Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly pressed the Environmental Protection Agency chief about a copper smelter emitting lead near the town of Miami, east of Phoenix.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin took questions from a Senate committee as he presented budget proposals Wednesday.
Kelly asked Zeldin why the EPA granted the mining company Freeport-McMoRan a waiver, saying it didn’t have to install scrubbers on the smelter that would reduce harmful emissions.
Kelly said a school is about a mile away.
"It's $60 million to a company that made $2.7 billion, and I'm not saying you specifically, I'm saying this administration, the White House, put the profits of that company over the health of those children," Kelly said.
Zeldin said the waiver decision was out of his hands and granted by President Donald Trump.
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Arizona Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari made a surprise visit to an ICE field office in Phoenix on Wednesday, amid reports that the facility is holding detainees for longer than it’s supposed to. -
Generations of Latino immigrants have come to the United States in search of the American Dream. But today, that dream can seem more elusive than ever. And a new report from the Pew Research Center shows Latinos are split on whether or not the American Dream is attainable today. -
A few months after approving the secretive Project Blue data center development last year, Pima County decided any NDAs with the county will be reviewed every six months and cannot exceed two years. A vote last night seeks to apply that limit to existing NDAs, as well. -
Adrian Fontes wants to get as many Arizonans as he can inoculated. But in this case, it isn't against the latest virus. It's against the misinformation he says that seems to blossom every election. -
Conservative political activists working with Turning Point Action posted fake images on social media claiming a group of Democrats, including a progressive state lawmaker, are supporting Republican Andy Biggs in the state’s race for governor.
