AUSTIN, February 4 - State Rep. Joe Moody believes Asarco’s decision to shutter its copper smelter in downtown El Paso gives the city an opportunity to look to the future and go after high-tech jobs.

“I am very excited by the news that the Asarco smelter is going to be closed. It gives us an opportunity to move forward with state-of-the-art, cleaner jobs,” Moody told the Guardian. He described the 112-year-old smelter as an “anachronism.”

“Fort Bliss is growing at a rapid pace, with a projection that it will triple in size. Perhaps we can have a tie-in between the University of Texas at El Paso and Fort Bliss and use the land for new technology,” said Moody, D-El Paso.

On Tuesday, Asarco LLC informed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) that it does not intend to reopen its El Paso copper plant. The company said the decision was based on the dramatic downturn of the world economy in the last six months.

“We’ve always believed that an operating copper smelter is the best use of our property in El Paso and we have worked hard toward the goal of reopening the smelter,” said Thomas L. Aldrich, Asarco’s vice president of environmental affairs, in a prepared statement.

“Unfortunately, due to the extreme economic conditions world wide that have occurred during the last six months, we can no longer financially afford to continue pursuing that goal.”

Asarco’s El Paso smelter was put on temporary shutdown in 1999. In 2005, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In a Feb. 3 letter to Aldrich and TCEQ Executive Director Mark Vickery, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Acting Regional Administrator Lawrence E. Starfield said Asarco’s bid to have its El Paso smelter re-open violated federal environmental quality rules. Starfield said Asarco could not resume operations under "grandfathered" permits, such as the one awarded to Asarco in February 2008.

 “…we conclude that the facility was not maintained in a good working order that would allow startup in a timely manner with a minimum of work. Therefore the Asarco plant was 'permanently shutdown' under EPA's interpretation of the CAA (Clean Air Act)," Starfield wrote in his letter to Vickery.

Joyce Feinberg, former executive director of the Sun Bowl, said she was pleased with the news that Asarco would not be reopening its smelter. “It’s phenomenal. I am excited for the people of El Paso. It’s a giant step forward for El Paso,” Feinberg told the Guardian, on a visit to the state Capitol.

In a statement, El Paso City Mayor John Cook and city commissioners said they were pleased to hear of Asarco's announcement.  

“This is great and well deserved news for the people and communities of El Paso, Southern New Mexico, and Juarez, Mexico,” the statement said.

“The City also commends the Environmental Protection Agency, which recently sent a letter to the TCEQ restating its concerns regarding the air permit that was issued last year for the smelter. The City agrees with EPA’s view that much has changed in El Paso since 1999 when the plant was shut down, and Asarco should undergo review as a new source under the requirements of the Federal Clean Air Act, which is the legal position the City has taken for some time.”

The statement said city leaders will be in contact with the TCEQ and Asarco shortly to confirm that Asarco's air permit for the smelter will be officially and permanently revoked.

“Cleaning up the environmental contamination of the smelter property is of paramount importance to the City and the people of El Paso,” the statement said. “The City understands that Asarco is working with the TCEQ to provide funding for the demolition and cleanup of the smelter through a trust that will be subject to approval by the Bankruptcy Court. The City looks forward to reviewing this process for cleanup of the Smelter to help ensure that the property can be restored and returned to productive use.”

State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, said that under the new Obama administration, Asarco’s permit would have had to have a new Title V review. “That’s what stopped the 7,000 ton permit,” he said.

Shapleigh said the “real story” was that of “a community that rose against years of contamination and abuse.” More than 600 El Pasoans, led by the group Students for Reform, traveled to Austin a year ago to voice opposition to Asarco’s permit bid before a TCEQ hearing.

The protest did not have an immediate impact because TCEQ granted Asarco its permit. Critics said TCEQ’s decision would put more than 7,000 tons of pollutants into El Paso’s air, including 2.59 tons of lead and 6,673 tons of sulfur dioxide.

Shapleigh agreed with Moody’s assessment about aggressively going after new, cleaner, jobs.

“Now, we can move to a new era of better jobs, clean skies and healthier neighborhoods. Winning this battle with Asarco is as important to our future as creating the medical school. Since the 1880’s, Asarco has defined our past—now our talent and aspirations will define our future,” Shapleigh said.

Shapleigh said Asarco has left taxpayers from 75 communities in 16 states—from Tacoma, Washington to Corpus Christi, Texas— with billions in environmental remediation and clean-up costs. In El Paso, the smelter has contaminated at least 1,097 homes and businesses with lead and arsenic, the senator said.

Shapleigh pointed out that Asarco was fined $5.5 million and ordered to conduct $15 million in environmental projects by EPA for allegedly illegally transporting, storing, and processing hazardous waste in El Paso. Shapleigh said he will work to make sure those cleanup commitments are honored.