‘We don’t want it here’: Residents urge Arizona regulators not to allow aluminum plant

WENDEN — A company’s plan to build an aluminum recycling plant in a farming town in La Paz County drew an outpouring of opposition during a meeting where people urged environmental regulators not to sign off on the project.

Homeowners and local businesspeople told officials from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality that their communities will suffer if the state grants an air-quality permit for the proposed Alliance Metals plant in Wenden.

They said the air pollution would threaten people’s health, and the risk of a chemical spill should be considered. They said they fear that if the smelter is built, property values would drop. Some of the people who took the microphone during Wednesday night’s meeting said they’re especially concerned about children in the community.

“We have kids and grandkids and little ones that we’ve known all their lives,” Christy Potter said during the meeting. “We don’t want them to breathe this air that this plant is going to produce. We don’t want our water to be polluted.”

Potter is retired and has three children, two granddaughters and three great-grandchildren living in the area. She first lived in the farming community in the 1960s, then raised her children in California, and came back to La Paz County to retire. She said people shouldn’t have to live with an industrial plant next to them. 

“We don’t want it here,” she said, speaking to two ADEQ officials who sat listening at the front of the room. “And if you guys don’t take in the consideration of families that have lived here for so long, then there’s something the matter with the government.”

About 125 people attended the meeting at the Centennial Community Center in Wenden, 100 miles west of Phoenix. The auditorium erupted in applause after each person spoke against the project. 

Not one spoke in favor, and no one spoke on the company’s behalf. 

Florida-based Technocon International, which operates as Alliance Metals, applied for the permit in April, and detailed in its application how the plant intends to limit emissions of air pollution. 

The facility would take in scrap aluminum. It would crush and melt down the metal, and churn out aluminum ingots, which the company intends to sell to manufacturers in the auto, aerospace or military industries.

Representatives of the company have insisted the plant wouldn’t harm the environment and would comply with regulations. They say the $10 million facility would bring 30 full-time jobs and would boost county tax revenues by more than $600,000 over the next 10 years. 

Plant is a 'license to pollute'

But some people who live in Wenden said the plant would pose major environmental threats.

Gary Saiter, who leads the local water district and school board, pointed out that the smelter would be within a half-mile of 16 houses, and within three-fourths of a mile from Wenden Elementary School.

“The entire town of Wenden is within one mile of the property line,” Saiter said. He said the plant could bring “serious health consequences” for residents.

“This facility will emit nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead and hazardous pollutants including dioxins,” Saiter said. “Why then would ADEQ allow any such emissions to occur within such proximity of two population centers?”

The company is proposing to have two 5,000-gallon chlorine tanks, which Saiter said would put the community in danger if there were an accidental release of chlorine gas. 

“Nothing, in my opinion, in this permit protects the public or the environment. It’s simply a license to pollute,” Saiter said. He added that he would support an aluminum plant in La Paz County, “just not in this location.”

The aluminum plant is proposed on the site of an old cotton gin. Cotton has faded in the McMullen Valley, and now alfalfa farms dominate the fields along U.S. 60, alongside groves of pecan and pistachio trees.

The land is zoned as “rural area.” The company initially applied to change the zoning to “heavy industrial,” but later changed course. It has instead applied for a “conditional-use permit.” 

If county supervisors agree, the permit would allow the aluminum plant to operate without a zoning change.

Some people at the meeting said if the plant is built, they intend to move away. 

Greg James said he and his wife bought a couple of properties two years ago. But he said if the plant is permitted, they won’t build or open a business on the land.

“If that comes in and they flip that zoning and they spot-zone this, we’re gone,” James said. “The jobs we would have created are out. The business we would have brought is out. And you will see the back of our heads so fast that it’ll make your heads spin.”

Other people said they’re concerned about pollution drifting with the winds, and about the risk of pollutants being washed off the property during heavy rains — which they said could flow into the nearby Centennial Wash, where water seeps down into the aquifer.

The company, for its part, has said the plant wouldn't pose any risks of water contamination.  

MORE:Plant would bring jobs, tax revenue to rural AZ. Some residents say no thanks

A responsibility to the valley

As the meeting continued, Wenden resident Dean Lyman stood and read from a handwritten copy of the mission statement of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality — “to protect and enhance public health and the environment.” Lyman said he’s concerned that the company would be able to self-report under the permit.

He said the timing of the hearing, in the summer, limited the size of the crowd. If seasonal residents were in town, Lyman said, “this place would be overflowing with people.”

Lyman echoed the idea that companies are welcome to come to the area, but not right in Wenden. 

“We have a responsibility to this valley to leave it as good as we found it, if not better,” Lyman said. “And we can’t sit by and let these people come in here and pollute it.”

Harry Fornwalt, who owns the Desert Palms Golf and RV Resort, said if the plant is built, it could drive away the “snowbirds” who fill up his property with their RVs each winter. 

“Our snowbirds support this community,” Fornwalt said. “So, we don’t want to just give away the snowbirds so that somebody from who-knows-where can smelt a few bars of aluminum.”

Terri White said she and her husband previously lived in Los Angeles and moved to the area for the clean air. 

“We endure the brutal summers because we love our community,” White said. “We love our desert. We love the mountains.”

Turning to the state regulators at the front of the room, she said: “I’d like to ask you a question. I see wedding rings on your hands. I’d like to know if your families live near a plant. Do you have children?”

ADEQ official Naveen Savarirayan answered: “Ma’am, we don’t actually answer any questions in this.”

“Well, put yourself in our place,” White said. 

“We love this community, and we are not for what you’re bringing here,” she said. “My husband and I have lived here for 10 years, and we’re not going to go down without a fight.”

Company: Plant will adhere to standards

ADEQ has issued a draft permit and the agency accepted written comments on the proposal during a 30-day period that ended Sept. 4.

Erin Jordan, an ADEQ spokesperson, said the agency will review and address comments that it has received, and at the end of its review will decide whether to issue or deny the permit.

“As part of that process, ADEQ will evaluate whether the permit, as currently written, suitably incorporates all applicable requirements,” Jordan said in a statement. She said the draft permit includes “additional controls and testing beyond what was required to be protective of public health and the environment.”

Thomas Galvin, an attorney for the company, said in a phone interview on Friday that the facility will control emissions of particulate pollution, keeping the emissions at levels that are considered safe.

“Of course, everyone is concerned about air pollution and everyone is concerned about environmental quality,” Galvin said. "But that’s why we have the standards that we have, and our clients trust that the state agency is going to review their permit application fairly.”

Galvin said if ADEQ approves the project, “it’s because they know that there will be no environmental harm to the local community or to the state.”

He said the company plans to take measures to ensure the plant operates safely.

“For anyone who is worried about any chlorine spill or accident, I will say that we have safety protocols and operational procedures that actively mitigate those risks,” Galvin said.

As for people’s concerns about property values, Galvin said the company hasn’t seen any hard data from an expert on the topic. 

“However, we do know that this project is going to be a significant contributor to the county in terms of tax revenue and creating jobs and investment,” Galvin said. “And it is our belief that any time there is a significant investment or jobs created in a community, actually people benefit as a whole, and property values tend to rise with it.”

Technocon and Alliance Metals are led by Russian-born businessman Jacob Gitman and his son, Larry.

Alliance Metals says on its website that it trades “metals originating from a nationwide network of recycling centers, smelters, auctions, and industrial suppliers.”

Galvin said his clients chose La Paz County as the site for the plant because “it was perfectly situated between Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Mexico,” which are all markets for the aluminum.

The company has already laid down concrete pads on the property as it waits for a green-light to begin work.

On a chain-link fence across the street, opponents have put up a yellow sign reading “NO SMELTING.”

But Alliance Metals is moving ahead with its plans. The company announced that it’s holding a job fair in Wenden this Saturday. It said in an announcement on Facebook: “We are hoping to bring good-paying jobs to the community and would love to chat with you about career opportunities with company officials.”

Reach reporter Ian James at ian.james@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8246. Follow him on Twitter: @ByIanJames

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Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and at OurGrandAZ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.