Project Navigator Trustee Office dodges Asarco Waste and Water Contamination questions

Ms. Schell,
the following makes no scientific or "legal" sense. Surely Project Navigator can provide better answers than this and not waste our time.

See my response.

"[Project Navigator]Response: Both the GAO and EPA have fully investigated and reported on the hazardous waste issue involving Encycle and Asarco. In a February 16, 2010 letter to the EPA, several environmental groups presented eight (8) different issues they had with the cleanup of the former ASARCO site. A major request/issue was # 3B: “EPA should make public all information concerning the type, source and amounts of hazardous waste that were illegally incinerated at the facility.” In their May 11, 2010 response the EPA supported TCEQ’s determination that ASARCO was a metal contaminated site and that “EPA has no data that “product” sent by Encycle to ASARCO contained organic chemicals.”

"

GAO did NOT investigate ASARCO. In fact, your "legal" argument is one that the ASARCO attorney himself gave me over the telephone and it is flat out wrong. If you phone the G.A.O. you will be able to confirm for yourself that the investigation was not about ASARCO but about how the military in general handled hazardous waste disposal - and that the GAO included the Asarco handling of RMA (Rocky Mt. Arsenal) waste only as one of many examples they studied. As far as the EPA "full investigation", please READ the 1998 EPA to DOJ Asarco confidential for settlement purposes only document in which the EPA stated that ASARCO had burned unmanifested illegal hazardous waste for profit for years. Rep. Reyes made a public statement soon after declaring that ASARCO had paid millions of dollars on the condition that the details of what it had done would never become public. Yet, this matter is now in the public domain with that release of the DOJ EPA asarco confidential for settlement purposes only document.

As far as your quote stating “EPA has no data that “product” sent by Encycle to ASARCO contained organic chemicals.” -- Please clarify -- I never asked you to test for organic chemicals from Encycle even though we know that the site is contaminated with PCB's and Dioxins (all secondary smelters are producers of the latter). I have asked our environmental agencies to test for actinides and radioactive isotopes -- and, this has not been done. So, since "...in their May 11, 2010 response the EPA supported TCEQ’s determination that ASARCO was a metal contaminated site" WHY HASN'T THIS TESTING (metals and transition metals) BEEN DONE?

Ms. Schell, you write that current onsite electrical workers did not contact Asarco waste [ "PNL workers fully are trained and informed about any current or potential site hazards and are outfitted accordingly. Workers performing electrical work are not in contact with waste and therefore do not need hazmat gear to perform the work. Additionally, workers have been informed of any on site risks."]. This is inherently incredulous, Ms. Schell,
since TCEQ/EPA/Asarco have all documented the heavy industrial-levels-of-contamination at that site with arsenic, and this is odorless, tasteless and documented as being in the air there. Those workers were not wearing masks made to remove vapors or nanoparticles of arsenic.

We ask that the Trustee now address the problem honestly. The International JAC La Paz Accord group has also asked for full disclosure of the Asarco background chemicals left here from its operations. This should include testing for polonium, lead isotopes including radioactive ones, radon, radium precursors for radon, actinides including tritium, uranium, plutonium, and any isotopes from naturally occurring radioisotopes.

In regards to the ammonia-tank. I did not ask about a tank being removed. I asked why a tank was added, and what it had been used for while this site was supposed to have been "idled".

In regards to your statement that "the Trustee will maintain this storm water system through closure of the site. The storm water system that will remain after closure has not been designed yet. " Please explain to me how this present storm water system meets the conditions of the 9-2006 SW-5 permit that says that all stormwater from the Asarco site will be handled via the City stormwater system and not discharged to the RioGrande. According to your statement "SW-5 is located at the western edge of the Former Asarco plant property and discharges through a culvert below the B.N.& S.F. railroad tracks. The permitted discharge for storm water goes into the Rio Grande". THIS SITE IS NOT PERMITTED FOR DISCHARGING STORMWATER TO THE RIO GRANDE, THE AMERICAN CANAL or PAISANO.

Incorrect Asarco Bankruptcy Powerpoint for U.S. EPA HQ, OECA/OSRE,Superfund Symposium,Indianapolis, Indiana,August 10-12, 2010

To:  Mr. Elliott J. Gilberg, Director Wa. D.C. EPA Office of Site Remediation and Enforcement
Fr:   El Paso TX
sb:  Asarco Bankruptcy Powerpoint for U.S. EPA HQ, OECA/OSRE,Superfund Symposium,Indianapolis, Indiana,August 10-12, 2010
http://www.astswmo.org/files/meetings/2010SSMS/Presentations/Gillberg-ASARCO_Bankruptcy-Handout.pdf

Mr. Gilberg,

Your powerpoint leaves out the EPA-DOJ Asarco Confidential-for-Settlement-Purposes-only document in which the EPA proved ASARCO illegally burned secret (unmanifested) hazardous-wastes deliberately for profit for nearly ten years here in El Paso TX and also E. Helena  MT.
http://archives.newspapertree.com/Asarco/asarco_1998_memo.pdf

I would like to know why you did not let conference attendees know about this massive almost-decade-long burning of illegal wastes from both military and industrial sources - this proof was released by the DOJ in 2006 (see NYTIMES 10/2006) and now is in the public domain after eight years of secrecy.

ASARCO Bondholder Citigroup's head of Latin America team handled CEMEX acquisition of RMC and a 1.1 Billion$ offer for Grupo Mexico S.Peru Corp.

Link to Warton Finance Document 2005

"John Boord heads Citigroup Global Markets' Latin America Investment Banking
team....The Citigroup Latin America Investment Banking
team has recently been involved in a number of high-profile transactions
including:
- advising Cemex on the acquisition of RMC Group PLC in Europe,....and a $1.1 billion
offering for Southern Peru Copper scheduled to come to market next week."

Atlantic City Casino and ASARCO A.G. Swiss Bank-President Mikhail Katamanin

"Foreign investor Mikhail Katamanin, who in May was hit with a $12-million foreclosure lawsuit on his Highland Park mansion, filed a personal bankruptcy petition June 6 [2009] in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago.... His debts are described as “primarily consumer,” and the list of creditors includes Atlantis at Paradise Island Resort & Casino in the Bahamas, Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel & Casino and Trump Taj Mahal Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. Chicago lawyer Kori Bazanos, who represents Mr. Katamanin, declined to comment. Related story: Lender asserts claim on lakefront mansion"

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=34626

"A Caribbean investment company has sued to collect on a $12-million loan ...the property is held in trust by Swiss company Asarco A.G., which Mr. Mikhail [Katamanin] controls, according to the complaint and public records....lawyer Irving Drobny, who represents Asarco, is out of the country until next week, according to employees at his office....The claim also is to be arbitrated in Switzerland, according to the complaint."
http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=34626

March 2010 Philadelphia Inquirer .. discussing the “furor” over the involvement of the Chinese government in Morgan Stanley’s casino project Atlantic City

"Morgan Stanley is the financial adviser to Grupo Mexico, and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP is the company's legal counsel."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-23/grupo-mexico-proposes-combining-asarco-southern-copper-mining-operations.html

"Reveling in Your Money

Posted: Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:27:13 +0000

As we wait to see if Governor Christie will sign the bill that takes away the voter's right of referendum on a proposed $300 million tax break for Morgan Stanley's casino, two excellent new articles came out about the issue.

Paul Mulshine, an editorial writer with the Star Ledger, penned a piece entitled "Atlantic City's Revel casino: Wall Street's Reveling in your money."  In the piece, Mulshine wrote:

The prime backer of the half-finished Revel casino, Morgan Stanley, has put together a financing deal that relies on funding from the Chinese government. Yes, you read that right. The geniuses in Trenton are preparing to give a giant grant to a consortium of commies and Wall Streeters.

But as Doherty points out, both the Chinese and Morgan Stanley have plenty of money at the moment. Morgan Stanley got $10 billion in bailout funds, he said, so there's no reason they can't finish the project on their own.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Inquirer has a new article discussing the "furor" over the involvement of the Chinese government in Morgan Stanley's casino project."

ASARCO AMC SOUTHERN COPPER merger agreement being advised by Morgan Stanley and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

SEC filing for AMC ASARCO SOUTHERN COPPER merger includes the following exhibit: 99.1

..."Our proposal is conditioned on, among other things: the negotiation and execution of a mutually satisfactory definitive merger agreement and related agreements and the satisfaction of the conditions set forth therein; the recommendation of the Transaction, the terms thereof and any agreement or agreements relating thereto by a committee of independent directors of Southern Copper to the Board of Directors of Southern Copper; approval of the Transaction and definitive merger documentation by the Boards of Directors of Southern Copper and Grupo México and the Board of Directors and sole stockholder of AMC; AMC’s satisfaction, in its sole discretion, with the results of its due diligence review of Southern Copper; receipt of any governmental and of existing lender and other third-party consents and approvals; and the absence of a material adverse change in the business, results of operations, financial condition, assets, liabilities and prospects of Southern Copper.

We have assembled a team of advisors including Morgan Stanley and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP..."

http://www.faqs.org/sec-filings/100723/SOUTHERN-COPPER-CORP-_8-K/a10-14572_1ex99d1.htm

ASARCO Bankruptcy is over, but workers remain sick

"Ex-Asarco employees seek reason for illnesses by Chris Roberts \ EL PASO TIMES"

" 'Records of the chemicals processed at the plant have been incomplete and in most cases unavailable...'   'People want to cover it up, take down the smokestacks and forget this ever happened,' ...'They (employees) gave this company decades of their healthy years, and all they get is pain.'     Calls to the Asarco headquarters in Tucson seeking comment for this story were not returned."

Workers in 1942

Click on image to enlarge.

"Worker at carbon black plant. Sunray, Texas, 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Worker at carbon black plant John Vachon. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress"
see
http ://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2010/07/26/captured-america-in-color-from-1939-1943/

ASARCO gave EPA monies "from the large Bankruptcy settlement" according to EPA OIG report

page 4
"as the Agency refraining from drawing down from the Superfund Trust Fund at the Bureau of Public Debt for 4 months because the Agency received collections from the large ASARCO Bankruptcy Settlement for Superfund that occurred in the FY 2010 first quarter."

page 5
...'The Agency reported to OMB that the $309 million increase in Collected Spending Authority from Offsetting Collections is primarily due to the ASARCO Bankruptcy Settlement for the Superfund program that occurred in the FY 2010 first quarter.
..."The Agency reported to OMB that the $262 million increase in Change in Unfilled Customer Orders – Advances Received is primarily due to the ASARCO Bankruptcy Settlement for the Superfund program that occurred in the FY 2010 first quarter."

page 10
"The Agency reported to OMB that the $294 million increase in Cashout Advances, Superfund, is primarily due to the ASARCO Bankruptcy Settlement for the Superfund program that occurred in the FY 2010 first quarter."
www.epa.gov/oig/reports/2010/20100719-10-2-0166.pdf

ASARCO former principle-bondholder Citigroup now ordered to pay SEC over 70 million in fines$

"Citigroup to Pay $1 for Every $500 in Subprime Exposure It Hid
by Marian Wang
ProPublica, Yesterday, 4:08 p.m.
Citigroup has agreed to pay the SEC $75 million to settle charges that the bank hid exposure to more than $40 billion [1] in subprime CDOs. (That works out to roughly $1 fine for every $500 worth of hidden exposure.) Read the full SEC complaint".
http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/citigroup-to-pay-for-75-million-for-hiding-exposure-to-subprime-cdos

[do search on "Citigroup" in blog search engine]
[also see epgtlo.blogspot.com/2009/07/citigroup-comment-on-pemex.html ]

Grupo Mexico proposed merger of railroad units

"We are expecting the notification ... of this ruling will be by the end of August," Octavio Ornelas, a director of the company's transportation arm, said on a conference call for investors....'If Cofeco appeals that ruling, then we will spend another six to nine months in order to have a positive ruling so we will have that consolidation ready by the end of the first quarter of next year,' he said....Ferromex and Ferrosur are clustered under Grupo Mexico's transportation division, Infraestructura y Transportes Mexico, or ITM...."

http://www.miningweekly.com/article/grupo-mexico-says-rail-merger-depends-on-regulators-2010-07-29

Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) comprehensive rail plan

Asarco El Paso three years ago.... railroads

"Out in the West Texas Town of El Paso" from May 16th, 2007, THE TEXAS OBSERVER

"...[Rep. Joe] Pickett speculated that [Senator Eliot] Shapleigh’s efforts to block El Paso County [TX] from building or acquiring a tolled railroad bridge [SB 893] was designed to help developers in neighboring New Mexico. 'If you were applying for a presidential permit or talking to the federal folks about where to do a bridge, it would seem to me it would help your cause in New Mexico if there was some statute or some language that said it couldn’t be done in El Paso County...To have something like this is very suspect.' 

Verde Corporate Realty Services, established by El Paso billionare Bill Sanders, owns approximately 20,000 acres adjacent to New Mexico’s Santa Teresa Port of Entry, which is about a 30-minute drive from downtown El Paso. "

http://www.texasobserver.org/blog/index.php?name=out-in-the-west-texas-town-of-el-paso/
[only cached version now works]

Santa Teresa Port of Entry is less than ten miles from the ASARCO El Paso stacks/site (Tacoma WA Asarco contamination zone went out 200 square miles or more).   For more information use keyword search in blog for "Punta Colonet", "Ferromex", "railroad", "Foxcon".

For more about Asarco Grupo Mexico's railroad, read this

"Out in the West Texas Town of El Paso" from May 16th, 2007, THE TEXAS OBSERVER

"There’s a been a lot of talk of relocating rail lines to Santa Teresa, which would obviously benefit Sanders’ business parks. One 2003 study, which was prepared for the city of El Paso, recommended moving many regional urban rail facilities to Santa Teresa, including the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s rail yards in El Paso, as well as the Ferromex rail lines in Juárez.
In addition, Union Pacific Corp’s planning a $150 million terminal just four miles west of Santa Teresa that may process as many as 100,000 container units per year, according to news reports."

http://www.texasobserver.org/blog/index.php?name=out-in-the-west-texas-town-of-el-paso/
[only cached version now works]

ASARCO Grupo Mexico and potential I.P.O. railroad offer

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2318083620100723

July 23,2010:

"Grupo Mexico is also considering spinning off its railroad unit in an initial public offering next year."

[do keyword search in this blog for "Ferromex", or "Railroad" or "Punta Colonet"]

Grupo Mexico share-value rose today on news....

google alert:
"Grupo Mexico pitches Southern Copper Asarco merger
Shares in Mexican miner Grupo Mexico rose on Friday after the company said its wants to boost efficiency by fusing units Asarco and Peru's Southern Copper, ...
www.miningweekly.com/.../grupo-mexico-pitches-southern-c..."

Big Surprise (not!) "Grupo Mexico plans to unite Southern Copper, Asarco"

google alert:
"Grupo Mexico plans to unite Southern Copper, Asarco
Reuters
Packaging Asarco with Grupo Mexico's other mining assets in a publicly listed company sheds the first light on the value of Asarco after its bankruptcy saga ..."

Asarco Tacoma plume area impacted over 200 square miles: WHAT ABOUT ASARCO EL PASO??

"...Washington Department of Ecology is planning the next phase of arsenic and lead cleanup associated with a century of operations at the former Asarco smelter in Ruston.... These properties are within a 200 square-mile geographic “service area” that includes the most highly contaminated portions of the Tacoma Smelter Plume....."

"...Ecology will clean up ...areas with results that average above those cleanup levels or that have a reading of 40 parts ppm arsenic or 500 ppm for lead in one location...."

http://www.tacomaweekly.com/article/4603

University of Arizona research should declare conflicts of interest $$ concerning ASARCO involvement

UA first to study contaminants in dust and water
"KVOA Tucson News
KVOA contacted Asarco, the leading mining company based in Tucson, for reaction. A spokesperson says, "Asarco share's the study objective of minimizing ..."

ASARCO and Univ. of Arizona research on dust contamination

July 8 2010 KTSM News Channel 9 ASARCO EL Paso water contamination

"Asarco's Contamination
KTSM News Channel 9
By Phillip Mena - Multimedia Journalist EL PASO, TX - As the debate continues over what to do with Asarco, Dr. Philip Goodell wants people to understand ..."

ASARCO water contamination

"Sham Recycling Creates Sham Decision?
 
The TCEQ Executive Director's Asarco Air Permit Renewal decision ignores
hidden contamination in international waters, soils and air from secret
burning of toxic waste; What are elected officials, TCEQ and EPA
concealing?

    EL PASO, Texas, May 8 [2007]/PRNewswire/ -- Representative Reyes and the GAO
 fail to investigate the specific incident that involved Asarco - instead,
 "will focus on the overall procedures and processes that DOD follows for
 disposing of hazardous waste that is created by military facilities and how
 the transport and disposal of this type of waste by the contractors is
 monitored and tracked."
     At the base of the Asarco smelter, the International Boundary and Water
 Commission's (IBWC) American Dam diverts Rio Grande River water to over 70
 miles of public drinking supply and irrigation canals. American Dam
 employees are sick, and the State Department Office of the Inspector
 General (OIG) recommended bringing in expert independent medical review.
     The first canal travels along the Asarco ore handling staging area and
 chemical ponds. Representative Reyes' office calls the 9-04-06 Asarco levee
 collapse, spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of poisons into this
 drinking water, a "minor incident." El Paso Water Utilities (EPWU) reports
 showed elevated poisons at the Canal Street station after the event. The
 EPWU Canal St. plant pumps water up the Franklin Mt. and distributes it
 throughout El Paso.
     IBWC data shows leakage of 24 million dollars worth of Asarco
 groundwater contamination into the canal, near where Asarco Hydrometrics
 consultants found groundwater arsenic levels at 35,000 times the legal
 limit. Alluvial sediment beneath the Rio Grande is filled with faultlines
 above the international Hueco Bolson aquifer.
     EPA Water officials cannot find any data for Rio Grande water tests at
 the smelter meant to confirm EPA data taken five years earlier, even though
 EPA mentioned the testing on public radio.
     Asarco is sending poisons from the bottom of its ponds to TX US
 Ecology, the company that also manages Hanford Reservation Nuclear Waste in
 Washington State. A complete chemical analysis of these poisons has not
 been made available despite requests.
     The El Paso GTLO, SPEG (Sunland Park Environmental Group), El Paso
 Sierra Club members and concerned groups want the Asarco Contamination
 exposed, the responsible officials to "step down," and correct clean-up to
 begin."

ASARCO El PASO to auction off assets without testing for or declaring the secret toxic-wastes used on that site

"By Phillip Mena - Multimedia Journalist

Friday, July 9, 2010 - 9:43am

EL PASO, TX - Roberto Puga, the man who will oversee the cleanup and eventual sale of the Asarco property will be in El Paso today to meet with an auctioneer company about the sale of Asarco's assets. 

Walter Parker Auctioneer Inc.  is the company picked to auction off Asarco's assets beginning August 2."

http://www.ktsm.com/news/asarcos-assets-to-be-auctioned

July 2010 ASARCO restructuring of Asarco LLC CAPCO Pipe Company (asbestos)

Google Alert:

HPCwire HPC Market Watch
ASARCO BANKRUPTCY NEWS tracks the restructuring of Asarco LLC CAPCO Pipe Company Inc ... ASARCO BANKRUPTCY NEWS is distributed to paying subscribers by ...
markets.hpcwire.com/taborcomm.hpcwire/?GUID...Page...

Why is there an ASARCO Swiss bank (Asarco inc., Asarco S.A.)?

Why on earth is there an ASARCO Swiss bank ("ASARCO A.G."associated with
Asarco inc and Asarco S.A.).

(search inside this blog for "Asarco A.G.")

20050408 Banks backing Noble corp.- deep ocean oil drilling that has platform now renting to Mexico.... and UBS LOAN FINANCE LLC --- 26 Banks, total....

About the time that Grupo Mexico's ASARCO declared bankruptcy, and went from an "Inc." to an "llc.":

20050408 Banks backing Noble corp.- deep ocean oil drilling that has platform now renting to Mexico.... and UBS LOAN FINANCE LLC --- 26 Banks, total....

"EXECUTION COPY CREDIT AGREEMENTParties: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. | BANK OF NEW YORK | BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI, LTD. | CITIBANK, NA | COMERICA BANK | DEUTSCHE BANK AG | DEUTSCHE BANK SECURITIES INC | DNB NOR BANK | FORTIS CAPITAL CORP | HARRIS NESBITT FINANCING, INC | HSBC BANK USA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | ING CAPITAL LLC | JP MORGAN SECURITIES INC | JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, NA | KBC BANK NV | MIZUHO CORPORATE BANK, LTD | MORGAN STANLEY BANK | NOBLE ENERGY, INC | ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC | SECTION 711 Financial | SUMITOMO MITSUI BANKING CORPORATION | SUNTRUST BANK | UBS LOAN FINANCE LLC | UFJ BANK | US BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | WACHOVIA BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | WELLS FARGO BANK, NA
Law Firm: Thompson Knight;Mayer Brown
Document Date: 4/8/2005
Industry: OILPRD
Sector: ENERGY
Governing Law:Texas
http://agreements.realdealdocs.com/Thompson-Knight-law-firm/



Well, well…
From two years ago: July 28 2008
By richmx2
"Petróleos Mexicanos will pay $484,000 a day to Noble Corp. for an oil rig that will allow the company to drill in waters up to 7,000 feet deep for the first time.

Pemex, as Mexico’s state oil company is known, will take delivery of the Noble Max Smith rig in August under a three-year contract, Noble Corp. said in a statement.

The rig is being moved to Mexico from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico following upgrades and maintenance."

JUNE 28 2010 "Noble Corp (NE.N) said it would buy Norway's privately held Frontier Drilling for $2.16 billion"

"Noble's all-cash acquisition of Frontier, officially known as FDR Holdings Ltd, will add to cash flow immediately and to earnings from early 2011, the company said...Carlyle Group [owns 20% of Grupo Mexico who owns ASARCO] and Riverstone Holdings are investors in Frontier....Frontier, which is domiciled in Norway and headquartered in Houston, is building two ultra-deepwater drillships designed to operate in Arctic waters under a partnership with Shell."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65R2C520100628

Birkenfeld, the UBS Banker who exposed UBS

Whistle-blower advocates seek review of former UBS banker's treatment

"Whistle-blower advocates are asking U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to review the treatment of tipster Bradley C. Birkenfeld, the former UBS banker who was sentenced to 40 months in prison despite his pivotal help in the groundbreaking case against the Swiss banking giant."

20070917 ASARCO principle-bondholder Harbinger Capital sues Wachovia Capital Markets under "Cause:18:1962 Racketeering (RICO) Act just 5 months after Wachovia sues UBS and Harbinger...

"Harbinger Capital Partners Master Lund I, Ltd. et al v. Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC et al .... 
Case Number:     1:2007cv08139... 
Nature of Suit:     Other Statutes - Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations.."   9/17/2007

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/new-york/nysdce/1:2007cv08139/313179/

"Wachovia Bank, N.A. et al v. Harbinger Capital Partners Master Fund I, Ltd. et al
Plaintiffs:     Wachovia Bank, N.A. and Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC
Defendants:     Harbinger Capital Partners Master Fund I, Ltd., ....UBS Willow Fund, L.L.C...."
 
"Case Number:     3:2007cv00123
Filed:     March 22, 2007....
Cause:     28:1441 Petition For Removal--Other Contract..."

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/north-carolina/ncwdce/3:2007cv00123/48458/

Bank of America Corp and Wachovia Bank caught laundering huge Drug-monies

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-29/banks-financing-mexico-s-drug-cartels-admitted-in-wells-fargo-s-u-s-deal.html 

"The smugglers had bought the DC-9 with laundered funds they transferred through two of the biggest banks in the U.S.: Wachovia Corp. and Bank of America Corp., Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its August 2010 issue."

 

Council of the Americas NAFTA and ASARCO

"Who's on the Council of the Americas? The following is a list of board members of the New York-based Council of the Americas, a globalist organization composed of banksters and corporate fat cats that is working with the Bush administration to expand NAFTA into a continental free trade zone."

"Francis R. McAllister, Pres. & Chief Operating Officer ASARCO Inc."
"Richard de J. Osborne, Chairman of the Board(Retired) ASARCO Incorporated"
"Brian d. O'Neill, Managing Director & Latin America Executive The Chase Manhattan Bank"
"William R. Rhodes, Vice Chairman Citibank, N.A."
"Federico Sacasa, Group Vice Pres. Bank of America"

"This list of members of the Council of the Americas was obtained from the group's web site located at www.counciloftheamericas.org."

http://www.libertylobby.org/articles/2001/20010521council_americas.html

Court upheld Grupo Mexico (ASARCO and Ferromex Railroad owner) acquisition of Carlos Slim Ferrosur railroad

"Grupo Mexico plans to sell shares in its railroad business in an
initial public offering, Chief Financial Officer Daniel Muniz said in an
May 21 interview. Grupo Mexico owns the Ferrocarril Mexicano SA, or
Ferromex, and Ferrosur SA railroad companies. A federal court upheld its
acquisition of Ferrosur, owned by billionaire Carlos Slim, which had
been halted by the antitrust commission in 2006 and prompted a
government probe."

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-31/grupo-mexico-lures-funds-as-railroad-mines-are-free-update2-.html

"BP is using federal agencies to shield itself from public accountability"

From the Ground: BP Censoring Media, Destroying Evidence

"...BP is using federal agencies to shield itself from public accountability.

For example, while flying on a small plane from New Orleans to Orange Beach, the pilot suddenly exclaimed, "Look at that!" The thin red line marking the federal flight restrictions of 3,000 feet over the oiled Gulf region had just jumped to include the coastal barrier islands off Alabama."...

Will BP get a confidential for settlement purposes-only EPA DOJ agreement like ASARCO did back in 1998??

How many confidential for settlement purposes-only EPA DOJ agreements exist?  How common are these secret agreements with the Federal DOJ ?

Google Web Alert

BP Bankruptcy Would Offer No Protection From Costs (Update2 ... After a federal judge discharged Asarco from bankruptcy in December, Associate U.S. Attorney General Tom Perrelli said taxpayers got more than a dollar back ... www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601010&sid=a55...

---

"...“The bankruptcy option is clearly there,” said John Olson, managing partner of Houston Energy Partners, a hedge fund unit of Sanders Morris Harris Group Inc. “BP’s board and CEO can say they’ve ruled it out, but you can’t rule it out, realistically.” Olson doesn’t hold any BP shares.

On June 13, White House Adviser David Axelrod called on BP to establish an escrow account for claims tied to the spill. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid requested that the London-based company set up a $20 billion fund administered by an independent trustee, according to a letter from his office." [Asarco was asked to set up a fund for its wastes, too in the early days before its bankruptcy  - it then went through a bankruptcy that refrained from any mention or knowledge about liabilities from Asarco's nearly ten years of burning secret toxic-wastes for profit]

effects of Lead (Pb) -- like the Lead (Pb) found around ASARCO EL Paso TX

"[Lead is a naturally occurring bluish-gray metal found in small  amounts in the earth's crust. Lead can be found in all parts of our  environment. Lead itself does not break down, but lead compounds are  changed by sunlight, air, and water. When lead is released to the  air, it may travel long distances before settling to the ground. Once  lead falls onto soil, it usually sticks to soil particles. Movement  of lead from soil into groundwater will depend on the type of lead  compound and the characteristics of the soil.  Lead is a heavy metal that can be toxic to living bodies, humans and  animals, in certain high levels. Lead can be found in paints on  houses, on pottery, and other objects. Lead can be found in water, in  air around smelters, and in such objects as batteries.  When lead enters the body, generally through ingestion but also  through inhalation from dust and lead smelters, it may be seen as a  lead line on the metaphysis of growing bones in radiographs.  Lead can be especially detrimental to children as many tissues are  growing and developing and lead is easy incorporated into those  cells. It may slow growth, cause hearing problems, hyperactivity and  behavior changes.  Children with high lead burdens may have  neurological damage, including brain damage. This may present as  headaches or learning difficulties, muscle cramps, twitches or  spasms. It may be more severe, leading to seizures and death.  Adults may also suffer from lead poisoning. Adults may experience a  variety of neurological problems, among them, memory and  concentration problems. They may also have muscle and joint pain,  reproductive problems, and hypertension (high blood pressure). Adults  may also suffer from neurological problems as well.  Heavy metal intoxication almost always affects the gastrointestinal  system, such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, poor appetite and as a  consequence, weight loss. Anemia may also be seen in lead poisoning,  which further increases the weakness the victim experiences.  The effects of lead are the same whether it enters the body through  breathing or swallowing. Lead can affect almost every organ and  system in the body. The main target for lead toxicity is the nervous  system, both in adults and children. Long-term exposure of adults can  result in decreased performance in some tests that measure functions  of the nervous system. It may also cause weakness in fingers, wrists,  or ankles. Lead exposure also causes small increases in blood  pressure, particularly in middle-aged and older people and can cause  anemia. Exposure to high lead levels can severely damage the brain  and kidneys in adults or children and ultimately cause death. In  pregnant women, high levels of exposure to lead may cause  miscarriage. High-level exposure in men can damage the organs  responsible for sperm production.  Children are more vulnerable and more sensitive to lead poisoning  than adults. A child who swallows large amounts of lead may develop  blood anemia, severe stomachache, muscle weakness, and brain damage.  These same clinical signs mimic other childhood illness. If a child  swallows smaller amounts of lead, much less severe effects on blood  and brain function may occur. Even at much lower levels of exposure,  lead can affect a child's mental and physical growth.  Exposure to lead is more dangerous for young and unborn children.  Unborn children can be exposed to lead through their mothers. Harmful  effects include premature births, smaller babies, decreased mental  ability in the infant, learning difficulties, and reduced growth in  young children. These effects are more common if the mother or baby  was exposed to high levels of lead. Some of these effects may persist  beyond childhood.  Lead in the groundwater may be an issue in this case. Lead can be  absorbed from the drinking water. In the US, the level of lead in the  water is allowed at less than 0.15 ml of lead per liter of water  (less than 0.15 ppm). A number of water filtration units such as  reverse osmosis can filter out the lead. If the situation is more  primitive than this, I am unsure what to treat a well with. Calcium  disodium EDTA has been used to treat people, and putting it into a  water well may work to bind it, but I have no data support. Certainly  using a water system that is not contaminated with lead is the best  option.  If this is a case of lead in the air, then it is appropriate to cover  the mouth and nose and to remove one's self from the area.  Lead has no known physiological function in the body. It can be  tested for in the blood, but chelators are necessary to help  eliminate the metal from the body. Effective chelators include  dimercapterol and succimer.  Portions of this comment have been extracted from:  <http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts13.html> - Mod.TG]"

Sweeping the Asarco El Paso secret haz-wastes under the rug....

" Redevelopment of the Asarco plant offers El Paso a bright future ...
By admin
Redevelopment of the Asarco plant in El Paso offers the city and the state of Texas the opportunity to take the lead in solar research. According to the El Paso Times, possible contamination of the 600-acre site will keep homes, ...
Gateway El Paso - http://gatewayelpaso.com/"

"The EPA kept a secret from us for nearly 8 years, signing a confidential settlement document with ASARCO through the Federal Dept. of Justice. Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Reyes said that ASARCO paid MILLIONS on the condition that details of what it had done would never become public."

The SECRET? ASARCO had illegally burned unlabeled secret hazardous-wastes throughout the 1990's --- just to make money. God only knows what poisons remain here from that. No one will tell us. This whole ASARCO development saga is not about DISCLOSURE it is about CLOSURE of that site so that it can all be "swept under the rug".

As it is, the land has been exposed to God only knows what (ASARCO was accepting unlabeled stuff from both industrial and military sources!).

We the community wait for honest answers to our questions: how much radioactive lead (Polonium) is there? What other radioactive materials remain there and how much? What about dioxins - how much? Mercury? Beryllium? What has gotten into our water supply (it is in the Hueco bolson and the Rio Grande now)?

We want answers. What is the point of "developing" this land and stirring up the dusts next to our water supply (60% of our water passes right by ASARCO in an open-canal) until we know what we are dealing with??

Does ANYONE buy a bill of goods ("developing the site") without knowing exactly what they are being sold, first??"

Five years later -- WHOSE LIABILITIES IS THE CITY OF EL PASO PROTECTING?

"Google News Alert for: asarco

EDITORIAL: Asarco input: Citizens can influence zoning
Trading Markets (press release)
Citizens with concerns regarding new usage of contaminated Asarco smelter land will get what they ask for -- putting in their proverbial two cents worth. ..."

WHOSE LIABILITIES IS THE CITY OF EL PASO PROTECTING?  And will we all be smart enough to finally put a stop to this cover-up and demand honest answers? (see "Letter to Governor Richardson" in the SCRIBE documents section, along with the 13 exhibits).

City of El Paso sits back, March 2005 and allows the City/County Health and Environ. District Director to receive lifetime award -- after a lifetime of ignoring ASARCO toxins...

Back in 3/05 the Federal State Department said that IBWC American Dam workers by ASARCO and old-smeltertown could not get independent medical review in the entire region.   A worker told me that this has been going on for 30 years.  Meanwhile in March 2005...."Dr. Jorge Magaña, El Paso City-County Health and Environmental District Director, was awarded a 2005 Border Health Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Mexico Border Health Council at a banquet that was held April 22, 2005 in Las Cruces, NM. Dr. Magaña was honored for his work to improve health in the Paso del Norte Region in areas including ... Child Lead Poisoning Prevention." (from City of El Paso employee connection newsletter Issue 5 05/13/05).

also see " January 20, 2005 -- A History Of El Paso’s Top Health Officials Failure To Protect Border Residents"
http://www.gettheleadout.net/news_detail.sstg?id=9

David K : more information on the "CLOSURE not DISCLOSURE" of the secretly-contaminated ASARCO el paso site's development-plans

Google Blogs Alert for: asarco

Refuse the Juice: Your Money + Your Thoughts = Profit for Out of ... By David K The El Paso Times's editorial page was awash with love for the City of El Paso's contract award of $606000 to Dover, Kohl & Partners for their help in planning what to do with the ASARCO site. A site, mind... Refuse the Juice - http://refusethejuice.typepad.com/thinkaboutit/

What else might be using the ASARCO El Paso site's right-of-way through the Paso del Norte (Pass of the North) ?

http://www.keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/clientsite/keystonexl.nsf/Figure%203.14.2-1.pdf?OpenFileResource

Closure - not Disclosure: ignoring the Poisons from Asarco's secret past...

Since June 2009, El Paso Texas has received about $180 Million in ARRA (american recovery and reinvestment act) Federal funds for projects and groups with property near the ASARCO El Paso secret-haz-waste site.
see:
http://www.reyes.house.gov/LegislationInformation/arra.htm



Despite the release of the DOJ EPA Asarco 70+page confidential for settlement purposes only document proving that ASARCO burned secret hazardous wastes for nearly ten years to make money (NYTimes 10/06), THE HAZ-WASTE from those activities STILL REMAINS SECRET.   Authorities failed to require the ASARCO Bankruptcy Courts to consider the liabilities from this, during the entire ASARCO Bankruptcy case. 

At Asarco Tacoma WA, the Asarco contamination was shown to have covered property for nearly 1000 square miles (and that site was 1/3'rd the size of our site).

Meanwhile, the courts awarded El Paso TX less than 53 Million to clean up ASARCO.

ASARCO Baker-Botts wants $142 million in fees, while millions of people in the Paso del Norte got 55 Million-dollars to clean up ASARCO

"Law360, New York (April 29, 2010) -- Facing terse objections from Asarco LLC over a whopping $142 million fee request, Baker Botts LLP is seeking to compel the reorganized mining company to substantiate claims that the firm is overbilling for 52 months of bankruptcy counsel.

On Wednesday, Baker Botts urged Judge Richard S. Schmidt of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas to order Asarco to provide discovery elaborating on the alleged..."
http://bankruptcy.law360.com/registrations/user_registration?article_id=165207&concurrency_check=false

the Scrap Metal recycling business -- and Radioactive metals -- Did ASARCO El Paso handle Radioactive materials?

There were no radiation alarms or meters at ASARCO El Paso to our knowledge.   We DO KNOW that EPA data shows that the BETA RADIATION LEVEL in El Paso just before the smelter shut down was the HIGHEST IN THE NATION.    Our community still waits for the government to let our community know the levels of polonium around the smelter (polonium is commonly given off by smelters).   We do know that the brine concentrator Asarco El Paso used was rated to handle LLRW (Low level radioactive waste).  We do not know where the stuff went that was removed by the concentrator.   The local regional landfill  about five miles from the Asarco El Paso site (and right along the US-Mexico border) used a radiation meter for a time, and then stopped -- data from that dump shows an increasing Radium gradient in its groundwater along the slope of that dump.

What is our government hiding that our community, that the IBWC workers/State Dept., that the ex-workers, that the La Paz Accord JAC committee -- cannot get the government to disclose to the community EVEN AFTER THE FEDERAL DOJ MADE the EPA-DOJ-ASARCO 73 page confidential for settlement purposes only document, PUBLIC??

"....then there is what came into the small shop owned by Deepak Jain: a piece, or pieces, of metal blamed for an alarming radiation scare this month that hospitalized seven people and caused the police to temporarily cordon off an area barely 10 miles from India’s Parliament. Some experts declared it one of the most troubling cases of radiation exposure in recent years....For years, India and other developing countries, particularly China, have imported different categories of waste from developed countries as a lucrative, if controversial, business...."
http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=24478:tainted-waters&catid=46:bloomberg-specials&Itemid=70

"Grupo Mexico, the nation's biggest copper miner, is set to report a sharp jump in quarterly results"

"Google Web Alert for: asarco

PREVIEW-Grupo Mexico profit seen up on Asarco, copper prices - Topix Grupo Mexico, the nation's biggest copper miner, is set to report a sharp jump in quarterly results as it benefits from its acquisition of Arizona's Asarco ... www.topix.com/.../preview-grupo-mexico-profit-seen-up-on-a...

"

Letter sent to newspaper about Asarco hazards

"Asarco hazards

What is wrong with our elected officials? City, state and federal. Asarco's long history of polluting our city did not go away because it is not re-opening. Those same pollutants remain.

The EPA and our own congressman's investigation proves they were illegally disposing toxic chemicals for profit. The trustee, state senator and our city officials are proceeding with plans for the future. Nothing wrong with progress when done honestly -- a power-washing will not rid these toxins.

First, they must test for the illegal toxins and incinerated chemicals that took place for almost 10 years. Ten years of contaminating our drinking and irrigation water. Our water remains contaminated, more so around the plant. With the rains breaking records, it concerns me what we are being exposed to.

Asarco shut down, but the dangers remain in the shadows of this dirty, smelly contaminated location. As per the trustee, the clean-up will be that for industrial use, not nearly for any population use. Power-washing? What an insult and not funny in the slightest sense. So what happens to the kids of Anapra and Sunland Park? They don't count?

Carlos Rodriguez
East El Paso"
http://www.elpasotimes.com/opinion/ci_14916023

"Asarco Sues EPA To Nix $34M Superfund Claims"

" Law360, New York (April 19, 2010) -- Asarco LLC is suing the U.S. government to scratch $33.6 million in claims the reorganized mining giant maintains have been wrongly and tardily imposed in connection with the cleanup of a Superfund site in California.

The complaint, lodged April 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, claims Asarco doesn’t owe a penny for vast contamination at the Blue Ledge Mine..."

http://environmental.law360.com/registrations/user_registration?article_id=162611&concurrency_check=false

"Hiding behind the Goldman front, negative data is still weighing down copper.." Did this affect Grupo Mexico or ASARCO??

And who is making money on this?

Why won't our government disclose the still-secret poisons remaining in our community (El Paso TX) from what the EPA secretly told the Federal DOJ (1998) had been the burning of secret/unknown hazardous wastes for profit by ASARCO -- done over nearly ten years (and kept confidential from the community through a confidential EPA/DOJ ASARCO settlement agreement for another eight years?!)

"Google News Alert for: asarco

Goldman Fraud Charge Hits Copper Prices Copper Investing News Grupo Mexico will show benefits from its acquisition of Arizona's Asarco, ... Grupo Mexico won back control of Asarco in December, pulling the US copper ..."

"By Leia Michele Toovey- Exclusive to Copper Investing News" "As news over impending fraud charges against leading commodities player Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) hit the market last Friday, copper witnessed considerable downside. Risk averse investors jumped from their positions, sending copper plummeting to a three month low.... Hiding behind the Goldman front, negative data is still weighing down copper..."

Asarco Bankruptcy ends, and bring predictions "... that Grupo Mexico's total copper sales volumes should be propelled 43 percent year-on-year" as METAL PRICES RECOVER

"Google Web Alert for: asarco

PREVIEWGrupo Mexico profit seen up on Asarco copper prices ... WHAT: Grupo Mexico Q1 earnings results * WHEN: Friday, April 23 * REUTERS FORECAST: Net profit seen soaring year-on-year By Mica Rosenberg MEXICO CITY, ... in.reuters.com/article/.../idINN2021866520100420

"
"MEXICO CITY, April 20 (Reuters) - Grupo Mexico, the nation's biggest copper miner, is set to report a sharp jump in quarterly results as ...metal prices recover, a Reuters poll showed.  Seven analysts consulted by Reuters estimated the company's (GMEXICOB.MX...) first-quarter net profit at $383 million, about 20 times year-earlier earnings of $19 million. Grupo Mexico won back control of Asarco in December, pulling the U.S. copper miner out of bankruptcy by winning a drawn-out court battle and outbidding India's Sterlite Industries Ltd...).  ...."In the first quarter that Asarco's results are fully consolidated, we estimate that Grupo Mexico's total copper sales volumes should be propelled 43 percent year-on-year," brokerage Grupo Bursatil Mexicano said in a report."

"Analysts consulted by Reuters expect [Asarco owner --- GMEXICOB.MX] first-quarter net profit will soar almost 2,000 percent"

Predictions of 2000 percent (two thousand!) net profit increases for Grupo Mexico come as the El Paso TX Asarco Trustee and others continue to stonewall the community (and international JAC committee's) request for data and information on the years of secret hazardous waste disposal (incineration) by the ASARCO El Paso (and E. Helena MT) smelters.  

"Google News Alert for: asarco

Mexico peso, stocks gain on US earnings optimism Reuters MX) first-quarter net profit will soar almost 2000 percent after Grupo Mexico regained control of Arizona copper miner Asarco in December by outbidding ...

"
"Miner Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX) rose 1.25 percent to 35.78 pesos. Analysts consulted by Reuters expect the company's (GMEXICOB.MX) first-quarter net profit will soar almost 2,000 percent after Grupo Mexico regained control of Arizona copper miner Asarco in December by outbidding India's Sterlite Industries Ltd (STRL.BO). [ID:nN20218665].....However, a recent legal appeal by Sterlite pushed HSBC to downgrade the Mexican miner's stock to "neutral" from "overweight" in a report on Tuesday. (Reporting by Michael O'Boyle; Editing by Leslie Adler)..."

"Gmexico subsidiary SCC has proposed the issuance of up to $1.5 billion in long-term, fixed-rate, senior unsecured notes"

Google Web Alert for: asarco bankruptcy

Research Update: Grupo México, Americas Mining 'BBB-' Corporate ... Americas Mining Corp. has consummated its bankruptcy plan for Asarco LLC. We are removing our ratings on Gmexico and subsidiaries from CreditWatch and ... www.alacrastore.com/.../s-and-p-credit-research-Research_Up...

"Gmexico subsidiary SCC has proposed the issuance of up to $1.5 billion in long-term, fixed-rate, senior unsecured notes, with proceeds to be used for financing capital expenditures and for general corporate purposes....The stable outlook on Gmexico and AMC reflects our expectation that, over the next few years, they will continue to report adequate financial metrics, while AMC's debt levels continue to decrease. On April 6, 2010, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'BBB-' corporate credit ratings on Mexico-based..."

What Poisons did ASARCO leave in the Paso del Norte Region from the YEARS of secret haz-waste burning??

The International JAC (La Paz Accord) committee passed a resolution asking for chemical testing in this region to determine background contamination amounts.   The community wants full public disclosure of what happened here.  The EPA said to the DOJ that ASARCO had illegally burned secret hazardous wastes for years.  We STILL do not have Dioxin data for this region - or polonium data (two chemicals common to smelters!). 

"AUSTIN, Apr 16, 2010 (El Paso Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

via COMTEX) --...

Democratic candidate Bill White's campaign released a statement calling on Gov. Rick Perry to intervene in the dispute between Shapleigh and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality....Shapleigh has said the documents could prove that the agency illegally met with Asarco representatives while considering the renewal of the company's air-quality permit."
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/ar_bill-white-joins-shapleigh-presses-for-asarco-files-916248.html

"BRIEF: Court rules Sen. Shapleigh may see Asarco documents"

"By TMC Net, April 15th, 2010 at 4:12 am - PERMALINK

(El Paso Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh is entitled to see certain communications between the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Asarco, the state Third Court of Appeals has ruled."
http://admin.news.mining.com/2010/04/15/brief-court-rules-sen-shapleigh-may-see-asarco-documents/

What would be in those documents that the public cannot see?

"What would you build at Asarco in El Paso?"

"April 6, 2010 ·
Say you had a lot of money and decided to purchase the Asarco Property, what would you do with that opportunity?  ...

UTEP has been in the news recently with word that they are interested in purchasing the Asarco Property.  Even they are not sure what they would do with all of those acres if they came to purchase it in the future. ...

My name is David and I am living El Paso. 

For more info on Asarco on this blog, visit this link to see all articles containing Asarco.  http://livingelpaso.wordpress.com/?s=asarco"

Texas State Senator from El Paso TX (where EPA said ASARCO illegally burned secret Haz-waste for nearly a decade) "Shapleigh: Historic Rewrite of U.S.-Mexico Policies Now Underway"

http://www.riograndeguardian.com/rggnews_story.asp?story_no=25
"Shapleigh: Historic Rewrite of U.S.-Mexico Policies Now Underway"
By Steve Taylor
10-April-2010

"[Shapleigh] bases his analysis on more than 80 hours of meetings he and other members of the Border Legislative Conference had in Mexico City three weeks ago....with Mexico’s attorney general and foreign secretary, Senate leaders, federal agency chiefs and high ranking officials in the U.S. Embassy.... The visit came just before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led the highest ranking delegation of U.S. Cabinet members ever to visit Mexico City [March 23]. Shapleigh noted that three months ago approximately 250 experts from Washington, D.C., and Mexico, D.F., representing a dozen agencies were in Juarez, San Diego, Tijuana and other border communities on an important fact-finding mission."

What about the JAC International-Committee Recommendation to the La Paz Accord group to test for Asarco background contamination in our region?

• What happened to the JAC International-Committee Recommendation (Paz Accord group) to test for Asarco background contamination in our region? 
  
• It is appalling that there is no TCEQ (or EPA) DIOXIN DATA for the communities surrounding this 100 year old custom-smelter which the EPA said illegally burned secret haz-waste for nearly a decade.
• Why can't the EPA or TCEQ tell the JAC committee what poisons remain in our community from that illegal activity.  Polonium is a common by-product of some types of smelting -- so why can't we get reports showing the amounts of Polonium here?
  
• Why are Camino Real Mobility Authority, TXDOT and the City of El Paso planning to build an elevated toll-road over Paisano right by ASARCO --- and over our drinking water supply -- before our Federal State Department ever resolves the 03/2005 State Department's own-observation that the IBWC workers at American Dam (by Asarco and Paisano) are sick and cannot get independent medical review in the region?

ASARCO El Paso/Santa Teresa N.M. area: Senator Shapleigh was in Vietnam

http://www.riograndeguardian.com/rggnews_story.asp?story_no=25
Last Updated: 10 April 2010
Shapleigh: Historic Rewrite of U.S.-Mexico Policies Now Underway

By Steve Taylor

“When 100,000 jobs have left Juarez out of 320,000, what you have is an erosion of the manufacturing base historic in nature... Those are jobs that are not coming back. They are going to Vietnam,” Shapleigh said. The senator was in Vietnam four weeks ago."

    BELOW:  Historic info. from epgtlo blog concerning Vietnam and the Santa Teresa International City that Asarco Owner Grupo Mexico (Mexico Railroad "Ferromex" is controlled by Grupo Mexico).  Grupo Mexico's Ferromex wants to run a new rail line to to Santa Teresa's port of entry from a new seaport called "Punta Colonet" -- and potentially win the bid for the 50 year contract to run that seaport, also.

   1.
      epgtlo: 6/28/09 - 7/5/09 (google custom search)
      Jun 28, 2009 ... Taiwanese firm Hon Hai (also known by the trade name Foxconn) recently announced plans for a US$5 billion five-year expansion in Vietnam. ...
      epgtlo.blogspot.com/2009_06_28_archive.html
   2.
      Vietnam: Mitra Energy group completes seismic acquisition (the ...
      "03 Sep 2009 ...Two wildcat exploration wells are planned for the PSC in 2010. In January 2009, Mitra farmed out 50% of its 100% equity in the PSC to BHP ...
      epgtlo.blogspot.com/2009/12/vietnam-mitra-energy-group-completes.html
   3.
      epgtlo: gambling debts in Bahamas, Las Vegas, Atlantic City
      Jul 8, 2009 ... Irving Drobny is the same name as an attorney representing the imperial family of Vietnam. A Chicago Attorney by that same name also serves ...
      epgtlo.blogspot.com/2009/07/gambling-debts-in-bahamas-las-vegas.html
   4.
      epgtlo: Investor who controls a Swiss Bank called ASARCO "facing ...
      Aug 17, 2009 ... [Irving Drobny also represents the Royal Family of Vietnam]. Mr. Katamanin has made two interest payments totaling about $1.67 million, ...
      epgtlo.blogspot.com/2009/08/investor-who-controls-swiss-bank-called.html
   5.
      epgtlo: "ARCELOR MITTAL starts operations on Puerto de Guaymas "
      20050000 Milbank Firm and Citigroup · Vietnam: Mitra Energy group completes seismic acqu... 20081121 Milbank firm advised Mitra Group on buyou. ...
      epgtlo.blogspot.com/2009/09/arcelor-mittal-starts-operations-on.html
   6.
      Swiss Asarco AG attorney
      ... Attorney representing the Swiss Asarco Bank's Chicago lake-front home has the same name as the attorney representing the imperial family of Vietnam. ...
      epgtlo.blogspot.com/2009/06/swiss-asarco-ag-attorney.html
   7.
      BHP Billiton and Tio Tinto Joint Venture (worth a predicted excess ...
      "International mining giants, BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT, ASX: BHP) [who in 1/09 assumed 50% of Mitra's Vietnam well equity] ('BHP') and Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO, ...
      epgtlo.blogspot.com/2009/12/bhp-billiton-and-tio-tinto-joint.html
   8.
      Asarco AG Swiss Bank
      WHY IS THERE A SWISS ASARCO BANK (Asarco SA, Asarco Inc) represented by a Chicago Attorney (Irving Drobny) who also represents the Royal Family of Vietnam? ...
      epgtlo.blogspot.com/2009/12/asarco-ag-swiss-bank_26.html

"Asarco Accused Of Foot-Dragging In Interest Feud

Law360, New York (April 09, 2010) -- ASM Capital LP and other bondholders battling Asarco LLC over post-petition interest on their claims have attacked the reorganized mining company for trying to prolong the dispute and sap creditors’ will to carry out a costly fight.

A chorus of roughly 12 different investment funds objected to Asarco’s recent bid to extend discovery deadlines in their dispute over post-petition interest on the unsecured claims, contending that the..."

"Asarco Accused Of Foot-Dragging In Interest Feud - Law360
ASM Capital LP and other bondholders battling Asarco LLC over post-petition interest on their claims have attacked the reorganized mining company for trying ...
bankruptcy.law360.com/articles/160979"

City of El Paso TX unanimously votes $600,000 ---awards contract for Asarco [development] study

...while community members and ex-asarco workers/IBWC federal workers go without independent medical review,  jobs, compensation -- and, the community STILL does not have access to basic data on dioxins, polonium/actinides, and the other poisons remaining here --

WHAT IS GOING ON?   Even the International La Paz JAC committee recommended a background contamination study be done (hasn't been - and, that resolution was passed a year ago)

And, when we ask for this data, the ASARCO El Paso clean-up Trustee (after four months) still does not address its absence.

This is appalling.  El Paso is starting up a MEDICAL SCHOOL, and wants to move UTEP into Tier ONE status --- and, the Federal State Dept. says (3/05) that the FEDERAL WORKERS by ASARCO can't get independent medical review?   

UPDATE: City Council awards contract for Asarco Study - El Paso ... From elpasotimes.com EL PASO - The city is moving forward with a new long-range plan that will look at what to do with about 460 acres of Asarco-owned land ... www.upi.com/Top_News/Local/2010/04/07/UPDATE.../60-03e88dd058

TCEQ (as oversight to the Project Navigator remediation process)failsto notify local community groups] about ASARCO El Paso Trustee Legal Motion

As of today 8-April-2010 there has been no acknowledgment or reply from the Trustee or TCEQ to this 26-March letter.   Instead, they wrote (5-April-10) to say he was on vacation.    The "memo" referred to is not the complete confidential-for-settlement-purposes-only document and leaves out about 60% of the content from the original sent from the Federal DOJ in 2006 (NYTIMES 10/06):

"Currently Roberto Puga is out on vacation and will respond to your email when he returns.   Also, I did want to let you know that the Department of Justice memo is now available on our website at http://www.recastingthesmelter.com/?page_id=16.

 

Regards,

Elizabeth Schell"

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

Subject:	Re: TCEQ (as oversight to the Project Navigator remediation process)failsto notify local community groups
Date:	Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:10:45 -0600
To:	Roberto Puga <rpuga[at]projectnavigator.com>, Lorinda Gardner <LGARDNER[at]tceq.state.tx.us>

Mr. Puga,
This motion is significant.  Why wasn't the environmental community notified?   What this motion asks is, "to clarify... that ANY CLAIMS... by third parties WERE EXTINGUISHED BY THE BANKRUPTCY" --- AND -- "that the CONSENT DECREE and Settlement Agreement... approves the conveyance ... [of] the properties to the TX Custodial Trustee free and clear of any and all liens, CLAIMS, or encumbrances...."

The lay-community of El Paso TX, Cd. Juarez and Sunland Park should not be left in the dark on such motions -- it is very sad that a bankruptcy newsletter "abstract"  is all that enabled us to spot what was happening, here.

You, as the Trustee filing this motion, failed to mention the ten years of illegal secret haz-waste incineration that the DOJ Bankruptcy Trustee also failed to require the courts to look-at.   Ignoring the haz-waste during the bankruptcy was an illegal act by the DOJ Bankruptcy Trustee, and although I am not an attorney, your motion "overlooking mention" of the secret toxic waste while still requesting clarification of such looks very suspect.

You fail to mention in that motion that the CONSENT DECREE had a confidential-for-settlement-purposes-only section that ASARCO secretly-signed-off with the DOJ and EPA on condition that details of what it had illegally done would never become public.   That section is now public-domain and none of the details of what occurred should remain secret under FOIA.

Our community wants to know -- and, the International JAC committee from the La Paz Accord also recommends disclosure - what secret toxic wastes ASARCO left here from those years of illegal activity.   We have a right to know.

As the trustee, you have a legal-responsibility, since you should have known about the secret haz-waste, to disclose it to this community.  

I would like a copy of the answer to your ["Texas Custodial Trust"] motion from the court.

If you have a bibliographic summary of the Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr Houston Law Firm handling the TX Custodial Trust, I would like a copy also.

Asarco Trustee "Instructions to Bidders" leave out pertinent facts about what the EPA/DOJ stated ASARCO illegally and secretly did for nearly 10 years in El Paso TX (and E. Helena MT)

As of today (April 8, 2010) there has been no acknowledgment or reply from the Trustee.

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

Subject:	Project Navigator leave out pertinent facts in smelter-history for potential bidders
Date:	Sun, 04 Apr 2010 08:21:30 -0600

To:  Mr. Puga

sb:  Instructions to Bidders (Bids due by 4/23)

The following history provided to the potential bidders omits mention of the now public Federal DOJ/EPA Asarco confidential-for-settlement-purposes-only document (with attachments - nearly 75 pages) in which the EPA disclosed how Asarco had illegally burned secret unmanifested haz-wastes for profit for nearly ten years.  Because this was a secret-settlement-action it was omitted from disclosure in the civil consent decree you mention [to the bidders].   However, this information is now PUBLIC and you are obligated to include it in the history of this Asarco El Paso site, or you are withholding pertinent information from bidders about what they could be exposed to working at this site.   Also,..., a mandatory site tour for bidders was held 3-30 at the El Paso site.   I would like to know if you provided the bidders with haz-mat gear (masks and clothing) to protect them or not.

ASARCO Trustee group omits key information from the most important EPA/DOJ Asarco document

As of today (Thursday 8-Apr-10) there has been no acknowledgment or reply from the Asarco Trustee.

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

Subject:	Project Navigator omits key information from the most important EPA/DOJ Asarco document
Date:	Sun, 04 Apr 2010 20:05:47 -0600

To:  RPuga

sb:  Site Reports and Documents, "Department of Justice Memo, July 31, 1998"

Mr. Puga,  the "memo" you posted is not complete and it is not accurate. Please correct these mistakes immediately.

• You have omitted the cover-letter sent detailing how and when that document became public-domain after 8 years of secrecy when the Federal DOJ Attorney decided to honor the TX P.I.A. request (NYTimes 10/2006)
  
• You have added a document that was not part of that record (Mr. Clouse's email).  Mr. Clouse's email was written in response to my queries for that info/report and were meant to cover-up what actually happened.  This was not simply sham recycling - but the deliberate burning of unmanifested toxic-wastes for profit over many years according to that confidential-for-settlement-purposes only DOJ-EPA document.
• You have omitted the remainder of that confidential-for-settlement-purposes only DOJ-EPA document (apparently DELIBERATELY since this has been available off the Newspapertree website and the epGTLO blog for years now) that details the shipments and company/source names of the illegal hazardous-wastes identified by the EPA/DOJ and provides even more text and discussion.
• You placed this document at the very END of your list when it is the single most important document in this ASARCO saga -- so much so that Rep. Reyes, Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, made the statement that ASARCO had paid MILLIONS on condition that the details of what it had done would never become public.   The DOJ however has released the information publicly, and this information and all related to it is now PUBLIC DOMAIN, no matter how much ASARCO hopes otherwise.
  
• You titled this CONFIDENTIAL-FOR-SETTLEMENT-PURPOSES-ONLY DOJ-EPA Asarco 73 page document as a "Memo" and cut it down to 28 pages!!
  

Please correct this immediately.

List of Companies wanting to be Contractors for the El Paso ASARCO Trustee include many with CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

List of Respondents to the RFQ
1. AE COM
2. AMEC
3. Brown & Caldwell
4. CCI
5. CDM
6. CH2M Hill
7. CRA
8. CT Environmental
9. EA Engineering
10. ECESI
11. ENVIRON
12. ERM
13. Golder
14. Malcolm Pirnie
15. Premier Chemicals
16. RMT
17. RPS
18. SHAW
19. Solar DeTox
20. Tetra Tech
21. TRC
22. URS
23. Weston Solutions

http://www.recastingthesmelter.com/?page_id=23

Annotated Map of ASARCO site

This map leaves out the old massive Lead (Pb) dump NE of the site next to the NE drainage area.

See Project Navigator site for this slide (PDF format)
http://www.recastingthesmelter.com/?page_id=18

Why is ASARCO using the same contractor to look at Water Contamination remediation at El Paso TX and E. Helena MT?

.... maybe because the illegal toxic secret wastes from ENCYCLE TX all
those years went to both E. Helena and El Paso TX? WE STILL HAVE NOT
BEEN TOLD WHAT POISONS HAVE BEEN LEFT HERE FROM THOSE YEARS OF ILLEGAL
UNMANIFESTED-HAZ-WASTE BURNINGS.

http://www.recastingthesmelter.com/wp-content/themes/recastingasarco/downloads/site_documents/EECA-02-08.pdf

Discharging where?

"The Texas Custodial Trust, in compliance with the storm water discharge permit at the former Asarco Smelter in El Paso, will begin discharging storm water from it’s storage ponds effective Friday, February 19, 2010. The ponds were analyzed and compared to the daily maximum effluent limitations prescribed in the permit for compliance purposes. Click here to view the analysis results."