3 City Councils Meet, Agree To Oppose ASARCO Re-Opening

EL PASO, Tx. – A historic meetingbetween three area City Councils wrapped up with a joint measure to oppose the re-opening of ASARCO, the west-central city copper smelter.

The City Councils of El Paso, Juarez, and Sunland Park all voted unanimously to oppose the re-opening of ASARCO, which they believe would lead to increased pollution and health risks in our area.

Earlier this month, ASARCO received a recommendation from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to grant the copper smelter a five-year permit to re-open.

Mayor John Cook continued his opposition to the plant and ridiculed ASARCO’s economic impact study released earlier in the week.

Mayor Cook told the hundreds in attendance. “”We could make a lot of money in the City of El Paso by legalizing prostitution…butI don’t think any of us want to take that bold step … Neither do we want to legalize pollution into our air….seven thousand tons of pollution every year, so we can claim a small victory of economic impact.”

On Wednesday,ASARCO released a study that showed that the re-opening of the smelter would create more than 1800 jobs with salaries totaling $73 million dollars.

Other topics discussed between the three councils include a joint resolution requesting the federal governments of the United States and Mexico to provide funding to adequately maintain the Rio Grande in the wake of Storm 2006, which caused flooding on both sides of the border.

The councils also talked about the creation of a committee for border relations.