More and more destruction, out of sight and out of mind

Since PETER HYLANDS wrote the article you have just read there has been even more destruction of the Burrup rock art, including the Cemex incident.

TOM ARUP writes in the Melbourne Age May 4, 2009

GLOBAL cement company Cemex (founded in Mexico in 1906) is facing prosecution for allegedly destroying heritage-protected indigenous rock art in northern Western Australia.

Late last year rock blasting and bulldozing at the Nickol Bay quarry on the culturally significant Burrup Peninsula extended into a heritage-protected zone known to contain rock engravings up to 10,000 years old.

Under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, companies can face up to $5 million in fines and individual managers seven years in jail for such a breach.

What actually happened? What of governance standards in Australia?

ROBIN CHAPPLE says:

"The decision to fine cement company Cemex $280,000 over its destruction of ancient Indigenous rock art on the Burrup Peninsula is a pathetic one.

ROBIN CHAPPLE said his reaction to the destruction, which occurred when blasting and bulldozing at Nickol Bay Quarry extended into a recognised heritage zone, went "beyond outrage" and said the maximum penalties should have been applied.

Cemex's negligence and obvious disregard for cultural heritage has resulted in the obliteration of ten thousand year-old art that is of incalculable significance to the traditional owners of the Burrup and to humanity at large.

Not only did Cemex allow this desecration to occur, it actively tried to deny its occurrence. It is incredible that the maximum penalties were not imposed in this case - the value of the art was beyond calculation, but it is certainly worth more than the pathetic fine imposed today.

The fine issued to Cemex is worse than insignificant; it is virtually an incitement for contractors to ignore heritage protection zones in the future. The attitude of both the Federal and State governments towards heritage protection in the Burrup and elsewhere, was partly to blame for the initial desecration of the rock art.

Both State and Commonwealth agencies were initially very lax in prosecuting this matter. I think this reflects a wider attitude in
government that development always nixes cultural heritage.

The rock art on the Burrup is older than the Pyramids and is another Uluru in terms of cultural significance. In fact the entire peninsula meets the official criteria for World Heritage listing. We have just seen very clearly that neither governments nor a major regional contractor give a damn about one of the most precious heritage areas on the planet".

February 2004

State fines CEMEX $280,000

By Trevor Hughes
The Daily Times-Call

LYONS - State regulators have slapped CEMEX with a $280,000 fine after inspectors found multiple clean-air violations at the cement plant, including a nonexistent system for controlling dust.

In the 16-page consent decree signed by the state health department and CEMEX managers and released Monday, the company agreed to pay the fines but did not admit to wrongdoing. The company also denied anyone was hurt by any of its actions.

"It's pocket change to them, and yet they still refuse to accept any responsibility," said Lou Dobbs of the Environmental Justice Project, a group of local residents skeptical of CEMEX. "Until they can admit their wrongdoing, the trust in the community will remain at a low ebb."

Dobbs lives across the street from the 2,500-acre CEMEX plant.

In addition to a $132,300 fine, the company must launch a $150,000 "supplemental environmental project" to develop stronger environmental and public health protections at the plant on Colo. Highway 66.

As part of that effort, CEMEX must tell people it violated air-quality laws.

"The report is just the beginning," said Richard Cargill, executive director of the St. Vrain Valley Watchdogs, a group formed to monitor CEMEX. "It's the beginning of seeking solutions that go beyond compliance - to have a clean plant because you want to be a good neighbor."

Cargill's group, along with the Sierra Club and local residents, are fighting CEMEX's plans to burn used tires in its kiln.

CEMEX blasts limestone from a quarry on the north side of Colo. 66, trucks it across the road, then heats it in a kiln to make cement.

The groups say CEMEX cannot be trusted to burn tires cleanly if it cannot reliably follow state clean-air rules.

The state report said CEMEX, among other findings, failed to adequately control dust leaking from its A-frame storage building, lied about the pollution-control equipment on the A-frame, failed to control dust on access roads, and failed to calculate how much dust was escaping the site. All are requirements of the plant's existing permits.

The biggest violation appears to center on the A-frame storage building, a large structure the company uses to store limestone needed for making cement.

According to the state, CEMEX said it used a "baghouse" - an attached room filled with filtering bags - to control dust coming from the building.

"From April 2001 through August 2003, CEMEX operated the plant's A-frame without the required baghouse," the report said. "On or about June 20, 2003, CEMEX filed an air pollution emission notice ... (and) identified a baghouse ... as the pollution control equipment. ... There was no baghouse on the A-frame transfer point, and had not been such a baghouse for at least two years."

CEMEX shut down the A-frame in August under state order and has not reopened it. But that is also causing problems. Under state regulations, the plant can handle only 180,000 tons of "clinker" or cooked limestone material, outside.

The plant is approaching that level now, the state said. Once CEMEX exceeds that limit, it will be fined $10,000 per month for the rest of the year.

CEMEX plant manager John Lohr did not return a phone call Monday.