Ah, Grupo Mexico, it's you again.
Last we met, you had stripped Asarco of its most valuable assets and helped send it into bankruptcy, dashing the hopes of communities like ours that expected to get some help cleaning up the mess left behind by Asarco's copper smelters.
Now you're back, having won Asarco in a bankruptcy fire sale. You pledge to make good on a portion of the former Fortune 500 company's obligations, but pardon us if we’ve grown skeptical of your promises.
Washington state, which had estimated it was owed $600 million for toxic contamination at a Ruston smelter and other Asarco sites, will get 27 cents on the dollar.
We guess that's better than nothing, which is what it looked like states might end up with since federal law allows companies like yours to manipulate bankruptcy laws to avoid cleanup responsibilities.
States and the Department of Justice are still wary, as they should be. They told the bankruptcy court judge that they don't trust that Grupo Mexico to come through, given its record.
To read the complete editorial, visit The (Tacoma) News Tribune.