Frisco Unleaded Meets Tonight Amid Rumors and Rumblings

Downwinders' affiliate Frisco Unleaded is having a public meet and greet tonight beginning at 7 pm in a back room at Matitto's on the Square in Frisco. It's the group's first public meeting since it sent out thousands of mailers to Frisco households about the dangers of continuing to let the Exide lead smelter operate in the middle of town. That mailer, along with the media attention it received, prompted the city to set a June 18th hearing date to move forward with amortization of the smelter. Local attorney Jim Schnurr will come and give an encore and revised version of his "Amortization 101" presentation that initiated Frisco Unleaded's first public meeting back in September. They'll also be a preview of the EPA/TCEQ "open house on May 21st, and a citizen's slide show of Exide that's ready to be shown in from of any interested group. Meanwhile, municipal election are May 12 and there seems to be unanimity among all four Council candidates that Exide has to go, although some are more blunt than others. From an anonymous tip over the digital transom comes news that that the TCEQ has found lots of hazardous waste in the Exide "non-hazardous" waste landfills. We're tracking this down and expect to have an update shortly. If true, this news ought to shore up the City's case for amortization, since no zoning has ever authorized hazardous waste disposal at the facility. And besides all this, is the city still trying to work a deal with Exide that "buys-out" the smelter? If it is, what impact will finding a lot of hazardous waste onsite do to the cost of such a deal? Digging up and re-disposing of a hazardous waste landfill or two isn't cheap. If you live in Frisco or know someone who does, you really owe to yourself to come out and find out what can be done to accelerate removal of the smelter and meet the brave citizens who are pushing the issues toward progress.