TAKE ACTION TODAY: 7 key reasons to attend Planning & Zoning and City Council meetings TONIGHT, Dec. 27!
#1 – If you believe that the present and future health and welfare of the residents and community of Frisco are more important than Exide Technologies continuing to operate an aging, poorly maintained lead smelter in the heart of the community that daily spews a highly toxic cocktail of chemical “dust” – including lead, arsenic, cadmium, etc., – into the air that then settles on the ground, gets into water, etc., and is located less than a mile away from schools, parks, daycare centers, the public library, City Hall, Frisco Square, etc., then you will want to attend the Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council meetings TONIGHT, Dec. 27.
The Planning & Zoning Commission meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, and you can find more details and the Agenda here.
The City Council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., and you can find more details and the Agenda here.
#2 – If you don’t believe that the ongoing operation of a lead smelter by a company that has been involved in at least 23 EPA-certified Superfund sites across the country, and currently has more facilities on the EPA’s non-attainment list of smelters that are in violation of federal air safety laws for lead emissions than any other operator is compatible with and consistent with the character of Frisco neighborhoods and community today and in the future, then you will want to attend the Frisco Planning and Zoning and City Council meetings TONIGHT.
#3 – If you question the sincerity of Exide’s claims that it is ” a world-class operator” and its pledge (DMN – Dec. 4, 2011) that it will “continue to work to be a good corporate neighbor that protects its employees (See OSHA violations), the community (See information about EPA and TCEQ enforcement actions based on comprehensive on-site inspections) and the environment ((See information about EPA and TCEQ enforcement actions based on comprehensive on-site inspections, at least 23 Superfund sites; and this page, “Exide’s Negative Impact on Other Communities”), you will want to attend the two meetings TONIGHT.
#4 – If you wonder about why Exide is pushing to get permits to make long-overdue repairs on the Frisco lead smelter only AFTER the EPA and the TCEQ did comprehensive on-site inspections that resulted in an administrative order and enforcement action, respectively, you will want to be at the Planning and Zoning and City Council meetings TONIGHT, Dec. 27th.
#5 – If you are curious whether the scope of the repairs Exide is pushing to get permits for will be comprehensive enough given that both the TCEQ and the EPA are still investigating soil and groundwater contamination at the Frisco plant, and the fact that there has been no official plan completed and approved by the TCEQ and the EPA specifically outlining what Exide needs to do to bring the Frisco smelter into compliance with federal lead emission laws, and how such will be monitored, then you will want to join other concerned Frisco residents at City Hall TONIGHT.
#6 – If you wondered why Mayor Maso and the City Council at the last meeting didn’t present the full story about how Dallas successfully used amortization to close its three in-town lead smelters, you will want to be at the Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council meetings TONIGHT.
At the last City Council meeting, Mayor Maso presented a report referred to as the “Postell Report” (Donald Postell was a Dallas assistant city attorney who was involved in the amortization of the Dallas smelters). The report only noted the RSR smelter amortization case, and the Mayor indicated that it wasn’t applicable because the RSR smelter was already closed. But what was left out was that RSR made the decision to close the plant because it did not want to spend the money necessary to reduce its toxic lead emissions and bring it into compliance with federal air safety laws. The RSR site was an EPA Superfund Site. The plant was sold at auction for $25,000 to a group of Dallas businessmen who planned to try to re-open the plant. Dallas exercised its zoning and amortization powers to ensure the plant stayed close. The courts didn’t question Dallas’ use of amortization in the RSR case, they only questioned the City of Dallas’ short termination timeline and how it judged the value of the new owners investment in the plant.
Also, what was left out of the Mayor’s report was the fact that Exide owned the Dixie Metals lead smelter that the City of Dallas closed using amortization over a six-year period from 1984 to 1990. The Dixie Metals case was a textbook example of a municipality successfully using amortization, and it was upheld all the way to the Texas Supreme Court. Thus, regardless of the Mayor’s incomplete report, the zoning and amortization tools Dallas used to close its three smelters are valid, and applicable to the situation here in Frisco.
#7 – If you want to ensure that the Mayor and the City Council keep their repeated promises about making sure Exide makes its Frisco plant one of the most environmentally advanced plants in the country or see that it no longer operates here, and that the health and welfare of Frisco residents are top priorities, than you definitely will want to be City Hall TONIGHT!
