◆ SpookStack

ee ee ete cee Se es er ae ee Report: Company ‘broke waste law . * By Ron Dusek. An d David Crowder... .. Times staff writers . . An investigation of a gold and silver mining operation in east El Paso County — the only one of its kind.in West Texas —:shows it has violated state waste disposal regula- tions and may.-pollute the ’ ‘water supply of nearby Paso’ > The investigative report by - the: ‘Texas-- Department -of ‘Water Resources listed “two violations by the West Hueco Corp., owned by British Cay- man Islands resident Steve McTaggart. The firm has no permit to’ ~ produce solid wastes’ and is not complying with state regu- .. lations on waste treatment... ;; *Continued from 1A ~: does not have a permit to dum tailings at the site. _ Those tailings have been neutra- lized and pose no threat, he said. _ “Tf you throw a can of beans on the’ ground, the state of Texas would come along and tell you you’re not supposed to do it without a permit,” Schilling said. An official statement released by mp: Thomas Stepp, indicated that the company plans to cooperate with the state by applying for the required dumping “permite the company’s lawyer, (Mount Clipping in Space Below) Dirty _ ---but--conceded: the--company |! p the ————— storage and disposal, accord- ing tothe report. ~ West Hueco has been testing . precious-metal extraction methods since October- using sodium cyanide, sodium Sul- fide, sulfuric acid and other chemicals, the report ‘stated. “They will be mining in full swing once- they decide on a. process,” said Bill Lockey, _ district “supervisor for-. the Water ‘Resources Depart- ment. ¢ . . rr eer * “At *the’’site, investigators ‘found *what’ appeared to be - _tTninor leaks in pipes carrying sulfuric acid: They also stated ‘in the report that tailings are . dumped into two small unlined ponds and solid waste is piled up.at the'site. _ _ -z'“Potential for ground water , contamination’ exists’ from .a *leak~in:the’ sulfuric acid sys- . tem or from leaching from the ‘ tailings “ponds ‘ and ~ tailings > pile.’: Contamination of sur- ’ face’ waters may result from “Fun-off ‘during rainstorms,”’ the-report stated: -” “ Mike ~-Schilling, general manager of the company’s op- eration, said no acid is leaking -.. +. *Please see Mine, 2A | nt Beyond what was said in the state- ment, Stepp said he knew nothing of the firm's operation, including the owner’s name. Stepp works in the company’s office at 2244 Trawood, ’ Suite 212, on the East Side. “These boys do what they do.” Character: Classification: Submitting Office: “1 don’t know .a thing,’ he said. Results from.tests on water sam-". ples taken from wells ‘serving Paso~ View residents and the mine should be ready next week, said Chip Volz, a hydrologist with the water resources department's enforcement division. ‘In a letter to El Paso Rep. Bob Valles, who asked for the investiga- tion, the department’s deputy direc- tor, Seth Burnitt- wrote that ‘“‘en-- city and state.) Pages 1 and 2, EL Paso Times, El Paso, Texas Date: 3/20/83 Edition: or EP 245D-5. El Paso forcement action on West—tt@eco Corp. is being considered by the ¢>- partment in order to initiate correc- tive measures for the protection of] state waters.” - Volz said the company will be toid next week specifically what 31 must do to comply with the law and proba- = willbe given up to 90 days. to com- ply. .. : _ “There is no immediate danger to anyone,” Volz said. The attorney general’s office would have to ect against the company to shutdown the operation if the company refused to comply with state regulations, he said.