December 2006 the TX US Ecology Attorney's response when I tried to get the chemical analysis of material sent to their facility from our Asarco El Paso 100 year old pond

Date:	Mon, 18 Dec 2006 13:42:20 -0700
From:	Wayne Ipsen <WIPSEN[at]americanecology.com>
CC:	Ken Knibbs <kknibb[at]usecology.com>

You have requested that our subsidiary US Ecology Texas, LP provide directly to you a specific Waste Product Questionnaire, identifying analysis and any applicable Material Safety Data Sheet(s) related to an ASARCO waste stream.  As Mr. Knibbs has state previously, in the interest of our customers, our general policy prohibits release of customer information to third parties absent the customer’s authorization. You have sought this information under a Public Information Act Request submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).  Absent (i) a written request from the TCEQ for USET to provide this information to its office or (ii) a subpoena by the appropriate authority to release this information directly to you, we are prohibited from making this information available.   

Regards,

 

Wayne R. Ipsen

Corporate Counsel

American Ecology Corporation

Phone 208.331.8400

Fax 208.331.7900

wipsen[at]americanecology.com

 

Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2006 4:07 PM
To: Ken Knibbs; bbrydson[at]tceq.state.tx.us; WWW - OPA; thornton.wood[at]oag.state.tx.us; Martinez, Javier; David Edmonson; Loretta Akers; SIlo[at]tceq.state.tx.us; WWW - OPENRECS

 

Dear Mr. Knibbs,
I have not gotten a reply from you since 12-12-06 and wondered if there was a problem.  All this back and forth communication is a waste of time when TCEQ should have requested this information from you directly in the first place.   I consider this a bad faith action since my original request to TCEQ was on 19-Nov-06;  and, I would like the chemical analysis released asap.

This is the same chemical analysis that I approached my elected official(s) about, many months back.  Surely someone has access to this analysis/analyses under under public-information-law without "clearing it" with the "client". 

If your company wants to show that it operates legally/above-board, then release the analyses to my regulatory officials and elected officials asap (which you indicated did not require the permission of the "client") so that I may get a copy via open records law.

Thank you