The chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee is warning that the Canadian mining company planning to construct the $1.9 billion Rosemont Mine has failed to provide government regulators with a plan to legally compensate for the massive environmental destruction the mine would create.
Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals Inc. is seeking permits to construct what would become the third largest open pit copper mine in the United States in the Santa Rita Mountains on the Coronado National Forest southeast of Tucson. The last remaining permit needed by Hudbay is a Clean Water Act permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The permit would allow Hudbay to destroy more than 2,500 acres of Coronado National Forest, obliterating streams and washes under hundreds of millions of tons of waste rock and mine tailings. Hudbay has proposed a controversial plan to mitigate the damage that Federal, State and County agencies, as well as conservation groups, have asserted does not meet regulatory standards.
Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva and Arizona Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, in whose Congressional District the mine is located, warned the Corps in a Jan. 23 letter that Hudbay’s mitigation plan does not meet legal muster.
Hudbay “has not presented to the American people a legally and technically sound mitigation plan that addresses the massive destruction of wetlands, springs and seeps, and other important aquatic resources, including Cienega Creek and its tributaries,” the joint letter states.
In the letter, Grijalva and Kirkpatrick, both Democrats, requested the Corps provide the Natural Resources Committee extensive documentation about the decision-making process being used by the Corps in determining whether to issue a Section 404 Clean Water Act permit for the mine. They also requested a meeting with the Corps prior to it publicly announcing its permitting decision.
Grijalva and Kirkpatrick met with Corps officials on Feb. 28. After the meeting, they issued a joint press release stating that the Corps is set to issue the crucial permit “without full consideration of the facts.”
“We both believe critical questions remain unanswered, including whether there has been adequate review under the National Environmental Policy Act,” states the joint letter signed by Grijalva and Kirkpatrick. “We’re going to pursue every avenue to ensure Rosemont is handled transparently, and we will be conducting additional oversight of this project.”
The Corps’ imminent decision to issue the Section 404 CWA permit comes more than two years after the agency’s Los Angeles district office recommended that the permit be denied in July 2016.
In their January letter, Grijalva and Kirkpatrick demanded that the Corps provide the Natural Resources Committee extensive documentation on its decision-making process. The letter highlighted their concerns about the proposed mine including:
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has repeatedly asserted that Hudbay “has failed to provide a plan to adequately mitigate the environmental impacts of the mine” and that EPA Region IX “recommended denial of the Sec. 404 permit.”
- The Corps Dec. 2016 letter to Hudbay explaining why the Los Angeles district office recommended denying the permit stated that the “proposed Rosemont Mine will cause or contribute to violations of state water quality standards and significant degradation of waters of the United States.”
- The December 2016 letter also stated that the Corps’ Los Angeles district concluded that the proposed mitigation to offset the impacts of the massive mining project was “inadequate.”
- The same letter also stated that construction of the mine would be “contrary to the public interest” and would have adverse effects to “cultural resources and traditional cultural properties important to tribes.”
Mine opponents are considering their legal options when the Army Corps moves ahead and issues the Clean Water Act permit for the mine. Three federal lawsuits already have been filed seeking to stop the project.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in September 2017 alleging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Endangered Species Act when it issued a biological opinion approving the mine.
Two months later, four environmental and conservation groups filed a lawsuit alleging the U.S. Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it issued a Record of Decision (ROD) approving the mine.
Three Native American Tribes filed a lawsuit in April 2018 alleging the Forest Service violated federal laws including the Forest Service Organic Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act when it issued the ROD.
WHEN IS ENOUGH , ENOUGH ?
THE ROSEMONT PROJECT HAS BECOME , AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE , A POLITICAL FOOTBALL . HUDBAY HAS SIMPLY TAKEN A TIMEOUT WHILE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES CONTINUE TO DITHER AMONGST THEMSELVES . DITHERING IS WHAT THEY DO BEST .
IF HUDBAY HAS FAILED TO MEET THE REQUIRED SPECIFICATIONS AS SET OUT IN THE GOVERNMENT’S RULES AND REGULATIONS REGARDING MINING PERMITS THEN THEY MUST BE HELD FULLY ACCOUNTABLE . THERE MUST ONLY BE ONE SET OF GOAL POSTS AND A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS IN THE ROSEMONT SAGA .
IT IS CRITICAL THAT A TIME LIMIT BE SET WHEREBY ALL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WORK TOGETHER AT ALL LEVELS IN ORDER TO ARRIVE AT A FINAL BINDING DECISION . THIS DECISION WILL DETERMINE THE FATE OF HUDBAY’S ROSEMONT PROJECT . THE SOONER , THE BETTER . COURT CASES AGAINST THE ROSEMONT PROJECT HAVE BEEN LODGED SO THE GUNS ARE LOADED . WHO WILL PULL THE TRIGGERS ?
IT IS OBVIOUS THAT HUDBAY IS USING EVERY LOOPHOLE TO GIVE AS LITTLE AND TO TAKE AS MUCH . THIS IS HOW THE MINING INDUSTRY WORKS .
IT IS SCANDALOUS HOW LITTLE INFORMATION IS BEING MADE PUBLIC . WHAT IS HUDBAY DOING AND WHAT HAS IT DONE SINCE IT ACQUIRED THE ROSEMONT PROSPECT FROM AUGUSTA ? IT OBVIOUSLY IS NOT ACTIVE ON THE PROPERTY AND IS MAKING LITTLE , IF ANY , EFFORT TO PRODUCE AN ACCEPTABLE WATER MITIGATION PLAN AS REQUIRED FOR A CLEAN WATER ACT PERMIT .
LETTERS FROM POLITICIANS SITTING IN WASHINGTON DEFINITELY HELP BUT PUBLIC OPINION IS WHAT IS ALSO NEEDED . HOW ABOUT AN ONLINE PETITION VIA SOCIAL MEDIA . THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO FUMBLE THE BALL !!!!! AND/OR TO BE TIMID .
THANK YOU AND STAY STRONG .
Dr Johnson, I believe it’s about money. Who will profit, how many supporters know or have visited the Rosemont site? Has Gov Ducey, who favors the mine, been to Rosemont? If so, who provided the tour? Opponents should also express their opinions and be heard!
Who benefits from the mine which will destroy the Sonoita area. Highway 83 will be
a death trap. No tourists, pollution from noise and chemicals… while to the east 3 miles, is the beautiful and peaceful Las Cienegas Conservation area, BLM land for all to enjoy.
Of course the Interior Secretary, who presides over BLM, is a former lobbyist for
Rosemont so he won’t object, even though the Cienega water table is predicted to
drop enough to kill large Cottonwoods and other trees, which will affect animals and birds and the beauty of the area. What a disaster, no one really knows if the aquifers of Sonoita will drain into the mine pit, but some hydrologists think this will happen. We have no more water, no Colorado water here, ever!
Rosemont is NOT in the Public Interest! Owned by Canadians, sending ore to China smelter by an undermined route, not specified in the approved mine plan! Destroying 2500 acres of Forest land with rock and tailings, which they say will be reclaimed,
like Green Valley. This area will look like the Tucson waste dump seen from 1-10 only worse. The water from the Santa Cruz water shed should remain and not be wasted on this mine. (Oh they bought water and injected into the Santa Cruz….at Mirana, big help for Green Valley and other communities!)
This is all possible because of the General Mining Act of 1872. Foreign mining companies are exploiting our public lands , here and Patagonia when the Forest Service’s motto is “Caring for the land and serving people.” I don’t think so. This is about the 404 permit but the Forest Servuce could have stopped this project years ago!
WELL STATED MR MEYER . IF THERE WERE ONLY MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU PREPARED TO SPEAK OUT AND BE HEARD . EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE SAID IS SO TRUE ESPECIALLY ” IT’S ALL ABOUT MONEY ” .
HUDBAY WILL ” CHERRY PICK ” THE AREA TO THE POINT WHERE NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME AFTER THE MINE CLOSES . I HAVE VISITED THE MINE SITE DURING THE TIME IT WAS OWNED BY AUGUSTA . I AM WELL AWARE OF THE MENTALITY OF MINING COMPANIES HAVING WORKED IN MINERAL RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT MY ENTIRE PROFESSIONAL CAREER .
WHERE ARE YOU PEOPLE ? SPEAK NOW AND TAKE ACTION BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE .
So much focus on stopping foreigners at our borders yet we let a foreign mining company come in and destroy our land. This must be stopped. The mining law needs to be revised to reflect the current concerns and well-being of the people in the land.