New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson stepped into the Asarco fray Tuesday, releasing a letter to Texas Gov. Rick Perry opposing the renewal of the Asarco air pollution permit. The letter was reported by the Associated Press Tuesday, as Cindy Padilla, deputy cabinet secretary for the N.M. Environment Department, spoke at a city of El Paso news conference meant to announce stepped up efforts to oppose the Asarco permit.
"The issue of opposing Asarco has galvanized not only our city but our region," said Mayor John Cook.
Present at the news conference were Cook, Padilla, Sunland Park Mayor Ruben Segura, three members of El Paso City Council, state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh and a staff member for U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes. In addition, Cook pointed out letters from outgoing Juarez Mayor Hector Murguia Lardizabal and incoming Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz opposing the permit renewal, and Cook said that Chihuahua Gov. Jose Reyes Baeza also would be writing a letter opposing the permit renewal.
"This is a big deal, when you have a governor from the great state of New Mexico and the great state of Chihuahua," Shapleigh said.
Asarco released a statement following the news conference from Doug McCallister, Asarco LLC General Council.
“The ongoing involvement of elected officials across the Borderland is a way to try and change the focus from the City of El Paso's keen interest in our land. The facts are that the rigorous scientific investigation including unprecedented and extensive air modeling in Mexico, New Mexico and Texas is complete and it is great news for our community," McCallister said in the statement. "The great news is that Asarco will not be a health hazard when we reopen and the air will stay clean. Asarco will bring 1,800 well-paying jobs back to the community and more than $1 billion in economic impact."
McCallister's statement refers people to the company Web site. [link]
The news conference, which Cook said was meant to help the city counteract the millions being spent on public relations by Asarco by "using the press to our advantage" to get the opposition story out, was a disciplined affair, raising three main themes: The regional nature of the political opposition, Asarco's record as a source of pollution, and the city's anti-Asarco video, produced in-house and posted on the city Web site. [link]
Cook raised familiar issues with the Asarco permit, quoting his father as saying "usually the best indicator of future performance is past performance" in making the argument that Asarco has a poor environmental track record.
Asarco opponents have pointed to government documents that led to a 1999 consent decree, in which government investigators accused Asarco of illegally burning hazardous waste. [link]
Asarco has disputed the characterization of its record as egregious, claiming that it has operated responsibly. The company responding to the specific allegation of illegally burning waste by arguing that Asarco initially had approval from the state to recycle the material, and ceased the practice as soon as the federal government questioned whether the material was recyclable. [link]
Part of the opposition concern is that the material never has been entirely accounted for, including whether any material from a military weapons depot in Colorado might have been part of the material sent to El Paso. Reyes, chairman of the House intelligence committee, has asked the Government Accountability Office to look into how the military handles waste materials, using as a case study the transfer from Colorado.
The city video also raised the themes of past performance, the regional nature of opposition, and what Shapleigh during the news conference called the fight "for the brand of the future."
In the video, the city argues that it is proud of its heritage, which includes Asarco, but just as the military no longer uses a horse cavalry, a smelter no longer is appropriate for the middle of a major urban area.
The Texas Environmental Quality Commission has not set a date for its decision.
