Arizona AG Kris Mayes hears Benson aluminum plant concerns | Local News

BENSON, Ariz. (KVOA) – More than 225 residents filled a town hall in Benson to discuss a proposed aluminum processing plant. The meeting, hosted by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, saw significant opposition to the 200-acre facility planned by Aluminum Dynamics, Inc.

The company’s president Glenn Pushis has previously said the facility is intended for recycling and not smelting. However many locals in attendance Thursday night remained worried about the project’s impact.

“(I) hope that they shut this project down to tell you the truth,” Gator Adelberger told News 4 Tucson before the meeting began.

That did not happen as Attorney General Mayes made it clear early on that Thursday night she was there to listen. There were many residents eager to talk.

“It’s not worth it to us to risk our water, our air, our health, our old people,” Nancy Casurella, a longtime Benson resident, said.

Aluminum Dynamics’ permit application said the plant would release more than 40 tons of particulate into the air. While the vast majority of those at Thursday’s meeting opposed the plant, some want to see it come to Benson.

“There’s just no more jobs left in Cochise County for our skilled trade . . . we are going as far as Phoenix to work at Intel every day,” Mark Cardenas, a representative with a local chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said. Cardenas is also with a local chapter of the Western State Regional Carpenters Union.

Attorney General Mayes said she shared some of the same concerns as residents before the meeting and expressed the need for further investigation.

“But after tonight I definitely have concerns about it, and I think it warrants a serious analysis under our nuisance laws, and we’re going to take a look at what we can do out of the AG’s office,” Mayes said.

The plant requires an Air Quality Permit. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is reviewing public comments, which could influence the permit that will be submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The department has not set a firm submission date, “but we may submit by the end of the year,” Caroline Oppleman, the department’s spokesperson, told News 4 Tucson.