{"id":24087,"date":"2010-12-06T17:32:28","date_gmt":"2010-12-07T00:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=24087"},"modified":"2010-12-06T17:32:36","modified_gmt":"2010-12-07T00:32:36","slug":"eib-says-company-must-have-air-quality-permit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/12\/eib-says-company-must-have-air-quality-permit\/","title":{"rendered":"EIB says company must have air quality permit"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Helena\u2019s facility in Mesquite.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Environmental Improvement Board ruled today that Helena Chemical Company\u2019s facility in Mesquite must continue to maintain an air quality permit.<\/p>\n

The vote was 4-1 in favor of upholding the Environment Department\u2019s decision to require Helena to maintain the permit.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelena has been inattentive to environmental laws and disrespectful of its neighbors,\u201d Environment Department Secretary Ron Curry said in a news release. \u201cThe EIB\u2019s decision, affirming that Helena should be subject to air quality protections through a state permit, is the right decision for the environment and the residents of Mesquite.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Helena could not immediately be reached for comment.<\/p>\n

The Sierra Club applauded the EIB\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter years of putting the health, safety and welfare of New Mexicans at risk, the EIB ruling today will help ensure that Helena Chemical is a good corporate neighbor,\u201d Michael B. Casaus, Sierra Club senior field organizing manager, said in a news release. \u201cWe are extremely pleased that the EIB ruled to protect the quality of life for families in Mesquite.\u201d<\/p>\n

Helena\u2019s operations have been controversial in recent years. The state has fined the company nearly half a million dollars for environmental violations, most relating to air quality at its Mesquite facility.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, the state has had to pay Helena $23,500<\/a> to settle public records violations.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Helena argued on this site<\/a> that it didn\u2019t need an air quality permit because \u201cour warehouse in Mesquite has never produced emissions at a level that require one.\u201d The company accused the state of treating it unfairly.<\/p>\n

The Environment Department responded by saying<\/a> that Helena \u201creleases from its facility air pollutant emissions in such a volume that the state has determined that a permit is required to protect the health of residents and the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s news release from the Sierra Club, Mesquite community activist Arturo Uribe, who is locked in his own fight<\/a> with Helena, said cancelling the air quality permit \u201cwould have ignored our community\u2019s concerns about the impact of Helena Chemical\u2019s operation on Mesquite \u2019s quality of life. We\u2019re glad that the EIB took a stand to protect our families.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Environmental Improvement Board ruled today that Helena Chemical Company\u2019s facility in Mesquite must continue to maintain an air quality permit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[115,147],"class_list":["post-24087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","category-uncategorized","tag-dona-ana-county","tag-environment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24087\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}