The University of Wisconsin Latino/a Law Student Association (LLSA) has helped El Paso residents to secure the opportunity to voice concerns about environmental issues affecting the area in which they live by filing an amicus brief in ASARCO v. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
LLSA's brief, written by Emanuel Anthony Martinez, Gerardo Alcazar, William E. Rosales, and Lolita Velazquez-Aguilu, on behalf of the Latino/a community of El Paso, urged the court to allow the citizens an opportunity to voice their concerns about the resumed operations of ASARCO, a copper smelting plant and refining company, at a contested-case hearing. ASARCO's attorneys argued Texas law requires the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to approve the renewal permit because the copper smelter is not proposing to increase emissions, and no public hearing should be held on the matter.
ASARCO has operated in El Paso for the past one hundred years. The EPA has identified the plant as a ?potentially responsible party? for elevated levels of lead and arsenic in the soil of the communities surrounding ASARCO. Research indicates that even minor amounts of toxic metals in children can cause nervous system damage, neurological disorders and behavioral problems. ASARCO is situated within a residential neighborhood on the border of El Paso and Mexico, adjacent to the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP), the undergraduate institution of several of LLSA's current members.
In her ruling release Wednesday, March 9, 2005, Judge W. Jeanne Meurer of the 98th Judicial District Court in Austin ruled in favor of TCEQ, allowing the commission to refer ASARCO's permit application renewal to a contested-case hearing to gather more information regarding the pollution hazards.
In 2002, ASARCO's ten-year operating permit came up for renewal before TCEQ. The company had been out of operation for over five years, after a drop in copper prices. Once copper prices began to rise again, ASARCO planned on resuming operation and applied to TCEQ to renew the permit. In April 2004, TCEQ referred the case to the State Office of Administrative Hearings for the hearing, to gather more information. In response, ASARCO commenced the action questioning TCEQ's legal authority to call such a hearing and asking the court for an injunction preventing the hearing from occurring. In her ruling Wednesday, Judge Meurer said the commission has the right to refer a case to the State Office of Administrative Hearings if the commission deems the referral to be in the public interest.
ASARCO's representatives issued a statement on March 11, 2005, expressing disappointment in the ruling, also stating the possibility that the company may appeal the decision to a higher court. Unless that occurs, the ruling means the administrative contested-case hearing will take place in July. ASARCO's statement also conveyed confidence that ASARCO will renew its permit, regardless of the hearing, because the plant operates in compliance with all necessary regulations.
Martinez, originally from the El Paso area, organized the student involvement in the project. He said of the experience, ?As Latina/o law students, we're in a unique position to advocate for our Latina/o community. It is a great source of pride that LLSA has taken advantage of that position to advocate for the meaningful participation of El Paso's community in ASARCO's permitting process."
The participating LLSA members received a letter of appreciation from Texas Senator Eliot Shapleigh, an advocate for the Get the Lead Out Coalition, a group dedicated to the environmental concerns of the El Paso area. In his letter to the contributing LLSA students, Senator Shapleigh wrote, ?Your hard work will most certainly have an impact on this high profile case affecting thousands of Latina/o residents in the El Paso area.? Student groups from UTEP, local Sierra Club members, and neighborhood organizations have also joined the fight against ASARCO's resuming operations.
For more information see http://gettheleadout.net/index.sstg.
Submitted by on March 7, 2005
This article appears in the categories: Articles
