The other principal bond-holder for ASARCO...

"...Plainfield Asset Management LLC was founded in February 2005 by Max Holmes [the ASARCO El Paso air hearing was held around 5/2005].  The firm manages investment capital for institutions and high net worth individuals based in the United States and abroad.  Plainfield currently employs over 130 people among its three offices in Greenwich, Connecticut, Summit, New Jersey and London, England.

Plainfield Asset Management LLC is a registered investment adviser with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.  Plainfield Asset Management LLP is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom.  Plainfield is a QPAM for ERISA fiduciaries.  The firm's accountants are PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.  The firm's prime brokers are Goldman Sachs & Co., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., JPMorgan Prime Services and Citigroup.  The firm's principal lawyers are Seward & Kissel LLP."

STILL NO ONE TALKING about the now public DOCUMENT in which the EPA told the Federal DOJ that ASARCO had burned secret toxic-waste for nearly 10 years.....

SO WHY ISN'T THE DOJ AND THE COURT LOOKING at the liabilities from this secret toxic-waste????

"

Objections Pour In Over Grupo Mexico's Asarco Plan Bankruptcy Law 360 (subscription) Law360, New York (August 06, 2009) -- A flood of objections have come in against the parent company of Asarco LLC, which filed one of three competing ... See all stories on this topic

---

 This as-it-happens Google Alert is brought to you by Google."

"Law360, New York (August 06, 2009) -- A flood of objections has come in against the parent company of Asarco LLC, which filed one of three competing reorganization plans for the bankrupt copper mining company.

The deadline for filing objections to the plan was Wednesday..."

[Fwd: Re: El Paso Times article and question]

-------- Original Message --------

Subject:	Re: El Paso Times article and question
Date:	Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:33:34 -0500
From:	Lorinda Gardner <LGARDNER[at]tceq.state.tx.us>

Attached please find groundwater semi-annual sample results for the ASARCO El Paso site which were recently obtained from ASARCO.  The results cover the years 2005-2008 (the 2009 results are not yet completed).  Please note that the attachment includes data as received from ASARCO and data that has been adjusted by my staff to make the charts readable (tabs 2005, 2006, 2007).  None of the data has been changed other than to adjust the format.

 

You asked "WHAT TCEQ tests on the "smelter's impact on groundwater" have been
completed.  And do these tests include hexavalent chromium?"  You have access to data on the Agency's ASARCO web site and the attached groundwater samples.  These data sets do not include hexavalent chromium.  The Agency's regional staff are currently conducting a split sampling event at the ASARCO El Paso site.  Hexavalent Chromium tests are planned for this sampling event.

 

You also asked "I would also like an explanation why the TCEQ never mentioned these
tests when many of us were just there talking with the TCEQ?  How much
more information is being left out?"  There was never an intention to leave information out of conversations either written or verbal.  The data is essentially considered as a set and all of it was used by ASARCO in the assessment of the site.  In the interests of transparency, we will post the data to the website as soon as possible.

 

Additionally, I've attached surface water sampling results as well.  You may have seen these before as they were included in Jim Sher's expert report for the bankruptcy litigation.  Note that there are exceedances for arsenic in the Rio Grande and the American Canal.  The TCEQ's planned remedy for the site addresses contamination reaching these water bodies from the ASARCO site.  Prior to the implementation of that remedy, we do not think these exceedances pose a problem for El Paso's drinking water for two reasons: 1) the closest drinking water intake is located approximately 2 miles from the site; and 2) El Paso treats water to drinking water standards prior to delivery to customers.

 

 

Thanks

Lorinda D Gardner

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

El Paso Regional Director

lgardner[at]tceq.state.tx.us

>>> <> 7/17/2009 9:41 AM >>>
Hi, Lorinda,

Please explain the following to our community.  According to the El Paso
Times yesterday, "In addition, tests in El Paso to determine the
smelter's impact on groundwater have been completed. The Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality is reviewing a proposed treatment
plan to deal with contamination caused by the smelter."

WHAT TCEQ tests on the "smelter's impact on groundwater" have been
completed.  And do these tests include hexavalent chromium?

I would like a copy of the tests and test results (please let me know if
costs will exceed 25$).

I would also like an explanation why the TCEQ never mentioned these
tests when many of us were just there talking with the TCEQ?  How much
more information is being left out?

USW also fails to talk about the secret Toxic Waste!!!

"Google News Alert for: asarco

(AMM) USW objects to Grupo Mexico's Asarco bid Metalbulletin.com (subscription) ... as promised, with the US Bankruptcy Court in Corpus Christi, Texas, against Grupo Mexico SA de CV's bid for bankrupt copper miner Asarco LLC. ... See all stories on this topic

---

 This as-it-happens Google Alert is brought to you by Google. "

Tacoma parks

"Google News Alert for: asarco

Metro Parks takes action in Asarco bankruptcy case Tacoma Weekly By Dawn Quinn The Metro Parks Board of Commissioners voted on a reorganization plan for retrieving funds owed to them by the now bankrupt ASARCO mining and ... See all stories on this topic

---

 This as-it-happens Google Alert is brought to you by Google."

"In the mid-‘90s, Metro Parks Tacoma (MPT) and ASARCO had come to an agreement on public improvements to be made to Metro Parks property and the two organizations signed legal documents affirming these agreements. In 2005, ASARCO filed for bankruptcy, and agreed to pay $5 million to MPT to make improvements last year. MPT has yet to receive any of these funds as of today."

TCEQ refuses to add FORMERLY SECRET DOCUMENT LINK to their ASARCO site

"Thank your for your suggestion. TCEQ understands that the memo [it is not a "memo" but instead is a 73 page confidential-for-settlement-purposes-only document ] is part of the history of the facility. However, our goal with the TCEQ web site is to inform people of the progress at the site on a going forward basis. As such TCEQ declines your request for adding the provided link to our ASARCO web page.
Sincerely

John Flores" [TCEQ]
==========================================
8/4/2009 10:12 AM

Dear Mr. Flores,

Please add a link to your Asarco Remediation website (http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/remediation/sites/asarco.html) to the now-public document
http://archives.newspapertree.com/Asarco/asarco_1998_memo.pdf (also covered by the NYTimes in a front page story 10/06).

We do not appreciate that the website has omitted this and wish it to be corrected -- this is a very important and key document for our community, because the EPA states to the Federal DOJ that ASARCO illegally and deliberately burned illegal and secret hazardous-wastes for profit for nearly ten years. ASARCO signed off on this secret-settlement-document. Rep. Reyes said that Asarco signed it on condition that details of what it had done would never become public.

However, the document is now public, and the community wants to know more.

Please post a link to this now-public document on your website.

thank you,

Harbinger backs out to let Grupo Mexico take on Sterlite....

"A unit of hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners said its plan to restructure Tucson-based copper miner Asarco LLC should be set aside while

.....a confirmation hearing is held on the other two plans. Only if neither of those is approved should Harbinger's plan be put forth for confirmation, according to the filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Corpus Christi, Texas."

http://www.azstarnet.com/business/303453

East Helena fails to ask about the illegal and secret Toxic-wastes?? (these went to Helena, too!)

"Google News Alert for: asarco

Share your East Helena smelter history, photos Helena Independent Record By Independent Record - 08/04/09 As Asarco moves forward with the planned demolition of the three historic smoke stacks, the Independent Record wants to ... See all stories on this topic"

Our community wants to know

NO ONE is talking about the now public EPA-DOJ 1998 "confidential for settlement purposes only" document that revealed ASARCO burned illegal toxic wastes secretly for years for profit next to the Rio Grande.......

The Bankruptcy Court is not considering the liabilities from those secret toxic wastes spread over the Paso del Norte region. The DOJ Bankruptcy Trustee has failed to require that the Court consider the liabilities from the secret toxic wastes. The existence of these secret-wastes was CONCEALED and hidden away for eight years until an honest DOJ person released this document publicly. This information is now in the public domain. We know that the EPA said to the DOJ that ASARCO burned secret toxic wastes for years, for profit next to the Rio Grande (NYTimes 10/2006).

How can this company go through Bankruptcy and the DOJ, the Court, and the EPA entirely ignore that the EPA proved massive amounts of secret toxic chemicals from both military and industrial sources were handled and burned by ASARCO in our community??

Our Rio Grande next to Asarco is the LOVE CANAL of our region. 110 years of contamination - nearly ten or more years of it being secret toxic wastes -- are now "buried" in the sediments and surrounding lands around the Rio Grande including the alluvium beneath the old American Canal.

Our State and Federal politicians are failing to ask what these toxic chemicals are. Our community wants to know .

Wall St. Journal Aug 1-2 p. b-1

"UbS AG and the Swiss Gov..... agreed to settle a tax-evasion probe...An official transfer of account-holder identities might not happen until after September 23 [said]...lawyer who is representing UbS clients"....

A full month after the ASARCO bankruptcy is supposed to end. What about that ASARCO A.G. Swiss bank?

"The U.S. probe...is expected to expand to outside consultants that may have helped steer business to UbS or other Swiss banks"

Why won't the EPA and Federal DOJ make ASARCO's bankruptcy court consider the now public document detailing the incineration of illegal secret wastes for profit for nearly ten years??? WHAT IS being COVERED UP STILL???

The people of the Paso del Norte region would like to know.

HARBINGER'S CITIGROUP RECOMMENDS INVESTING IN PEMEX now

Citigroup recommends investment in Mexican oil giant Oil Online Banking giant Citigroup recommends investment in Mexican state-run oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) via its dollar-denominated bonds. ... See all stories on this topic

---

 This as-it-happens Google Alert is brought to you by Google.

Mexican federal police raided the headquarters of state oil monopoly Pemex on Wednesday

The Oil Drum | Drumbeat: July 30, 2009 By Leanan MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican federal police raided the headquarters of state oil monopoly Pemex on Wednesday in an investigation into rampant fuel theft that costs the company more than $2 billion a year, Pemex said. ... The Oil Drum - Discussions about... - http://www.theoildrum.com/frontpage

---

 This as-it-happens Google Alert is brought to you by Google.

.

Gulf of Mexico States, Washington D.C. and Mexico meet to discuss the Gulf of Mexico

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    

TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2009

CONTACTS: TCEQ-- TERRY CLAWSON 512/239-0046

                         GOMA-- VALERIE KLEINSCHMIDT 251/861-2523

 

TCEQ CHAIRMAN ATTENDS GULF OF MEXICO MEETING

Gulf of Mexico Alliance Aims to Keep Gulf a Treasured Resource

The Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) will convene Aug. 4-6 in Mobile, Ala., to address the health of the Gulf Region, drawing a diverse array of representatives from the five Gulf states, Washington D.C., and Mexico. Participants will gather to discuss implementation of the 2009 Governors’ Action Plan which outlines key steps and priorities for the Alliance over the next five years. 

 

“This alliance is about increasing regional collaboration to enhance the ecological health of the Gulf of Mexico,” said Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Chairman Buddy Garcia.  “A clean, healthy Gulf is essential to all Texans, whether they enjoy the recreational opportunities it offers, or the economic strength it brings to our state.”

 

Signed and supported by each of the five Gulf State governors, the Governors’ Action Plan aims to enhance community resilience, promote environmental education, support habitat restoration, reduce nutrient inputs to coastal waters, mitigate impacts to water quality, and identify and characterize Gulf ecosystems. Taking on issues that matter to Gulf state citizens, the Alliance is focused on achieving real results for a healthy Gulf.

 

“Texas, along with the Alliance, recognizes the Gulf economy, ecosystem health and water quality as challenges for the Gulf Region,” said Garcia.  “By working to organize and implement accurate mapping, tide level predictions, resilient land use plans, and habitat conservation and restoration, the Alliance aims to increase communities’ ability to bounce back after storm events.”

 

Some other actions of the Alliance involve increasing awareness of the connection between the environment and our health by coordinating effective water quality testing and working together to evaluate algal blooms and mercury in Gulf fish.  The Alliance is working to decrease the dead/hypoxic zone by reducing nutrient inputs. Through the implementation of a Sediment Master Plan, dredged material will be used for the most crucial restoration projects.      

 

The second Governors’ Action Plan for Healthy & Resilient Coast builds upon the successes of the last and sets specific actions to be undertaken for a healthy economy and ecology for the Gulf of Mexico. The regional meeting enables federal, state, non-profit, business, education, and research members of the Alliance to come together to solidify a course of action for the next five years. To learn more go to www.gulfofmexicoalliance.org.

 

 

Only money sacred?

"LONDON - British mining giant Vedanta said Tuesday it is going ahead
with plans to mine a bauxite-rich hillside in Orissa considered sacred
land by local tribals, and urged two international NGOs to give up their
protest campaign.

"We are proceeding with the mining plans but there are still a few
permissions that need to be granted," Zoe Watt, a spokeswoman for
Vedanta Resources, told IANS after a high-profile protest at the Annual
General Meeting of shareholders in London Monday."

http://blog.taragana.com/n/vedanta-to-go-ahead-with-mining-sacred-orissa-hill-122669/

Grupo Mexico Revamps Asarco Plan In Bid For Creditor Support,David McLaughlin 27 July 2009

"....Grupo Mexico said Monday it wants to revamp its proposed reorganization plan for Asarco in a move to secure creditor backing....A federal bankruptcy judge in Texas earlier this month said creditors could begin voting on the plans, with a voting deadline of Aug. 5. Grupo Mexico will go back to court Tuesday...."

https://www.fis.dowjones.com/WebBlogs.aspx?aid=DJFDBR0020090727e57r000gp&ProductIDFromApplication=&r=wsjblog&s=djfdbr

And NO ONE is talking about the now public EPA-DOJ 1998 "confidential for settlement purposes only" document that revealed ASARCO burned illegal toxic wastes secretly for years for profit next to the Rio Grande.......

The Bankruptcy Court is not considering the liabilities from those secret toxic wastes spread over the Paso del Norte region.  The DOJ Bankruptcy Trustee has failed to require that the Court consider the liabilities from the secret toxic wastes.   The existence of these secret-wastes was CONCEALED and hidden away for eight years until an honest DOJ person released this document publicly.    This information is now in the public domain.  We know that the EPA said to the DOJ that ASARCO burned secret toxic wastes for years, for profit next to the Rio Grande (NYTimes 10/2006). 

How can this company go through Bankruptcy and the DOJ, the Court, and the EPA entirely ignore that the EPA proved massive amounts of secret toxic chemicals from both military and industrial sources were handled and burned by ASARCO in our community??

Our Rio Grande next to Asarco is the LOVE CANAL of our region.    110 years of contamination - nearly ten or more years of it being secret toxic wastes -- are now "buried" in the sediments and surrounding lands around the Rio Grande including the alluvium beneath the old American Canal.

Our State and Federal politicians are failing to ask what these toxic chemicals are.  Our community wants to know .

Mexican Miners' Strike Enters Second Year

Mexican Miners' Strike Enters Second Year, as Cross-Border ...
In These Times - Chicago,IL,USA

"The Cananea strike currently has extra significance to U.S. unions because of industry giant Grupo Mexico’s bid to take over Asarco, a bankrupt U.S. mining company that Grupo previously controlled as a subsidiary...The U.S. Department of Justice has opposed Grupo Mexico’s attempt to reclaim Asarco. Arizona, Texas and California-based members of the USW have had close contact with Cananea miners since they went on strike in July 2007..."

CHEJ Executive Director testimony to Superfund Briefing Committee

7/10/09
Congressional Briefing Looks at Benefits of Refinancing Superfund

This week, Lois Gibbs, CHEJ Executive Director presented the case for renewing Superfund polluter pays fees at a Congressional briefing sponsored by Rep. Blumenauer. Superfund sites are the most toxically polluted sites in the country. They endanger the health of local communities and inhibit economic growth. Read Lois’s full remarks here.

would just add that the ASARCO bankruptcy is a fraud, because the court is not considering the now-public "confidential-for-settlement-purposes-only-EPA-DOJ" document (signed secretly by Asarco in a confidential DOJ-Asarco agreement) proving that ASARCO burned toxic waste for profit secretly for years here -- next to the Rio Grande....

Citigroup comment on PEMEX....

Pemex Bond Yield Gap to Mexico Shrinks by 69% as Profit Outlook ...

"Pemex’s borrowing costs are coming down because the company and government are “interdependent,” Suarez said. “Pemex is cheap right now.”

The company’s second-quarter results, scheduled to be released tomorrow, improved as a surge in oil prices offset falling crude production and a rebound in the peso cut debt- servicing costs, said Arnulfo Rodriguez, head of fixed-income research at Citigroup’s Banamex unit in Mexico City."

 [Citigroup.... bond holder for ASARCO along with Harbinger group ... see: "Citigroup is an affiliate of Harbinger Capital Partners, a hedge fund manager. Citigroup and Harbinger are creditors in Asarco's pending bankruptcy proceeding. They are based in New York and together are owed $300 million." http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_12806700 )

Grupo Mexico amends its Asarco reorganization plan

Grupo Mexico amends its Asarco reorganization plan
"MEXICO CITY, July 27 (Reuters) - Grupo Mexico has amended its reorganization plan for bankrupt U.S. subsidiary Asarco .....

Asarco said last week it would sell the Southern Copper shares won in the Brownsville decision and had already contacted more than 100 potential bidders.

But Grupo Mexico countered that the shares cannot be sold until the Brownsville appeal was decided. Grupo Mexico set aside $1.3 billion in an escrow account as a guarantee to creditors.....(Reporting by Mica Rosenberg, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)"

MEANWHILE THE USA FEDERAL DEPT. OF JUSTICE, THE USA FEDERAL EPA, and the ASARCO BANKRUPTCY COURT are IGNORING the now PUBLIC  EPA-DOJ Asarco confidential-for-settlement-purposes-only document that details how ASARCO deliberately and secretly burned toxic wastes for profit for nearly ten-years along the Rio Grande..... (NYTimes 10/2006).   

Asarco's attorney(s) state that this illegal activity never happened (?!?!) and that the GAO investigation proved it (The GAO investigation did not "investigate" Asarco" - that was not the purpose of that GAO report/investigation).   These attorney(s) are acting as if this now-public document was STILL SECRET.  

BY TOTALLY IGNORING THE ASARCO LIABILITIES FROM THE SECRET TOXIC-WASTES HANDLED AT ENCYCLE/ELPASO/E.HELENA,  ASARCO's CORPUS CHRISTI BANKRUPTCY is perpetuating a fraud.

THIS NEEDS CORRECTED BY HONEST PEOPLE IN OUR FEDERAL DOJ.   That formerly confidential for settlement purposes only document IS NOT CONFIDENTIAL ANY MORE.  IT IS NOW A PUBLIC DOCUMENT and the DOJ, EPA and Bankruptcy Court should be disclosing the secret toxic wastes.

THE COMMUNITY OF the Paso del Norte (El Paso, Sunland Park) plead with our Federal Government to deliver honest DOJ oversight of the Bankrupcty in Corpus Christi before it the powers-that-be get away with "cleaning up" ASARCO at the expense of ignoring the sick, the babies, the elderly and infirm of our region who depend upon their government to protect them.

ASARCO_Hearing_August_10

Case 05-21207 Document 11899 Filed in TXSB on 07/06/09 Page 330 of 341
"26.2 Confirmation Hearing.
Section 1128(a) of the Bankruptcy Code requires the court, after notice, to hold a hearing on
confirmation of a proposed plan. The Confirmation Hearing has been scheduled to commence on August 10, 2009 at
9:00 a.m. before the Honorable Richard S. Schmidt, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of Texas, in
his courtroom located at 1133 N. Shoreline Blvd., Second Floor, Corpus Christi, Texas. In order to obtain the protections
of section 524(g) of the Bankruptcy Code, the Confirmation Order must be issued or affirmed by the District Court. Thus,
the Bankruptcy Court and the District Court may jointly conduct the Confirmation Hearing. Alternatively, if solely the
Bankruptcy Court conducts the Confirmation Hearing and enters the Confirmation Order, the Debtors shall ask the District
Court to affirm the Confirmation Order. The Confirmation Hearing may be adjourned from time to time without further
notice except for an announcement of the adjourned date made at the Confirmation Hearing or any subsequent adjourned
Confirmation Hearing.
Section 1128(b) of the Bankruptcy Code provides that any party in interest may object to confirmation
of a plan. Unless otherwise directed or permitted by the Bankruptcy Court, any objection to Confirmation of any of the
Plans must (a) be in writing; (b) conform to the Bankruptcy Rules; (c) set forth the name of the objecting party; (d)
identify the nature of Claims or Interests held or asserted by the objector against the Debtors’ Estates or property; (e) state
the basis for the objection and the specific grounds therefor; and (f) be filed with the clerk of the Bankruptcy Court,
together with proof of service, and served upon each of the following so as to be received in the offices of each such
Persons no later than July 29, 2009 at 4:00 p.m., Prevailing Central Time:

• (1) Jack L. Kinzie, Judith Ross, James RPrince, Baker Botts L.L.P., 2001 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75201-2980;
•  (2) Tony M. Davis, Mary Millwood GregoryBaker Botts L.L.P., One Shell Plaza, 910 Louisiana, Houston, Texas 77002-4995;
  
• (3) Shelby A. Jordan, Jordan, Hyden,Womble, Culbreth & Holzer, P.C., Suite 900, Bank of America, 500 North Shoreline, Corpus Christi, Texas 78471;
• (4) Robert E. Winter, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, 1850 K. Street, 11th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20006
• (5) Robert Jay Moore, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, 601 South Figueroa Street, 30th Floor, Los AngelesCalifornia 90017;
• (6) Charles A. Beckham, Jr., Trey Monsour, Haynes and Boone LLP, 1 Houston Center1221 McKinney, Suite 2100, Houston, Texas 77010;
  
• (7) James C. McCarroll, Reed Smith LLP, 599 Lexington Avenue29th Floor, New York, NY 10022;
•  (8) Paul M. Singer, Reed Smith LLP, 435 Sixth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
• (9) Derek J. Baker, Reed Smith LLP, 2500 One Liberty Place, Philadelphia, PA 19103;
  
• (10) Sander L. Esserman, JacoNewton, Stutzman, Bromberg, Esserman & Plifka, 2323 Bryan Street, Suite 2200, Dallas, Texas 75201;
• (11) John HTate, II, Raymond W. Battaglia, Debra L. Innocenti, Oppenheimer, Blend, Harrison & Tate, Inc., 711 NavarroSixth Floor, San Antonio, Texas 78205;
  
• (12) David L. Dain and Alan S. Tenenbaum, United States Department of JusticeEnvironmental Enforcement Section, 601 D Street NW, Washington, DC 20004 (overnight mail only); [THE_PEOPLE_IGNORING_NOW-PUBLIC_"confidential-for-settlement-purposes--only"EPA_DOJ"73page_document??]
  
• (13) Douglas PBartner, Randy Martin, Shearman & Sterling LLP, 599 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10022;
  
• (14) Richard MSeltzer, Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP, 330 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10025; +
• (15) United States TrusteeAttn: Charles R. Sterbach, 606 N. Carancahua St., Ste. 1107, Corpus Christi, TX 78476; [THE_PEOPLE_IGNORING_NOW-PUBLIC_"confidential-for-settlement-purposes--only"EPA_DOJ"73page_document??]
• (16) Thomas Moers Mayer anGregory A. Horowitz, Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel LLP, 1177 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York10036; and
  
• (17) Phillip L. Lamberson and J. Frasher Murphy, Winstead PC, 5400 Renaissance Tower, 1201 Elm StreetDallas, Texas 75270.