City cleared to seek revocation of Asarco's permit
February 29, 2008
The city of El Paso has been cleared by a bankruptcy court in Corpus Christi to seek the revocation of Asarco's air discharge permit and permanently close the smelter.
Written by David Crowder, El Paso Times
The city of El Paso has been cleared by a bankruptcy court in Corpus Christi to seek the revocation of Asarco's air discharge permit and permanently close the smelter.
If the city proceeds with a petition to revoke Asarco's permit, it would constitute a second legal attack on the company's permit.
Two weeks ago, the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality dismissed the city's objections and renewed Asarco's permit for five years to discharge various compounds into the air as part of its copper smelting operation.
El Paso city government had challenged that renewal on grounds that the plant would pollute the city's air, and City Council has indicated that the city file a lawsuit in state district court against TCEQ over the renewal.
Asked for comment on the city's actions, the company referred to a statement issued by Thomas Aldrich, Asarco's vice president of environmental affairs.
"Asarco will not be commenting on our permit until we receive the final order from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)," he said. "Asarco's policy is not to comment on matters pending litigation."
In related action, TCEQ on Wednesday rejected El Paso County Attorney Jose Rodriguez's request for criminal enforcement of allegations that Asarco has violated anti-pollution laws.
Under state law, a local prosecutor would need TCEQ authorization to conduct a criminal enforcement review and to take action against Asarco.
"This decision clearly illustrates that when a state agency is not given the tools or does not have the will to investigate and prosecute environmental violations, and local prosecutors are prevented from doing so, the citizens lose and big polluters win," Rodriguez said in a prepared statement. "We will continue our fight to correct this imbalance."
The county alleged that Asarco Inc. and its affiliate, Encycle/Texas Inc., violated the Texas Water Code between 1988 and 1999.
TCEQ reviewed the alleged violations and "determined that civil or administrative remedies are adequately and appropriately addressing the alleged environmental violations."
The agency also found that the alleged violations, which occurred six to 18 years ago, may be too old to be prosecuted under the statute of limitations.
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