N.M. residents file suit against Helena

Mesquite, N.M.-Helena Chemical Co.’s outreach efforts apparently haven’t reached everyone in the community where it operates a fertilizer storage and distribution warehouse. On the same day Helena opened its facility for plant tours and held a community information meeting, a news conference was held nearby to announce that nearly two dozen residents of Mesquite and nearby towns were suing the company for air and groundwater contamination. Helena officials explained that the tour, which was joined by an estimated 20 individuals, and the community meeting were held to dispel the notion that Helena operates a chemical manufacturing facility instead of warehousing and distributing agriculture products. At the gathering that followed in a local church, some 45 attendees were given results of independent air and water studies that show the plant is well within state and federal requirements. Louis Rodrigue, vice president of Helena’s southern business unit, who was on the scene for the two events, declined to discuss the pending litigation, but emphasized that the Mesquite facility is safe as shown by the two recently completed studies, which found that neither the community’s air or the drinking water has been impacted. “It’s important to note that while the New Mexico Environmental Department has recently alleged violations against Helena, we were not cited for exceeding the emission limits of our air quality permit,” Rodrigue stated. “We will continue our efforts to ensure the community has access to this information and intend to do all we can to dispel misinformation.” The suit, filed by 23 residents of Mesquite, LaMesa, and Las Cruces claiming personal injury and property damage, cites air quality violations, including release of hazardous dust, fumes, and other contaminants, and results from groundwater tests that showed nitrate, total dissolved solids, fluoride, and sulfate concentration in ground water in excess of state standards. “Specifically,” the suit claims, “nitrate has been tested at nearly four times the New Mexico State standard, fluoride at three times and TDS at twice the standard.”