On Wednesday, February 19^th, Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX28) released the following statement calling for a cleanup of the Anzon Smelter site, located at the intersection of Mines Road and Interstate 35 in Laredo. 

“The ongoing hazardous waste cleanup at the Anzon Smelter site has been a concern of mine for many years.  Last week, I personally placed a call to Richard Hyde, Executive Director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the regulating body overseeing the site, to request an update on the status of the cleanup.  On February 13^th, TCEQ sent a letter to the owners of the Anzon Smelter requiring that they submit a Corrective Measures Study no later than May 21, 2014 to address the waste stored on site.  It is encouraging to see that TCEQ has set a hard deadline for the owners and look forward to seeing this process move forward. 

The cleanup of the site has not been completed, which is unacceptable to me and the community in Laredo.  I want our city to be healthy and accessible and I will remain in communication with the TCEQ and the Environmental Protection Agency personally to accelerate the cleanup of the site.”