BENSON, AZ — Residents in Benson, Arizona are sounding the alarm about an aluminum recycling plant that is slated to be built in their town.
"They blindsided us,” said Mary Moran, who moved to Benson for the rural nature of the area. "We had no idea how massive this project is—174,000 square feet on 200 acres.”
Moran, like others in the community, are concerned the potential environmental impacts, like air quality and water usage, if Aluminum Dynamics moves forward with developing its recycling plant.
"The air pollutants are bad enough, but we can't afford to lose any more water. We're in a serious drought here in Cochise County,” Moran said. “You know, I spoke to at least one city council member who wasn't aware of the scope of this project wasn't aware of how massive it is and the air pollutants and the water usage, so the city council should at least vote on it.”
But according to the city manager, Greg Volker, the city council doesn’t have any influence on whether the project moves forward or not.
“It's been a long-standing history within the city that this piece of property, which is next to Union Pacific Railroad, was zoned for heavy industry. So, this company sought out the city of Benson. We never approached them,” Volker said. “We cannot deny any business, it's called ‘By-Right, so to speak, it can't deny business from coming into any town, as long as they meet the regulatory commissions and then match zoning and portions of regarding city code as well.”
In order to build the plant, Aluminum Dynamics still needs to receive a permit from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. The agency is holding a public hearing for residents on Thursday at 6pm at Benson High School. But, if the agency gives the green light, Moran said she will seriously consider moving.
"We might sell and move to an area that has clean air and less industry,” Moran told ABC15. “When we moved here, we never thought that we would be involved in this massive aluminum processing plant.”
Moran also noted that it could have a major impact on the city’s snowbird population.
“Why would these snowbirds want to park their RV across from this plant that's, you know, emitting hazardous air pollutants. A lot of these snowbirds, they're the age where they have respiratory issues,” Moran said.
ABC15 reached out to Aluminum Dynamics for comment but have not heard back.
