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Arizona Republic December 12th, 2006 For more information, contact:
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Some in tribe oppose plant By Corinne Purtill Opponents of a hazardous-waste recycling facility on the Gila River Reservation will confront the plant's operators and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at a public meeting tonight. Citing concerns about the company's environmental record, some members of the Gila River Indian Community say they want Romic Environmental Technologies Corp. out of Lone Butte Industrial Park, which is under the tribe's control. The meetings tonight and Wednesday will review the results of a health risk assessment that Romic conducted at the EPA's request. It is the latest step in Romic's 18-year struggle to get an official permit from the EPA for the Lone Butte facility, which it operates on an interim permit. The risk assessment, commissioned by the company, says that Romic poses "no significant chronic or acute health effects" to surrounding communities. EPA officials say Romic's history of violations is typical for a company of its size and nature. Environmental activists are not convinced. " We want to evict them. We want them out of Gila River," said Lori Riddle, co-founder of Gila River Alliance for a Clean Environment. California-based Romic purchased its predecessor at the Lone Butte park in 1988. Since then, the company has wrestled with the EPA and the tribe over the particulars of its permit application. It also wants to expand its hazardous-waste storage capacity and recycling operations. The EPA wants to recommend a decision on Romic's permit by Sept. 30, said Cheryl Nelson, EPA's project manager for the case. The length of the permitting process is fairly typical for a facility the size of Romic's, which receives about 13,000 tons of waste each year. Nelson said Romic's violations are not unusual. In August 2005, Romic was fined $67,888 for violations recorded in 2002 and 2003. Violations included improper record-keeping for its air emission control devices, vent system and hazardous-waste storage tanks, as well as failure to store hazardous waste in containers in good condition. " I wouldn't characterize (Romic) as any worse or any better than other facilities of the same size that handle the same type of materials," Nelson said. Environmental groups point to violations at Romic's other facilities. In 2005, Romic settled with the EPA for $54,000 and agreed to spend an additional $295,000 on pollution reduction for failing to disclose chemicals released at its facility in East Palo Alto, Calif. That facility also was the site of a hazardous-materials release in June that forced nearby residents to shelter for an hour. The EPA ordered Romic to clean up the mess. The health study's conclusion that the Lone Butte plant poses no risk "is a very sad commentary on the state of environmental protection," said Bradley Angel, executive director of Greenaction, a San Francisco environmental group that has worked with Romic opponents in East Palo Alto and the Gila River community. As the land owner, the Gila River Indian Community could revoke Romic's lease if it wanted the company out. But the tribe has not come out against the facility. Romic has met frequently with tribal members to discuss the plant's safety, said Michael Therrien, general manager of the Lone Butte facility and Romic's vice president of operations. Native American reservations have been the sites of too many industrial plants that other communities rejected, activists say. " In all reality, nothing in life is 100 percent . . . but it is a highly, highly regulated industry," Therrien said. "It's one of those deals where no one wants it in their backyard." |