June 4th, 2010
County commissioners honor Texas Lehigh

Front row, left to right; Hays County Precinct 3 Commissioner Will Conley, Precinct 4 Commissioner Karen Ford, Pct. 4, Texas Lehigh Cement Company President Bob Kidnew, Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe, Precinct 2 Commissioner Jeff Barton. Back row, left to right: Hays County Judge Liz Sumter, Lehigh plant manager Don Killebrew, Lehigh environmental manager Rick Waddell, Lehigh safety director John Childress. Hays County photo.

STAFF REPORT

The Hays County Commissioners Court recently adopted a proclamation recognizing Texas Lehigh Cement Company’s achievements in environmentally beneficial industry practices.

Texas Lehigh President Bob Kidnew accepted the proclamation on behalf of the company, which also received a Texas Environmental Excellence Award in May from Gov. Rick Perry’s Blue Ribbon Committee.

Texas Lehigh Cement was formed in 1986 as a joint venture to market cement from the production facility in Buda. It has the capacity to produce more than one million tons of Portland cement a year.

In 2009, Texas Lehigh worked with the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) to voluntarily reduce the amount of ozone precursors (nitrogen oxide) at its Buda plant during Ozone Action Days. The company also worked with Austin-based Carbon Shrinks, LLC, to create a community advisory group and a voluntary testing protocol to help prove that emissions from alternate fuels are safe.

The plant is partially powered by alternative fuels, such as used tires and untreated wood waste from regional collection, rather than relying entirely on fossil fuels.