Reposted under fair use
https://eliotshapleigh.com/news/1435-asarco-criminal-allegations-sent-to-tceq
Link to document
Asarco Criminal Allegations Sent to TCEQ
October 29, 2007
El Paso County Attorney Jose Rodriguez announced recently that he is asking the state environmental agency to review the possibility of criminal charges against Asarco stemming from alleged violations in the "transportation, storage, and disposal of hazardous wastes."
Written by Sito Negron, Newspaper Tree
9
El Paso County Attorney Jose Rodriguez announced Monday that he is asking the state environmental agency to review the possibility of criminal charges against Asarco stemming from alleged violations in the "transportation, storage, and disposal of hazardous wastes."
Under state law, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality must review charges referred to the agency by a licensed peace officer. Rodriguez was requested to make the referral by Get The Lead Out, a coalition that opposes the reopening of Asarco.
The TCEQ has 45 days to make a decision whether to pursue administrative penalties, criminal penalties, or decline to pursue the matter. TCEQ officials were not available for comment late Monday.
Rodriguez said he decided to refer the matter because Asarco had a poor track record of compliance with both environmental laws and with abiding by penalties.
"After six weeks of reviewing the information, the abundant information, I might add … the peace officer in my office concluded there was sufficient information (to refer the complaint)," Rodriguez said at a news conference Monday. "Asarco has not complied with the original or modified decree in 2004."
He said he could not answer questions about the specifics of the complaint because "I am speaking today as a prosecutor and cannot go into detail."
Critics of Asarco say the company used its Contop smelter to burn hazardous waste shipped from Encycle, an Asarco subsidiary in Corpus Christi.
The issues were raised in a 1999 Consent Decree, a document in which Asarco does not admit to any wrongdoing but agrees to pay fines and take other corrective actions. During its investigation of that and other public records associated with oversight of Asarco, a member of GTLO found a memo that was used by investigators as part of their case against Asarco.
The memo alleged that Asarco was engaged in "sham recycling," in which it sent product from Encycle to facilities in El Paso and East Helena, Mont. The product was meant to be byproducts that contained enough copper material to make it worthwhile to Asarco to "recycle," but investigators alleged the amount of ore was too negligible to recycle.
The consent decree, which covered Asarco activities in several jurisdictions, called for the company in El Paso to pay $1.85 million to pave streets and for it to take other corrective actions at the smelter.
The company has disputed the characterization of its activities as "burning hazardous waste," stating that "no wrongdoing was found" in the final Consent Decree, which involved state and federal investigators.
"These governmental entities had the authority to choose between civil, criminal, or administrative enforcement and they chose civil, based on the merits of the case. In addition, no wrong doing was found regarding the procedures followed by the Asarco El Paso Plant," the company stated in an October news release.
Asarco paid less than half the $1.85 million when it went into bankruptcy.
The company in a different statement said that it offered to make monthly payments on the balance, but the city refused that method of payment. "The remaining balance is not subject to the bankruptcy process," the Asarco statement read.
Monday, Asarco responded the Rodriguez's news conference by questioning whether he had a conflict. The company released a video of an anti-Asarco rally Jan. 8, 2005, and a statement.
"The video shows the county attorney participating in an anti-Asarco rally and clearly demonstrates a conflict of interest in his decision making that should have been disclosed to the public," read the statement, which also questioned the role of Assistant County Attorney Lee Shapleigh, who is married to state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, a leader in the anti-Asarco campaign.
Rodriguez could not be reached for comment late Monday, but his office released a statement responding to the charge: “The County Attorney takes his duties and responsibilities very seriously and he does not agree that there is a conflict of interest. The matter has been referred to the appropriate state agency which will be making the determination, not the County Attorney, as to whether Asarco should be criminally prosecuted.”
(click on the clipboard below for a copy of the criminal enforcement review referral.)
Icon_document
Download this document for more information.
View Printer-Friendly Format
Related Stories
From the Senator's Desk. . .
February 11, 2010
Fellow Paseños--
National Public Radio had a great story on “ASARCO—the Toxic Century” The best line was now, “El Paso can begin to look to the future.”
From the Senator's Desk. . .
February 4, 2010
Texans want to leave a cleaner, healthier state for their children and grandchildren to enjoy. Despite this, Texas' air and water are amongst some of the dirtiest in the nation. Texas is first in the nation in air pollution emissions, the amount of cancer-causing carcinogens released into the air, and the amount of carbon dioxide emissions. It's second in the amount of hazardous waste generated and seventh in the amount of carcinogens released into the water. We have a governor and environmental agency that prides itself in opposing increased air standards that would save both lives and money.
A Toxic Century: Mining Giant Must Clean Up Mess
February 4, 2010
In December, the Justice Department announced a settlement in one of the largest environmental bankruptcies in U.S. history.
The American Smelting and Refining Company, known as Asarco, will pay a record $1.79 billion to settle claims for hazardous waste pollution at 80 sites in as many as 20 states.
Cleanup will begin this year on one of Asarco's most notorious properties — the copper smelter in El Paso, Texas.
Court showdown over the public's right to know
January 28, 2010
State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh is headed into court this afternoon fighting for documents from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that he says will show the agency is little but a lapdog for polluters.
Appeals court gets TCEQ records case
January 27, 2010
A state senator's pursuit of documents he believes will lead to a criminal investigation of senior staff members of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is now in the hands of an appeals court that heard arguments Wednesday about whether the records should be public.
Fair Use Notice
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond "fair use", you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Copyright © 2024 - Senator Eliot Shapleigh
An Impulse Development Website
Political Ad Paid For By Eliot Shapleigh
