To: City Council, Commissioners and Governor Greg Abbott
The Copper Smelter will continue to pollute water supply for decades
Because of the permitted ores that have been around since 1899 more and 100 yrs and now the nerve gases. Our water supply runs parrall to this site not more than 30 yds away. The land sits on slag which is like Swiss Cheese very porous. The contaminites will continue to leach into the water source. The Trustee is simply buring the contaminites on the site. He claims they have projection (lining). True but the entire site 429 acres is not lined only the cells he is creating. Notice a landscaped yard looks neat but a couple of years weeds are popping out, same theory here. This water supply runs down to the Gulf Coast feeding crop along the way some 800 miles. Not only is El Paso having its 60% drinking jeopardized but the entire Rio Grande from El Paso to the Gulf.
Why is this important?
This petition is about a former company here in El Paso Texas. The copper smelter shut down filed for bankruptcy and left a mess. The courts awarded $52 million dollars for this location and two others, Corpus Cristi, Tx and parts of Amarillio a refinery still in operations so through the courts they financed their own company.. The smelter, however, is in the worst condition. The smelter was caught incinerating nerve gases. The EPA documents stated it as a shame because there was no copper ore contents in the loads being brought in and contained nerve gases.