Public Participation in Environmental Permitting in TEXAS

http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/files/gi-233.pdf_4009567.pdf

Slide Show of idled old smelter

Asarco El Paso (idled closed old smelter)

KTSM Channel 9 breaking news: TCEQ Public Interest Counsel accuses Asarco of breaking state code...

"ASARCO Battle Continues
New allegations against ASARCO have surfaced after a report was released by a state agency created to represent the interest of citizens.

Saturday, June 30, 2007 - The Office of Public Interest Council is among those who oppose ASARCO's reopening.

The agency claims the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or TCEQ, violated a state code when it gave the copper smelter a second chance to renew its air quality permit....."
http://www.ktsm.com/news/local/8266732.html

Asarco smelted wastewater sludges from mine drainage clean-up

Heavy-metal sludges as smelter feedstock. (Asarco Inc.) : How Asarco Cleans Mine Discharge Water and Scores Economic Benefits As Well
http://www.rst2.edu/ties/LEAD/university/resources/experts/new/sludge.htm

also read:
http://www.communityrights.org/Newsroom/crcInTheNews/DW4-7-05.asp
("Grazin' Hell by Prendergast, about Montana DOJ environmental politics)

Asarco would take us back to a polluted past

Writers on the Range - Writers on the Range - May 14, 2007 by Robert Rowley

Robert Rowley

I remember the first time I tasted the air near the Asarco copper smelter in El Paso, Texas. It was 1990, and my wife and I had just moved there from Tucson, Ariz., to start teaching jobs in the English Department at the campus of the University of Texas-El Paso. I soon met two professors who shared my love of hiking, and the three of us were returning home from an all-day trip to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, when we saw a dense cloud hanging over the freeway near the university.......

http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.WOTRArticle?article_id=17045

Secret trade agreement delayed, Peru asked to comply with environmental (and other) standards

How will this affect Grupo Mexico, their Southern Peru Copper mine and Asarco's wish to push a re-opening in El Paso by August, next month? Could it be that the Bush Administration (whose Carlyle group owns much of Grupo Mexico) might have to acknowledge what happened here in El Paso and Corpus Christi and clean up -- rather than continuing to make money dumping environmental liabilities on the taxpayers here, and taking away profits?

"Democratic leaders in Congress put off a vote on trade agreements with Peru and Panama until those countries revamp their laws to comply with new labor and environment standards in the accords. The demand is a blow to the Bush administration, which pressed the Democratic majority in Congress to have the Peru agreement approved next month."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4933661.html

How will this affect Grupo Mexico, the Southern Peru Copper mine and Asarco's wish to push a re-opening in El Paso by August, next month?

"
"Democratic leaders in Congress put off a vote on trade agreements with Peru and Panama until those countries revamp their laws to comply with new labor and environment standards in the accords. The demand is a blow to the Bush administration, which pressed the Democratic majority in Congress to have the Peru agreement approved next month."

Congress has ordered the EPA to restore its libraries

Victory for Librarians, EPA Library Funding

After considerable pressure by librarians, researchers and the public,

American Library Association
Washington Office Newsline
ALAWON
Volume 16, Number 075
June 29, 2007



Victory for Librarians, EPA Library Funding

After considerable pressure by librarians, researchers and the public, Congress has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to restore its library network. In the fiscal year (FY) 2008 Interior Appropriations bill, the Senate Appropriations Committee orders EPA to reopen the closed libraries. Last year, EPA closed its Headquarters Library in Washington, DC, to visitors and walk-in patrons. EPA also closed several regional libraries, the toxics and pesticides library and the Ft. Meade Environmental Science Center Library.
The language reads

“$2,000,000 shall be used to restore the network of EPA libraries recently closed or consolidated by the administration. While the Committee approves of efforts to make environmental data collections available electronically, the Committee does not agree to further library closures or consolidations without evidence of how the public would be served by these changes. Therefore, the Committee expects the EPA to restore publicly available library facilities in each region. EPA is directed to submit a plan on how it will use this funding increase to reopen facilities and maintain a robust collection of environmental data and resources in each region by December 31, 2007.”

The bill is now headed to the full Senate for consideration. The House-passed FY 2008 Interior Appropriations bill doesn’t contain the EPA library language.
In the fiscal year (FY) 2008 Interior Appropriations bill, the Senate Appropriations Committee orders EPA to reopen the closed libraries. Last year, EPA closed its Headquarters Library in Washington, DC, to visitors and walk-in patrons. EPA also closed several regional libraries, the toxics and pesticides library and the Ft. Meade Environmental Science Center Library.
The language reads

“$2,000,000 shall be used to restore the network of EPA libraries recently closed or consolidated by the administration. While the Committee approves of efforts to make environmental data collections available electronically, the Committee does not agree to further library closures or consolidations without evidence of how the public would be served by these changes. Therefore, the Committee expects the EPA to restore publicly available library facilities in each region. EPA is directed to submit a plan on how it will use this funding increase to reopen facilities and maintain a robust collection of environmental data and resources in each region by December 31, 2007.”

The bill is now headed to the full Senate for consideration. The House-passed FY 2008 Interior Appropriations bill doesn’t contain the EPA library language.

May 1999 BHP smelter in AZ idled

BHP Billiton have altered the status of their copper smelting and refining plant at San Manuel,[AZ] USA from care and maintenance to permanent closure. [Used Pierce converters and flash furnace]

The plant has been idle since May 1999 when it entered into care an maintenance mode. Since then they have looked at numerous strategies to bring the plant back online, but none proved economically viable.

The remaining staff will be focus on safety and environmental issues, while the decommissioning and reclamation of the site will be completed over the next 5 to 7 years.

The closure brings to an end 50 years of operation for the San Manuel smelter....

Posted October 27th, 2003
http://www.azom.com/details.asp?newsID=864

"1997: After next year's major rebuild, the San Manuel [BHP] smelter will operate for another 10 years on mini-shutdowns. This strategy will save BHP roughly $200 million over the next 10 years before the next major rebuild, resulting in more cash flow and value for BHPstakeholders.

Craig Steinke is Group General Manager and Senior Vice President of Metals in San Francisco and Pj Cannon, an Assistant Editor for On Cu.
This article is reprinted with permission from the publication,
On CU, April – June, 1997,Vol. 1, No. 3."

Asarco Noose Tightens, But Who Will Hang?

"Asarco Noose Tightens, But Who Will Hang?

by Sito Negron

It’s possible the issue could be decided by August, although because the process already has taken many twists, various elements could slow it down. That includes a potential change on the Commission that will decide the issue. Meanwhile, the TCEQ is reviewing the comments filed June 18.

Posted on June 29, 2007

The Asarco saga will come to a head this summer. Or not. But the noose is tightening …........................................"
[complete story is on page
http://www.newspapertree.com/politics/1504-asarco-noose-tightens-but-who-will-hang]

"But Asarco’s history also is an issue raised by permit opponents. The single largest issue is the question of hazardous waste illegally disposed at Asarco – how much, and what type? That question was raised in an agreed order in 1999, in which Asarco agreed to pay a fine but did not admit to wrongdoing. However, an EPA memo indicated that the agency wanted to take legal action. [Read the background for that story.]

As a result of that order, Asarco agreed to pay the city for paving alleys. [story]

For a primer on the Asarco issue, please see
Asarco Links.

Back to the most recent: Newspaper Tree presents seven documents filed June 18, 2007, outlining the issues now being argued by permit opponents and by Asarco.

Asarco [link]

New Mexico Department of Environmental Quality [link]

Office of Public Interest Counsel [link]

City of El Paso [link]

State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh [link]

Sierra Club [link]

Sunset Heights Acorn [link]"

Constellation Copper Corporation to Proceed with

Bankable Feasibility Study on the Terrazas Copper-Zinc

Oxide Project, Chihuahua, Mexico

DENVER, COLORADO--(CCNMatthews - Apr 26, 2004) - Constellation Copper Corporation is pleased to nnounce it will proceed with a bankable feasibility study on the Terrazas copper-zinc oxide open pit heap leach project,[the Phelps Dodge Mining Company, for example, at its Morenci, AZ mine, has completely disassembled its smelter and has converted the mine to a mine-for-leach operation. It takes fewer employees and is more cost effective.] located in Chihuahua, Mexico. Drilling contractors Layne de Mexico S.A. de C.V. and Perforaciones Godbe de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. have been selected for a combined 20,000 meters of RC and core drilling. Drilling will define the mineral resources contained in the 2002 pre-feasibility study completed by Jacobs Engineering Group, provide core samples for additional column leach test work, test open extensions to the current mineral resource, and explore newly acquired ground peripheral to the existing resource. BSi Inspectorate has been selected for the

analytical work.....

http://www.ccnmatthews.com/news/releases/show_print.jsp?action=toolbox&showText=all&actionFor=427099&industry=false

Asarco acted as the Atomic Energy Commission uranium ore-buyer in 1948

"Contracts for Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) procurement of these precipitates were extended in 1948. Furthermore, the AEC initiated plans to put three idle vanadium mills back to work, with production of uranium as their primary purpose. Toward this end, it purchased the plant at Monticello, Utah, in June 1948, from the War Assets Administration. The ore-purchasing agent is the American Smelting & Refining Co. By the end of the year negotiations were nearly complete for rehabilitation and operation of the plants at Durango and Uravan, Cob., by private companies. All five mills were expected to be operating before the end of 1949."

Confirmation of buried barrels of waste at Asarco’s Troy mine comes to the surface

Digging deep

Confirmation of buried barrels of waste at Asarco’s Troy mine comes to the surface

Written by MICHAEL MOORE and MICHAEL JAMISON Photographed by MICHAEL GALLACHER of the Missoulian

TROY – For more than half a year, attorneys for the companies involved in the Troy mine’s past and future have denied an environmental group’s claim that barrels of waste are buried in the mine’s tailings impoundment.

The mining attorneys asked a federal judge in Missoula to dismiss that claim, made in December 2002 in a lawsuit brought by the Cabinet Resource Group, at the most fundamental level – they simply said it never happened.

“Neither the state nor any of the defendants are aware of, nor can they find any evidence of, any such violations,” attorneys for Asarco and the Sterling Mining Co. of Montana wrote in a March brief seeking dismissal of the case.

Then a strange thing happened. Tim Bechtold, one of CRG’s attorneys, filed a notice alerting the company attorneys that he planned to depose Lee McKinney, a former mill manager at the Troy mine.

On Oct. 14, Bechtold had a telephone call from Asarco attorney John Davis, who said the company would now admit that at least some waste had been “deposited” in the 400-acre impoundment, which stores waste rock from the mining process:

“On the basis of information obtained from a former employee of Defendant ASARCO, Mr. Lee McKinney, Defendant ASARCO admits that a quantity of barrels containing flocculant and absorbent material were deposited into the tailings impoundment at the Troy mine in approximately 1988,”

http://www.missoulian.com/specials/troy/troy01.html

Asarco finally admitted to having buried 55 gallon drums of hazardous waste....

"But as to the company’s recent reversal of position – in which Asarco now admits to having buried some barrels – Arrigo said he is “quite surprised.” He said he’s now looking forward to seeing what CRG’s lawsuit and ground work uncovers.

“I’ll be real interested to find out what’s down there,” Arrigo said."

(Asarco Troy mine, 2003)

" Specifically, Meyer said Asarco’s tailings impoundment, which captures waste from the mining operation, was leaking into nearby Lake Creek.

He also said the company bypassed part of its wastewater treatment plant, sending sewage and other waste directly into the tailings impoundment. And, perhaps most surprising, Meyer claimed Asarco was burying 55-gallon drums of hazardous waste in what he termed “midnight burials.”

All of those claims have been disputed by the company, and the matter has recently found its way into federal court. But long before the first motions were filed, some eight years ago, to be exact, Jim Meyer blew his whistle in the Troy woods, expecting state regulators to hear his alarm."

http://www.missoulian.com/specials/troy/troy03.html

Environmental Radiation Data Report 96 (EPA RADNET) October - December 1998

See "environmental radiation data" http://www.epa.gov/narel/radnet/aboutus.html

smooth metal cyclinders being unloaded (by crane-mounted-magnet) from railcar at Asarco El Paso spring 2005

Gamma Scout Readings taken at Smelter Cemetery Asarco - spike is at a grave with uranium-green-tiles

LANL 'blue plume' tritium study done during summer mid 1990's of unnamed source at El Paso TX

Old Postcard photo of El Paso Asarco smelter showing Smeltertown and Rio Grande

Smelter Cemetery next to Asarco El Paso