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US Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick has requested that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) achieve a coordinated and complete settlement as quickly as possible regarding the ASARCO Hayden Smelter retrofits. This settlement will allow ASARCO to have adequate time to complete the retrofits at the Hayden smelter by 2018 or it may put the smelter operations at risk. Currently the retrofits submitted by ASARCO have not been approved by the EPA despite the approval of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
In her letter to the EPA Kirkpatrick explained that she is confident that ASARCO and the EPA can find a balance between protecting the environment and sustaining the jobs in the region. The Hayden smelter is one of the three working smelters in the United States; she has two of the working smelters in her district. The third is located in Salt Lake City, Utah and is owned by Kennecott Copper.
The required retrofits are designed to meet the new National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for sulfur dioxide. ASARCO’s current plans have come under scrutiny from the EPA, that the retrofits do not meet all the requirements set by the EPA. ASARCO began designing a smelter retrofit to meet the standards in 2010 when the standards were enacted. ASARCO submitted their retrofits plan to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). ADEQ has agreed that retrofits will allow the Hayden Smelter to meet the new national standards, yet the EPA has delayed ASARCO’s beginning of the retrofit project. The EPA contends that the smelter is a “major source” of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) and the proposed retrofits will not meet the standards. Both ASARCO and the ADEQ dispute the claims by the EPA.
ASARCO has been meeting with the EPA. The company claims that the additional retrofits being required by the EPA will double the cost of the retrofit to over $250 million. Company officials claim that the EPA’s retrofits have not been tested in the copper smelting industry. ASARCO contends that the retrofits are not feasible from an engineering standpoint and would at best would only minimally reduce the sulfur dioxide and HAPs emissions.
Continued delays to the beginning of the retrofit construction could have severe economic impacts on the Copper Corridor region of Arizona. If the additional requirements are forced by the EPA, it may force ASARCO LLC to close the smelter as soon as 2018 because the cost of the retrofits will be financially unfeasible.
Jack Garrity, Technical Services Manager for ASARCO said, “We are making progress in discussions with EPA regarding the substantial measures we are undertaking to continue to operate our smelter while at the same time protecting the environment. We believe the smelter, one of only three in the United States, is extremely important to the future of the U.S. economy with regard to copper production, and we are hopeful the discussions are nearing a timely conclusion to provide the certainty necessary for our long-term operations in Hayden.”
ASARCO provides over $50 million in salaries, wages, and fringe benefits to local workers, the company contributes over $6 million in property, sales and severance taxes. ASARCO also spends over $100 million on material and other items.
“It all boils down to jobs. We need the EPA to act with urgency because working families in the Copper Basin deserve far better than a bureaucratic waiting game,” Kirkpatrick said.
Side Bar:
There is no doubt that everyone wants a safe, clean and sustainable environment, but each regulation to protect the environment also creates an effect on the local, state and national economy, not to mention national security.
Since 2010 the EPA has enacted new and stronger environmental protection regulations on emissions. The NAAQS standards in turn affect smelter operations.
The Hayden Smelter has not been the only operation in Arizona that has been affected by these new standards. The Freeport McMoRan smelter in Miami also has to make many retrofits and improvements. These regulations also affected the Navajo Generating Station coal-fired power plant in northeastern Arizona on the Navajo Indian Reservation. This plant not only provides electric energy for most of Arizona, Nevada and parts of California, it also helps to move water through the Central Arizona Project Canal to Phoenix and Tucson.
The Navajo Generating station coal-fired power plant is owned by several utilities including Salt River Project, Arizona Public Service along with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the NV Energy. The Navajo Generating Station was on the verge of closing because the regulation implementations were far too costly. However company representatives from the generating station made other suggestions on the repairs and the residents of the Navajo Nation also got involved by educating the EPA and supporters of these regulations how the closure of the plant would affect the local economy. In the end the Los Angeles Water and NV Energy have decided to move away from coal fired energy and they will divest their interests, Their departure from the Navajo Generating station will reduce their output by 1/3 which will help the plant to meet the overall regulations. Nonetheless, environmental groups like the Sierra Club are still looking for ways shutter the plant for good.
Mila Besich is a resident of Superior with two children. She volunteers for many local organizations. She is an experienced fundraiser and event planner for Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition. She covers some of the area town councils and schools.
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