Mayor unimpressed with state response to WV health concerns

Youngtown Mayor Mike LeVault delivered some good news Tuesday to members of a task force concerned about air quality in and around the Sun Cities, but the message was tempered by a negative note concerning potential health threats from a fuel-processing plant in El Mirage.

LeVault said he was "not really impressed" with the response he received to his request to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, asking for a letter of assurance that the transmix plant, which separates gasoline from diesel fuel, would not pose harm to his residents.

The transmix process involves the release of a carcinogen called benzene into the air and possibly the groundwater.

At a meeting in September, ADEQ officials said the permit for the plant at 12126 W. Olive Ave. in El Mirage meets all health and safety standards

LeVault was unconvinced about the plant’s safety then and remained so Tuesday at a meeting of the Joint Environmental Task Force.

LeVault said he received a copy of ADEQs responses to the questions raised at the September hearing but not specific assurances regarding safety.

"I heard back from the state about the hearing, and I’m not really impressed," LeVault said. "I asked for a letter, and that’s really not what I got."

On a positive note, the mayor said Ben Davis of the Maricopa County Air Quality Department told him a mobile air monitoring van would be available for testing soon. There has been concern in Youngtown recently over an unpleasant smell that LeVault and others fear might be coming from the nearby mining operations.

The van could be brought in to find out to detect where the smell is coming from and what is causing the odor.

"I have a woman in the center of the older part of Youngtown keeping an anecdotal diary for me," LeVault said. "She’s tracking the dates and times when the smell is really noticeable, and I’ll be presenting that information to Ben (Davis)."

There is concern among the other members of the Joint Environmental Task Force that the smell might be benzene, which JET Treasurer Richard Wehbe said needs to be investigated.

"A complaint was filed on the smell, so an inspector went out and said they didn’t smell anything," Wehbe said. "That’s not enough."

LeVault said he, too, is worried about benzene.

"We don’t know that it’s benzene yet, but that would be my big concern," LeVault said. "Obviously, that would be unacceptable. But noxious fumes don’t necessarily mean there’s something toxic."

The next meeting of the Joint Environmental Task Force will be 1 p.m. Dec. 8 at the PORA offices in Sun City West.