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"THE ONLY THING NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING"
--Burke

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Native American Tribal government lands and Interior managed lands to get nearly 200 million from Asarco settlement

Google News Alert for: asarco bankruptcy
KVOA.com
ASARCO Settlement Provides $194 Million for Federal, State and Tribal Wildlife ...
KVOA.com
Along with federal, state and tribal co-trustees, Interior brought claims at more than a dozen sites which were settled during the ASARCO bankruptcy. ...
See all stories on this topic

"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that an environmental damage settlement with ASARCO LLC, a North American mining conglomerate, would provide about $194 million for the recovery of wildlife, habitat and other natural resources managed by Interior, state, and tribal governments at more than a dozen sites around the nation."

Grupo Mexico's stock values begin rise

Google News Alert for: asarco bankruptcy
Mexico's Stocks Rise, Peso Weakens Early Thursday; IPC +0.7%
Wall Street Journal
MX) were trading 2% higher at MXN30.60 after the company said Wednesday night that its US subsidiary, Asarco, has exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. ...
See all stories on this topic

ASARCO bankruptcy settlement brings millions to the great state of Montana, home of W.R.Grace Libby Disaster and E. Helena (also burned the secret illegal toxic wastes for years)

Google Alert
"ASARCO bankruptcy settlement brings millions to MT | MINING.com News
By Montana's News Station
Governor Brian Schweitzer has announced that Montana has received nearly $195 million to clean up ASARCO's contaminated sites in the state. "
MINING.com News - http://admin.news.mining.com/

TCEQ News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   CONTACT: LISA WHEELER
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2009  PHONE: 512-239-5003 / PAGER: 512-606-3681
TCEQ Commissioners Welcome New EPA Region 6 Administrator
EPA and TCEQ to discuss new public participation rules

  

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality commissioners today hosted recently appointed EPA Region 6 Administrator Dr. Alfredo “Al” Armendariz at the commission headquarters in Austin. The purpose of the visit was not only to welcome the new administrator to his new position but also to discuss the various rules regarding Texas’ successful air program. Yesterday, commissioners approved for publication a new rule package seeking to expand public participation in the state’s air permit process.

 

"Texas' air quality permitting program is already one of the most robust in the nation,” said Chairman Bryan W. Shaw, Ph.D.  “The TCEQ has taken proactive, aggressive measures to improve air quality in Texas. Air emissions and pollution concentrations in our state are at their lowest level in the past 20 years, while Texas continues to maintain a strong, growing economy.”

 

"I have always viewed public participation as a vital component in the permitting process," said Commissioner Buddy Garcia.  "I appreciate Dr. Armendariz spending time with each of us today, and I look forward to working with him to show the rest of the nation how Texas has been successful and will continue to lead on environmental issues.”  

 

Texas already has a meaningful and engaging public participation process that directly impacts permits and provides significant environmental safeguards,” said Commissioner Carlos Rubinstein. “I welcome the rule changes that will provide even greater public participation and transparency.”

 

A public hearing to accept comment on the proposed rule revisions will take place January 25, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. in Building E, Room 201 S, at the TCEQ campus, 12100 Park 35 Circle, in Austin.   The comment period will end on February 16.


This service is provided to you at no charge by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Visit us on the web at www.tceq.state.tx.us.

GovDelivery, Inc. sending on behalf of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality · 12100 Park 35 Circle · Austin TX 78753 · 512-239-1000

Grupo Mexico: Asarco :: W.R. Grace : Libby Montana disaster

"PHOENIX (AP) -- Mexico City-based mining giant Grupo Mexico SAB has completed its [re-]acquisition of Tucson, Ariz.-based copper miner Asarco LLC.

The transaction Wednesday ended a years long battle waged by Grupo Mexico to reacquire the firm it first bought in 1999 but lost to bankruptcy in 2005 after Asarco was overwhelmed by huge environmental remediation costs." http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Grupo-Mexico-closes-deal-to-apf-372850306.html?x=0&.v=1

------------
"One thing that continues to puzzle some of my contacts in Justice and EPA headquarters is how and why Mercer and David Uhlmann, the then-chief of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section, got away with pursuing criminal indictments [in 2005] against [W.R.] Grace [for the Libby Montana asbestos disaster]." [and LOST the court case]
http://andrewschneiderinvestigates.com/2009/04/26/the-district-court-website-for-judge-donald-molloys-own-domain-offers-link-and-info-on-filing-charges-of-judicial-misconduct-thank-you/


Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Asarco cleaned up Spic and Span when it should be the Federal DOJ that is getting cleaned-up

-- Asarco cleaned up Spic and Span with help from the Federal Department of Justice who failed to acknowledge a confidential-for-settlement-purposes-only  document that their fellow DOJ attorney released to a public information request, and that let us know the EPA had told the DOJ in 1998 Asarco had burned unmanifested/secret hazardous-wastes for profit, for years.   The Federal DOJ Bankruptcy trustee FAILED to make the Bankruptcy courts act on this evidence and failed to hold ASARCO accountable for the liabilities from this secret and toxic hazardous-wastes (both industrial and military origins).

What is our nation of laws coming to when huge corporations like ASARCO (its  parent company is partially owned by the Carlyle Group) are allowed to use our courts to "clean up" their financial image by ignoring basic facts which should have been considered in the bankruptcy-setting?

Everyday working people - the same taxpayers that bailed out the banks - are now in-effect bailing out ASARCO and its creditors because a few Government's employees allowed this company escape its culpability (as we speak, the Supreme Court has re-opened the ENRON case to reconsider the "honest services provision" of the mail and wire fraud act that holds such government employees accountable (why?)).

Google Blogs Alert for: asarco bankruptcy
RapidShare Introduces Americas Reseller Program
By Rapidshare Ag
November 24th, 2009 Exec says new Asarco to be profitable, competitivePHOENIX — A top executive with the company set to take over Asarco LLC says the Tucson-based copper miner will emerge from a grueling four-year bankruptcy court ...
PR Hub - http://blog.taragana.com/pr/

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Our UTEP students are still walking around exposed to these levels of Arsenic; and the new plan is to build a UTEP research park at Asarco's site

UTEP Campus along Sunbowl Drive and Paisano, showing levels of toxic metals detected by the EPA in 2004...
Red dots: Residential Properties that Exceed 46 ppm (As) and/or 500 ppm (Pb) (883)
Green dots: Residential Properties that are Equal to or Below 46 ppm (As) and/or 500 ppm (Pb) (1640)


from 2/2004 Sample Location Map El Paso County Metals Survey, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas [USEPA REGION 6 START-2]

At a recent TXDOT open-house Mr. Berry indicated that the I-10 & Schuster Interchange Project had found no problems (i.e. no toxic levels of anything). The area he was referring to is shown on this map as where RIM Road extends down to the end of Sunbowl Drive toward Paisano. He stated that UTEP was building that new [Nursing/Health Sciences] building right there, and said that surely there could be no problem if UTEP was building right there...

But, this EPA map shows that the area on Sunbowl Drive where that building has been placed is next to a sea of red dots -- indicating that the dirt was likely very toxic before UTEP started breaking ground.

The TXDOT project and the UTEP building are happening in the midst of this sea of red dots; and, the government is doing nothing.