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL as facilitator with the "Rugby community", as part of "stakeholder engagement". Yes that is right - meetings and workshops for those people who care not a jot? The money from Rugby Borough Council is ACTUALLY a £15,000 contribution from the HEALTH PROTECTION BUDGET! But no-one in Rugby cares about health - according to the Agency!

NOW LET THAT BE A LESSON TO YOU!

MRS P - AN EXAMPLE TO THE PUBLIC? DO NOT DARE TO QUESTION THE AGENCY!
OR ELSE!

PUBLIC to SPEAK OUT IN RUGBY: ARE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY CLAIMS TRUE OR FALSE?

The RUGBY ADVERTISER reported 24th July that: QUOTE: "The Environment Agency believes Lilian Pallikaropoulos is the ONLY person interested in pursuing legal action, and that the public should not pick up the bill.

Mrs Pallikaropoulos argued in the high Court and House of Lords earlier this year that the Environment Agency has hidden vital information from the public when they gave Rugby Cement permission to burn tyres in Rugby.

And although the House of Lords said the EA showed "real shortcomings" they ultimately sided with the EA, and disagreed that the plant in Lawford Road Rugby should stop burning the alternative fuel, and even close down. The EA have this week said Mrs Pallikaropoulos should pay all its legal costs on her own.

Mrs Pallikaropoulos told the Advertiser: "It is grossly unfair, and totally untrue, what the Agency has done to me by saying that I am the only person in Rugby who cares." The case against the EA had originally been brought to the court under the name of Rugby resident David Edwards with the backing of legal aid. But the EA argued that this was just a smokescreen so Mrs Pallikaropoulos could bring her own "private campaign" to court, and not pay the costs.
60,000 RUGBY RESIDENTS INVISIBLE TO AGENCY?

In a report by the EA lawyers it stated: "No one who actually lives near the works appears willing to continue the proceedings. In fact local residents other than Mrs Pallikaropoulos have failed to display any continuing interest in operations at the Rugby Cement works. In essence these proceedings constitute one relatively affluent and "committed" individual's own private campaign."
UNQUOTE

WE HAVE WAYS OF MAKING YOU TALK! AND IF YOU DON'T, WE WILL SAY THAT YOU DID!

TAKE PART IN OUR TRUE OR FALSE?

1. "Mrs P sought out David Edwards as a claimant."
The Agency quotes newspaper cuttings as 'proof and evidence' that I have 'most definitely' done this 'seeking out'.

2. She says she was "acting ostensibly on behalf of Rugby residents. Those residents were concerned about the likely impact of emissions from the plant. Those concerns cannot easily be equated with the public interest issues...."

3. However even if residents' concerns can be equated to "the public interest" the extent of those concerns in the present case is questionable."

4. The appellant says "that the permit in question aroused very substantial concern and controversy from residents and public bodies including Rugby Borough Council, and that she was acting in an almost entirely altruistic fashion so the matter could come before the courts". However there is no evidence of widespread public support of the case in Rugby or elsewhere."

5. It is respectfully submitted that the public's lack of response to consultations on more recent Agency determinations is more indicative of actual levels of actual interest."

6. Mrs P "put up the claimant David Edwards to secure funding"... and "in essence these proceedings constitute one relatively affluent and committed individual's private campaign."

7. In her submission she 'says' she has funded her costs before the Lords out of a legacy and that she will be put to serious hardship if she also has to pay the Respondents' costs.

8. Mrs P claims this is a "serious deterrent to access to justice".
Mrs P argues that the Respondenst should be denied their 'reasonable costs' and that these should fall instead upon the tax payer.

9. As regards the EU Directive as regards costs 2003/35/EC provides that any such procedure should be fair, equitable, timely and not prohibitively expensive.

10. Mrs P says the UK has failed to properly implement the requirements of the directive and this will be disputed by the government. The cost of litigating environmental issues in the UK is "minimised by inter alia" the availability of legal aid, and of the protective costs orders. The fact that in any event these were not available to Mrs P in the circumstances of this particular appeal does not undermine the Government's position in that regard."

11. Mrs P decided to take over the case from Mr Edwards and she was well aware of the risks that this involved. It can hardly be said that the costs would be a serious deterrent to access to justice.

12. The only part of the case where she has succeeded is in "the simple procedural irregularity by the Agency." and this is 'ONLY a breach of the common law rules of fairness' by the Agency in failing to disclose the AQMAU reports.

13. SO, in other words, deceiving the public, misleading and failing to disclose the MOST DAMGING DATA about the emissions and health impact is all right by us!

ENGAGING IN COMMUNITY RELATIONS?

OR FLOGGING A DEAD HORSE?

Yet more "sham" "pretend" "meaningless" public "consultations", perhaps "invented" to keep Rugby residents off the streets, and busy, as our time, money and energy are all squandered in yet more abuse of process. WHAT MEANINGFUL OUTCOME CAN THERE POSSIBLY BE?

RUGBY CEMENT COMMUNITY FORUM
60,000 residents involved in cement plant STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.
Rugby Borough Council awarded £15,000 from the existing HEALTH PROTECTION BUDGET, and with Cemex and the Environment Agency jointly engaged THE ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL to undertake a review of stakeholder and community relations around the Rugby Cement Plant, and to make recommendations on potential ways forward.

"We did this by gathering information and feedback from a range of stakeholder and community members, through one on one telephone interviews. We then analysed this information, identified emerging themes and have made a series of observations and recommendations, all of which are included in the attached report."
The report is being simultaneously released to the funders of the review (CEMEX, the Environment Agency and Rugby Borough Council) and stakeholder and community members. It will also be available on The Environment Council's website at: http://www.the-environment-council.org.uk/rugby-cement-plant-stakeholder-engagement-review.html, Rugby Borough Council's website at: www.rugby.gov.uk and CEMEX's website at: www.cemex.co.uk

"In order to give all stakeholders (including funders) an opportunity to respond to the report and its recommendations, and give feedback, The Environment Council will be convening a workshop in late June.
The report and its recommendations are The Environment Council's advice, based on long experience of best practice engagement, on the optimal approaches and methods to apply to achieving robust, transparent and open stakeholder and community engagement. Acting on these recommendations may entail resource commitments and CEMEX, the Environment Agency and Rugby Borough Council will need to take a joint view on the best way to proceed."

"One of the key purposes of the workshop is to allow all interested parties to contribute their views and feedback specifically on the report and its recommendations, which will help inform decisions about future steps. The workshop will focus on gaining feedback on the report, and won't focus on issue-based questions such as activity currently going on around the cement plant, potential future resource implications, or reiterating information that has already been considered in the formulation of the report and its recommendations."

WAIT A MOMENT - IT DOES NOT ADD UP!
IS THIS THE SAME ENVIRONMENT AGENCY THAT SAYS "NO-ONE BUT LILIAN IS BOTHERED ABOUT THE CEMENT WORKS IN RUGBY!"

TYRE TRIALS CONSULTATION, or ABUSE OF PUBLIC?
Rugby residents are now to comment to Cemex on the "draft 6 tonnes and hour tyre trial report", but with what aim in mind? Year after year we "being consulted", bombarded even, by yet ever more SHAM, time-wasting, costly, soul-destroying, meaningless, false promises of public participation! Rugby Borough Council paid out £10,000 to a facilitator to produce the Tyre Burning Review Group's damning report on 3 tonnes and hour, which the Council endorsed! But to what effect? Perhaps they should look up the definition of "consultation" in a dictionary?

"PUT UP AND SHUT UP!"would be much more honest, and "business as usual!" End now the "tick boxes", of "community engagement"! The Environment Agency, RBC, WCC and Rugby Cement have well and truly flogged the dead horse of consultation in Rugby.

But here we go again - residents are to be consulted on the waste plant?

HA! HA! HA!

HORSE TRADING

BEGINS AT SOUTHAM AND RUGBY.
SECTION 106 PRICE TAG?
WHAT AM I BID?
WASTE PROCESSING PLANT
Southam and Rugby parallel applications due in any day. Focus is now on the "delicate negotiations" no doubt going on in the back room between Cemex and the County Council. What SECTION 106 payment will be offered in order to make "WHAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE UNACCEPTABLE, ACCEPTABLE"?

DEAL, OR NO DEAL?
So far, unsurprisingly, the County and Borough councils have refused to answer any questions about this current "negotiating process", and have failed to make it transparent. What price will be put on our heads, and who will decide what is acceptable, and who gets to keep the Section 106 cash? Rugby residents are still smarting, (and will until the cement plant is demolished), from the last County "sell out", when Rugby's environment, amenity, air quality and health, was compromised and traded by the County Council in the 1996 deal, that breached Community Law - had no Environmental Impact Assessment, or public consultation. All for a paltry £500,000 as a "contribution" towards Rugby Cement's Western Relief Road. (Later things were made worse when the relevant air quality impact and other related data was concealed by the Agency, County and Borough Council as they jointly turned the cement works into a co-incinerator without following the due IPC and IPPC and EIA process.) This pittance, (as that was what it was even at that time!) as all recall, was then put in the bank at WCC and the annual interest paid to Rugby Cement, as they argued over the route, putting it in the green belt to "conserve" the route for Rugby Cement, until the "sell by date" expired, and the pittance was due to be returned, unspent, in February 2006. Council officials are tight-lipped about the location of this illicit fund. Did they pay it back or not?

SINK TOWN?
And even more tight lipped about how the County has devalued the whole of Rugby, causing it to become a sink town, where people are afraid to speak up, some for fear of persecution by the authorities and others for fear of damaging the marketability of their property. Thousands now have to live next to a massive unlawfully built co-incinerator, which emits about one million cubic metres of polluting gas each hour from the main stack, and many hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of polluted particulate-laden air from the unmonitored Low Level Point Sources, with no fail-safe mechanisms, (even the much-heralded bag filters do not work 100% of the time, are not on the emissions from all the sources fed into the main stack for dispersion, and they are bypassed,) getting on for 1,000 juggernauts a day, and a massive polluting plume highly visible all winter. No wonder the powers-that-be want to keep this all "under wraps!"

RAILWAY OR CANAL?
The delay in construction caused by the interminable discussion about whether the Southam Rugby railway should be re-opened to connect the two Cemex sites of Southam and Rugby has cost the public, so far, £26,000,000 in EXTRA construction costs alone. And untold other costs in terms of traffic jams and dangerous pollution, social services, and NHS costs in terms of the health impact in the poor air quality in Rugby. Now they want to increase pollution in an area that is already DEPRIVED, over-polluted, and with pockets of ill health and social and health inequalities. Meanwhile Cemex and the County both make the hilarious suggestion of using the canals to transport the 2,000 tonnes a day of clay to Rugby, but the Waterways Board says this is impossible, a non-starter, with all the locks, and have pointed out that "err! the canals do not even go to the cement works - err!" So that brings us back to the railway again - that has been conserved by WCC and Rugby Cement specifically in order to transport the clay - and now the waste from the Waste Processing plant shortly to be constructed at Southam?

CONTROVERSIAL GAGGING ORDER!
THE WORDS CEMEX/RUGBY CEMENT BANNED!
The Rugby Advertiser 26 June reports that the chattering classes are at it again with their "whispering campaign" to gag me, to shut me up! They are determined to allow no discussion, and to keep other people from hearing my all too pertinent, awkward, revealing questions, which cause them such pain! Long Lawford Parish Council joins RBC and WCC (and the EA) and will not allow the public, (even their own parishioners), and those who they are supposed to serve, to ask any questions about Cemex, its plans and its operations. They all jump on the banning-band-wagon, and shout "Shoot the messenger!" A vain attempt to silence me!
PATHETIC!

RUGBY COUNCIL LEADER'S CONSIDERED RESPONSE

WHEN ASKED TO STOP SHOOTING THE MESSENGER!
AND RESTORE DEMOCRACY IN RUGBY:
GET RID OF ONE PARTY CONTROL SYSTEM:
OPEN DEBATE ABOUT WHERE THIS TOWN IS GOING!

OPEN ACCESSIBLE COUNCIL? HARDLY!
Rugby needs a PUBLIC INQUIRY into the new Cemex planning applications that are to be submitted in July in parallel at Warwickshire County Council for one, or two?, 365,000 tonne waste processing plants. Also a full environmental impact assessment for the cumulative impact of the existing cement plant, the EMISSIONS from the waste burning permutations, and newly proposed 365,000 tonne waste processing plant with its vents and chimney and huge increase in lorries and pollution.

LIST OF RUGBY CEMENT/CEMEX DONATIONS TO BE MADE PUBLIC?
Perhaps for the public record and scrutiny we could have a list of these "timely" donations, and the key persons involved, and how donations might "cloud their decision-making ability"? Recent examples are £150,000 for Church Lawford,
and a £22,500 mini-bus which saw a well-known councillor feature in the Cemex Community Matters newsletter, proudly beaming away as he clutched the keys. Who knows how this may have "encouraged" the widely proclaimed and public support of Cemex, and their plans to burn hundreds of tonnes of waste each day in the Cemex co-incinerator, when he warmly thanked them for their 2nd June 2006 presentation, and said "If we don't get hysterical we can get this through."


OFFICERS AND COUNCILLORS IN DENIAL? The facts should be made known, and questions answered about the alleged maladministration that has been going on over many years, at both WCC and RBC, involving both officers and councillors. The councillors have either been involved in this malpractice, or have "looked away", and in either case they have not done their jobs properly, and have not been supervising or reigning in the wayward officers, who have not carried out their duties correctly.


WARWICKSHIRE COUNCIL OFFICERS:
in 1996 "silenced" Mr Underhill, Chief Planning Officer at RBC. WCC officers actually wrote, (WCC files and I have copies), that, for pecuniary motives (signing first of a section 106 agreement), they had persuaded him not to speak up at the meeting with Rugby Cement, when he had insisted that the plans for the new cement plant and the photo montages were DECEPTIVE, and did not show the TRUE IMPACT, and that the construction of the plant would DESTROY the whole town of Rugby for generations to come! "I think we have persuaded Haywood not to speak until after we have signed the Section 106 agreement," before it goes to planning committee, and then it will be too late for him to say anything!


RUGBY BOROUGH OFFICERS FOOLED
the public in 1999 when they engaged, in secret, in the "Rugby Cement IPC application" process, to which Rugby's Environmental Health Office, in grave dereliction of duty, made no response to the consultation, concealed it from the councillors, and public, and made no attempt whatsoever to minimise and limit the pollution and impact from this cement factory. They then refused to answer any questions about this deception and finally admitted what RBC had done, and then
were reported in the press as saying "those responsible for this were either dead or retired" but would not say who they were, who had acted against Rugby residents best interests. Are those people now receiving a pension?

RUGBY COUNCIL WANTS WASTE BURNING?
as it rushed through officers own personal comments under "assumed delegated power": e.g. the WCC/Cemex bag filter application, without any involvement with Councillors - presumably in an attempt to get as much waste burnt in Rugby as possible? The Environment Agency's Public Register concealed
in RBC EHO office said that the Cemex plant would close if it could not fit the bag filters in order to burn the waste, as it would become uncompetitive, being restricted to coal burning only. Without the bag filters
it would not be able to meet the WASTE INCINERATION DIRECTIVE emission limits for co-incinerating waste cement plants. Warwickshire County Council decided to grant the planning permission without any environmental impact assessment, consideration of the true impact on Rugby, its air quality, health, and without due consideration of the letters from the public and from lawyers, and without any consultation with Rugby Councillors.


TOWN NEEDS TO DECIDE WHERE IT IS GOING AND WHAT IS IN BEST INTEREST!
Is this Council damaging the town and the future, and failing to improve Rugby children's life chances? WCC set up these "Locality panels" adding yet another layer of bureaucracy at huge cost to the rate payers, and with what benefit? While discussion is commendable there needs to be some joined-up thinking and action, as we are one town, and need an overall plan. Should these panels be used for PROPAGANDA?
Dunchurch locality panel at Flecknoe saw Cemex gave its "deceptive" presentation on the waste plant applications for Southam and /or Rugby (only your black bin rubbish my foot?!) to a handful of folk, were unable to ask many questions, and were hurried along.


CLASSICAL MUSIC TO FRIGHTEN AWAY YOUTHS!
At 19th March meeting of Rugby Town West Locality Panel the Committee at the High School suggested they play classical music outside the Kingsway shops to frighten away teenagers by exposing them to "culture" in such a way as to make them ashamed to be hanging about there. All this at Public expense, and organised by whom, and for what purpose?

RBC CONSULTATION :
PUBLIC DEBATE ABOUT RESTORING DEMOCRACY IN COUNCIL:
It is recognised that too much one-sided control is a very dangerous thing, that "absolute power corrupts", and it is widely held view that this Council is not being run properly, with officers seizing too much delegated power, and not being held to account.

Shall we now, having learnt from past mistakes, re-examine the unwise decision to hand all power to the TORY party, in the Cabinet system, and to open up the debate and try to get democracy restored to the Council, which used to work much better when it had meaningful representation from all parties? RBC have been asking people what they
think about the Council - so now is the chance to make amends!

NOT ONE, BUT TWO HOUSEHOLD" WASTE PLANTS!

CEMEX ANNOUNCES SIMULTANEOUS APPLICATIONS EARLY JULY
YOU WILL HAVE AT LEAST 12 WEEKS:
Addressing about 20 people on June 5th at the Dunchurch "Locality" panel in the tiny village of Flecknoe Cemex, making a presentation, announced that the two applications for the MBT PROCESSING OF HOUSEHOLD WASTE would be submitted about two weeks apart, in order to assist Warwickshire County Council - but the applications would be regarded as simultaneous. "Both have merits" - Long Itchington (Southam) is brown field, 12 miles from co-incinerator, but Malpass Rugby is on a landfill, earmarked for industrial use, and is conveniently next door.

CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR WINNERS!
The public have many happy months ahead, a significant period, in which to comment - as the decision will be announced by WCC at Christmas, as a GIFT for the winning community!

There will be two planning applications, two Environmental Impact Assessments, publications, exhibitions, information on web, as many means as possible to communicate with you what is going to happen, and allow you to give your views. We have to build this and to burn waste to save the nitrogen dioxide emissions, which of course are already "way below our emission limits" (err?) but we can save them more. And Carbon Dioxide - we can save that too - by calling these wastes "carbon neutral"! It is much better for us to burn this waste than to continue burning South African coal. It is sustainable and saves this waste from going to landfill, and emitting methane a green house gas 20 times more damaging than carbon dioxide.

WARWICKSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL to be helped with landfill target, to save them and the public from being fined. And we provide 750 jobs locally. "CLIMAFUEL" is on trial now at Rugby as a 30% replacement. (FUNNY SUMS: actually it is on 100% replacement as the 16 tonnes coal needed in the CALCINER is being replaced by 6 tonnes tyres, and the balance of approximately 10 tonnes is being replaced by 15 tonnes climafuel each hour) After the "climafuel trial" there is to be a lengthy consultation in which we will provide data to PROVE there is no NET DETRIMENT!


DEAD BODIES NO PROBLEM:
GORDON COLLETT CHAIRING did not want to "get bogged down" or to allow too many questions. One questioner was worried about living in the prevailing down wind area: This process does not smell like a landfill, and Southam has a chimney ready for use, but we can vent the emissions through the roof at Rugby, as about 25% of the waste will be "moisture" that has to be "dried off and vented". No we will most definitely not have a chimney at Rugby - OK - oh err maybe we will have a "small one". The plant is at negative air pressure and no emissions and odour will escape. EVERYTHING IS KEPT IN! It is all in a sealed building.
Only 25% of waste will be moisture drawn off, and vented. The two plants may vary, and use a different technology.

One questioner said waste was to come from all over the country, and asked what guarantee there was the bins would not contain toxic materials? How would Cemex deal with "dead bodies", and other things like "dog muck" that get into "wheely bins". Apparently household waste is an "homogeneous beast" and "odd extraneous" materials like that, and metals, and "large items", would be sorted out by the MBT process, and turned into the "climafuel".


1,000 TONNES OF WASTE IN TEN LORRIES!
Another question revealed that Southam was the preferred option, and that the 70 clay lorries (each way each day) would only increase "to 80 or 90", or should that read "two 80 or 90? Another odd sum - how do you get 1,000 tonnes a day of bulky waste into 10, OR EVEN 20, lorries? Half the MUNICIPAL WASTE will be suitable to burn , 25-30% will be recycled and "a little 5%" will be landfilled.

INDUSTRIAL COMMERCIAL WASTE in the application/s got no mention at all!
This is all about your black bag rubbish, and what Cemex can do for you!

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS NOW FOR COUNCILLORS ASRUGBY COUNCIL OFFERS PUBLIC INQUIRY TENTATIVE SUPPORT:
In response to public concerns and a growing demand for a Public Inquiry Craig Humphries, leader of Rugby Borough Council said:

"This application in the terms described in the question would be a matter determined by Warwickshire County Council. So far as I am aware no application has been made to date. If, and when it is, the Council will wish to consider its response both as a local planning authority and as a Council. At this stage I will not be seeking to commit the Council to seeking a Public Inquiry."