Raising a Stink in East Austin

A group of East Austin residents are protesting the location of a thirty-nine year old metal foundry, which they say emits noxious fumes and presents a general health hazard. The residents would like to see the foundry, Pure Castings Co. at 2110 East 4th Street, relocated to a spot further away from schools (Zavala Elementary is across the street) and homes.

Local environmental organization PODER (People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources) is leading the charge on this issue. Earlier in the week, PODER representatives went door-to-door in the neighborhood surrounding Pure Casting Co. enlisting the involvement of citizens and getting them on board. PODER will present its case to the Austin City Council at its weekly meeting tomorrow. If this is an issue of interest to you, keep an eye out on the City Council site for more information on tomorrow's meeting agenda.

CAVEAT: Before you get involved with this issue, please note that, at this point, Pure Castings Co. appears to be innocent of any harmful business practices or general wrongdoing. It has yet to be proven that Pure Castings presents a problem for people living, working or going school anywhere near 2110 East 4th Street. We should also point out that the company has maintained an excellent relationship with the surrounding neighborhood over the past few years. Andy Edgerton, the company's owner, regularly contributes funds to Zavala Elementary. Plus, TCEQ has no record of any complaints being filed against Pure Castings in the past five years.

If anyone has any further information on this topic, please don't hesitate to post your comments here.

Photo courtesy of Austin City Hall courtesy of ju_urrutia on Flickr.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By s in News on June 20, 2007 1:13 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

seth

A woman who represented PODER at last year's COA bond input meetings said that we shouldn't spend money on a 'dog motel' and instead should increase spending to provide affordable housing. She was referring to the bond money designated to build a replacement for the Town Lake Animal Shelter. Ironically, East Austin has long been a region plagued with unwanted pets born from un-fixed dogs and cats.

Seth

slick

Agreed, and the "good intentions don't prevent bad outcomes" applies equally to PODER and Pure Castings.

RK

That may be, slick, but good intentions don't prevent bad outcomes.

slick

I suppose you believe that was the rationale for PODER dedicating years of thier lives to move the tank farms that were leeching harmful materials into their neighborhood? I hate to break it to you, but if you think PODER is doing this for financial gain, I beleive you are mistaken. These folks are true belivers -- not interested in money or making way for "creative class" types in fancy condos.

me

And it has been located a stone's throw away for 40 years. It's only a problem now because the area's real estate is hot. And because the super rich can see it from their windows in their over-priced condos.

Scooby

"me", I'm sure PODER is judgement-proof (a la SOS Alliance, who declared bankruptcy to avoid paying a big judgement against them). The officers and spokespeople are probably functionally judgement-proof to all but the most well-heeled plaintiff (willing to sue on principle).

This small company probably can't afford the luxury of paying a lawyer to go after broke people who spout (probable) lies.

slick

I agree that PODER needs solid evidence -- but lets keep in mind that this is an industrial site located a stone's throw from a single family neighborhood, a playground and rec center. If you can cite an example of where the City would allow these types of incompatible uses to exist in Tarrytown, I'm all ears. It should be noted that the City had a policy on the books for many years to push minorities and industrial uses into East Austin.

me

I hope PODER has evidence to back up those claims because saying things like "emits noxious fumes and presents a general health hazard" without proof is a good way to get sued.

It's nice that PODER is only interested in helping the environment if the offenders are on prime real estate.

Shawn Shillington

If you asked PODER, they would tell you that they also want to stop gentrification:

http://www.poder-texas.org/mission.html (not in the statement, but prominent in the picture).

It's a tricky thing - getting rid of the power plant and industrial factories seems like a good plan, but then the rich people move in.

ol'pappy

Gentrification in action. Shazam.

Stew

Hey East Austin STFU!

D

Complete and utter crap. A perfectly legal business attempted to get run out of town by people who have no right to say so. Neighbors knew the place was there when they moved in since it's been there for 40 years.

Maybe I'll try to have the city force my next door neighbor to move since he smells bad.