Jan. 18, 2001-- Reported by Environment Specialist John Hollenhorst
Officials of the embattled Magcorp magnesium plant on the west shore of the Great Salt Lake say their chemical wastes are not hurting anyone.
And they vowed to fight back against a federal lawsuit that alleges massive violations of pollution laws.
Just a few months ago, Magcorp was making progress in repairing its environmental public image. Officials announced a $30 million overhaul to reduce the plant's notorious air pollution by as much as 90 percent.
That project today is nearing completion.
TOM TRIPP/MAGCORP ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGER: "I WOULD THINK IT WILL TAKE US OUT OF THE SPOTLIGHT QUITE A BIT."
But now the glare of the spotlight has swung in a different direction: the company's ongoing dumping of liquid and solid wastes into unlined canals and a 400-acre pond.
A federal complaint says it's hazardous, illegal, and subject to fines ranging into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
TOM TRIPP/MAGCORP ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGER: "THIS COMPLAINT WAS WRITTEN TO PLAY IN THE PUBLIC AND TO BE VERY ONEROUS LOOKING."
Magcorp officials say it would be prohibitively expensive to put the waste into lined containments. And they say they don't have to.
They claim to be exempt from hazardous waste laws because of a special exception Congress created for mining and mineral companies, which produce relatively voluminous waste because they have to process so much raw material.
TOM TRIPP/MAGCORP ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGER: "IF YOU WANT TO HAVE ANY MINERALS IN THE U.S., YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE SOME ALLOWANCES FOR THAT."
The federal government strongly disagrees with Magcorp's interpretation.
Meanwhile the company insists, the waste dumping is harmless.
TOM TRIPP/MAGCORP ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGER: "THERE'VE BEEN NUMEROUS SAMPLES TAKEN FROM THE POND AND AT THIS POINT THERE HASN'T BEEN FOUND ANY CONSTITUENTS THAT POSE ANY THREAT TO THE ENVIRONMENT."
JOHN HOLLENHORST REPORTING: "EVEN WITH THE CHANGE OF ADMINISTRATIONS IN WASHINGTON, THE COMPANY SEES LITTLE HOPE OF A POLITICAL SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM. NOW THAT THE COMPLAINT'S BEEN FILED, THEY'RE PREDICTING A LONG AND COSTLY COURT BATTLE. JOHN HOLLENHORST, EYEWITNESS NEWS, SALT LAKE CITY."
The issue whether Magcorp is covered by the mining and mineral exemption has been a matter of dispute for nearly ten years.
Environmentalists have had sharp criticism for the state of Utah, claiming regulators here have failed to properly monitor the company.
