Asarco Links

Asarco has operated in El Paso for about 100 years. Starting in the late 1960s, health officials began investigations -- some say sporadic and prematurely terminated -- regarding the health impacts of the smelter.

Most recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has named Asarco as a Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) for heavy metal contamination found in yards in West-Central El Paso. The pollutants primarily have been found in soils around Sunset Heights, Rim Road and Kern Place. This does not take into account potential impacts in neighborhoods in Juarez, which are closer to the smelter.

Asarco, which ceased "major operations" in 1999, is asking for a renewal of its air permit, which allows it to discharge pollutants in the course of its smelting processes. A hearing on that issue is to begin today (Monday, July 11) in the El Paso County Courthouse.

While the health and safety issues associated with the soil contamination -- controversial and contested by Asarco -- are not directly associated with the permit request, those discussions form part of the context in assessing the role of Asarco in the community.

Also part of the context: How much of Asarco's legacy is in the form of toxic air, soil and water pollution; the right of a business to operate in a city that grew up around an existing operation; the trade-offs between environmental contamination and economic interests stemming from salaries and tax base; and an emerging environmental justice movement in the region.

More on those issues regarding the community's relationship with Asarco -- indeed, all highly toxic industries in urban areas -- can be found in this archived collection of information, advocacy, and stories, some of which previously have appeared in Newspaper Tree and others developed through Internet and other sources based in El Paso and around the nation.

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The Contested Case Hearing:

The contested case hearing for Asarco's request to renew its state air quality permit begins at 9 a.m. in the 12th floor ceremonial courtroom at the County Courthouse, 500 E. San Antonio.

The crux of the case boils down to two questions, posed by the TCEQ's original order from May 14, 2004. They are: A) Whether the operation of the El Paso Primary Copper Smelter under the terms of the proposed permit will cause or contribute to a condition of air pollution; and B) Whether the Applicant's [ASARCO's] compliance history for the last five years of operation of the El Paso Primary Copper Smeter warrant the renewal of Air Quality Permit No. 20345. The burden of proof for these two questions falls on the Applicant.

Newspaper Tree presents a look back at filings in the case:

1. Original Petition, filed by Plaintiff (ASARCO INCORPORATED)

2. Original Answer of Defendant (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or "TCEQ")

3. Plaintiff's Initial Brief (Part one)

4. Plaintiff's Initial Brief (Part two)

5. Plaintiff's Initial Brief (Part three)

6. Brief of the City of El Paso, Intervenor (filed January 10, 2005)

7. Amicus Curiae Brief of the Latina/o Law Students Association, at the University of Wisconsin Law School

8. TCEQ Brief (Part One)

9. TCEQ Brief (Part Two)

10. The City of El Paso's Intervenor Brief

11. ASARCO Reply Brief (Part One)