The refinery is recognized internationally as an important producer and supplier of copper. Baker botts asserted that the fee premium was reasonable compensation pursuant to section 330 of the bankruptcy code when taking into account that i other professionals in similar cases charged comparable or even higher rates, ii baker botts charged a. Information on soil, groundwater and surface water at the asarco site. Cleanup of the former asarco site is on track for completion next year, according to the site trustee. Asarco llc american smelting and refining company is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in tucson, arizona, usa, that. Asarco to pay for smelter, mine cleanup originally published august 24, 2008 at 12. Asarco llc american smelting and refining company is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in tucson, arizona, which mines and processes primarily copper. Arcadis successfully remediated and restored the site, allowing the texas custodial trust to position for the sale of the property for commercial, industrial and residential reuse. The trusts objectives were to maximize asset recovery while safely preparing the. The department of justice and asarco filed the settlement agreement with the united states bankruptcy court for the southern district of texas corpus christi division. A community meeting regarding the former asarco smelter site is currently being scheduled for june 16, 2016. Arcadis successfully remediated and restored the site, allowing the texas custodial trust to position for the sale of the property for. Find out about soil sampling and replacement for residential yards.
Approximately 100 acres operated as a lead and copper smelter from the late 1880s to 1999. Rogers and leonard lewisohn founded the company on april 4, 1899. Basing their demands on the 2006 discovery that asarco incinerated hazardous waste from department of defense facilities, the workers are demanding medical and environmental testing to establish what was burned, what impacts it has had on them. Asarco, which has a long history of permit violations, has been trying to reopen the smelter since 2002, but legal challenges and grassroots opposition from the sierra club and other groups succeeded in keeping the plant closed.
Topics will include project status and coming activities. Asarco is contesting the epas allegations through a dispute resolution process. For more information visit asarco information center the asarco information center has information on the cleanup of all the asarco projects. Asarco conducts solvent extraction and electrowinning at the ray and silver bell mines in pima county, arizona, and pinal county, arizona, and operates a smelter in hayden, arizona. Mark vickery, executive director of the texas commission on environmental quality, announced the selection of project navigator ltd. Environmental protection agency, department of the interior and. United steelworkers after nearly 30 months of unsuccessful labor negotiations, us copper producer asarco plans on tuesday to unilaterally implement its last, best and final contract offer to the united steelworkers union, a union official said monday. The department of justice and asarco filed the settlement agreement with the united states bankruptcy court for the southern district of texas corpus christi division on march, 2009. The plants property was already in need of a cleanup in order to remove pollutants. Its mines produce 350,000,000 to 400,000,000 pounds 160,000,000 to 180,000,000 kg. To amarillo and the texas high plains, the plant is a major employer, and an important taxpayer, annually providing county and school taxes. Asarco organized as american smelting and refining company. In april 20, two iconic smokestacks were demolished at.
In smelter town, decades of dirty air, disease and. The old asarco site is nearly ready for new tenants. The project navigator for the sites cleanup held a public forum thursday to discuss the progress hes made, but some citizens say theyre. Learn about healthy actions simple ways to protect yourself from arsenic and. In 1975 it officially changed its name to asarco incorporated. The ruston asarco smokestack demolition music video. Asarco to pay for smelter, mine cleanup the seattle times. Arcadis successfully remediated and restored the site, allowing the city to sell the property for commercial, industrial and residential. The company operates three mines, associated mills and smelter in arizona and a refinery complex in texas, which includes plants that produce copper cathode, rod and cake. The purpose of this meeting is to inform the public of the current status of the site remediation. All content is posted anonymously by employees working at asarco. Asarco cleanup nearly complete, faces criticism kfox. Asarcos amarillo copper refinery is among the worlds most modern.
The industrial buildings and smokestacks are gone, and much of the land will. As a result of the largest environmental bankruptcy in u. The ut system and the asarco site trust are negotiating a deal as the site cleanup nears completion. Once the nonlinear dynamic analysis was performed, it took 300 pounds of dynamite and less than a minute to demolish the two giant smokestacks, one standing 800 feet high, and the other. The center is located at 5311 north commercial in ruston and is staffed weekdays from 1. In a letter on july 27, the agency chastised asarco for not taking the hayden cleanup more seriously, saying the company seemed more interested in justifying its lack of cooperation than in providing any attempt at compliance.
Asarco settlement update and cleanup plans in late 2009, the state of washington received a settlement from asarco for environmental damage from its mining and smelting operations in ruston. Tacoma smelter washington state department of ecology. Mar 21, 2016 asarco, nor judge walraths decision in boomerang tube, had any bearing on the request. Environmental protection agency has declared the former smelter a superfund site, and the state of texas appointed a trustee to clean it up. Asarco the handbook of texas online texas state historical. Asi was contracted to perform the demolition engineering and design for the explosive demolition of the asarco smelter stacks. The company is a subsidiary of grupo mexico since 1999 its three largest openpit mines are the mission, silver bell and ray mines in arizona. Asarco sets aside millions for environmental cleanup. Asarco sets aside millions for environmental cleanup legal. In 19971998, video crews were allowed exclusive access inside the. Included in original consolidation were mines and mining claims in colorado and mexico. Once the property is decontaminated, the university. Jun 30, 2016 the custodial trust settlement agreement resolves claims pertaining to past and potential future cleanup costs associated with approximately 18 american smelting and refining company asarco owned sites in 11 states.
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