ASARCO Sale Raises Suspicion

This article details a 2002 dispute over ASARCO's attempt to sell its stake in the Southern Peru Copper Corporation (SPCC). ASARCO held a 54% stake in the company, which was ASARCO's most valuable asset at the time. ASARCO intended to sell this stake to a subsidiary of its parent company, Grupo México. The profits from SPCC were a large and reliable revenue stream for ASARCO.

The sale would have brought ASARCO closer to bankruptcy. Bankruptcy presented ASARCO with the opportunity to escape liability for their pollution at Superfund sites around the country. Additionally, the sale raised concerns at the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency that ASARCO was not selling the shares at market value. ASARCO, however, claimed that the sale was an attempt by the company to restructure the company and pay off debt. The Federal Government blocked the sale, preventing ASARCO from escaping their liabilities, including those in Omaha. Without this action, ASARCO may have managed to avoid responsibility for remediation of the Omaha Lead Site.

ASARCO was responsible for 2/3 to 3/4 of the costs of remediating the site, estimated at $134 million. At the time, ASARCO was not yet held responsible for the pollution it caused at the Omaha Lead Site. ASARCO refused to cooperate with the EPA in the remediation of the Omaha Lead Site. Instead, the Federal Government would have to enforce ASARCO's liability through the courts. This article reveals the tactics that ASARCO used to evade liability under CERCLA. At the time, ASARCO was not yet held responsible for its actions at many other polluted sites. This includes sites in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho and Tacoma, Washington. If ASARCO completed this sale, it may have avoided liability at all these sites.

The government's action demonstrated a forceful response to prevent this evasion. This article shows that the EPA made an effort to hold ASARCO responsible. This may be an attempt by the Federal Government to provide environmental justice in the Omaha Lead Site. If the government allowed this sale to proceed, ASARCO may have evaded liability for its pollution, presenting a major environmental justice concern. ASARCO would burden American taxpayers, including those in the affected areas, with cleaning up the toxic mess it left behind. The Government's aggressive action to stop the sale promoted environmental justice.

Importantly, however, the story of the EPA's battle to hold ASARCO responsible didn't end here. In fact, the battle to hold ASARCO responsible for their pollution of the Omaha Lead Site would not end for another seven years. In the intervening years, the EPA continued remediating the Omaha Lead Site using public funds.

Providing environmental justice in the Omaha Lead Site was clearly a long and drawn-out process due to the evasive tactics used by ASARCO and other potentially responsible parties. Ensuring the provision of justice would take years of dedication on the part of EPA officials. To understand the extent to which the Federal Government promoted environmental justice at the Omaha Lead Site, it is necessary to examine all the actions taken against ASARCO and other potentially responsible parties.