Proposed state stream rule changes could help Rosemont Mine

Posted on May 7, 2018 by admin

Arizona environmental regulators are considering rule changes that could weaken protections for streams that would help clear the way for construction of the proposed Rosemont Copper Mine in the Santa Rita Mountains on the Coronado National Forest southeast of Tucson.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality will hold a public meeting to discuss the proposed rule changes Thursday, May 10 at the State of Arizona Office Building, 400 W. Congress in Tucson.

The all-day meeting includes a discussion that is related to streams that would be negatively impacted by the mile-wide, half-mile deep open pit mine from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The late afternoon meeting will include a discussion on the definitions and regulations for designating and managing Outstanding Arizona Waters that currently receive the highest level of state protection under the federal Clean Water Act. The proposed mine would impact two streams currently classified as Outstanding Arizona Waters: Davidson Canyon and Cienega Creek.

The OAW designation is crucial because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has told Hudbay that its application for a Clean Water Act permit needed to build the $1.9 billion mine is in jeopardy because of the mine’s negative impacts on Davidson Canyon.

Davidson Canyon drains into Cienega Creek. Davidson Canyon was designated an OAW in December 2008 after the Pima Association of Governments passed a resolution supporting the protection.

The state has formed a committee to develop proposed rules. The committee  includes two officials from ADEQ, the Sierra Club, Pima County, the Arizona Mining Association, Rosemont Copper, Cienega Watershed Partnership, Community Water Coalition, Arizona Game & Fish Department and National Park Service. Continue reading →

Posted in Hudbay, water | 3 Comments

A murder in Guatemala raises questions of intimidation

Posted on April 30, 2018 by admin

The nephew of a plaintiff in a Toronto civil suit against Hudbay Minerals Inc. was beaten to death last month raising questions whether the murder was an attempt to intimidate  Guatemalan Mayan activists in their ongoing civil and criminal cases against the mining company, activists say.

Héctor Manuel Choc Cuz, 19, died on March 31 after he was taken to the outskirts of El Estor in eastern Guatemala and beaten with rocks and other objects, Rights Action, a humans rights group, reports.

According to Rights Action, family members believe the murder was a case of mistaken identity and that the intended victim was José Manuel Ich Choc.

José Ich is the son of Angélica Choc and Adolpho Ich, a Mayan leader who was allegedly murdered by Hudbay’s security chief in 2009.  José Ich was a witness to his father’s assassination and testified in the criminal trial of Hudbay’s former security chief, Mynor Padilla. Continue reading →

Posted in Hudbay, Human Rights, Labor | 2 Comments

Three Arizona tribes file federal law suit against U.S. Forest Service seeking to block Hudbay’s Rosemont Copper Mine

Posted on April 16, 2018 by admin

The Tohono O’odham Nation, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and the Hopi Tribe sued the U.S. Forest Service in U.S. District Court on April 13 challenging the agency’s approval of a plan by Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals Inc. to build the $1.9 billion Rosemont Copper Mine on the Coronado National Forest southeast of Tucson.

The lawsuit alleges the mine would deprive tribal members of access to ancestral praying grounds, destroy a critical part of their heritage including burial grounds and stop members from engaging in important cultural practices and religious traditions, the Arizona Daily Star reported.

“The Rosemont Copper project would destroy cultural and archeological sites on our traditional lands, including the graves of our ancestors,” Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Edward D. Manuel said in a statement. “Consider what it would be like if a foreign company proposed excavating Arlington National Cemetery. All Americans treasure this cemetery, just like our tribes treasure the land this mine will desecrate.”

Earthjustice, a non-profit environmental law firm based in San Francisco, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the three Arizona tribes.  This is the third federal lawsuit seeking to stop the massive open-pit copper mine.
Continue reading →

Posted in EIS, General, Hudbay, Human Rights | 2 Comments

Hudbay projects 2022 as the “hypothetical” year for its embattled Rosemont project to begin copper production

Posted on February 1, 2018 by admin

Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals is presenting a “hypothetical scenario” to investors that its embattled Rosemont Mine could begin copper production in 2022 which would require construction to begin next year on the proposed site in the Santa Rita Mountains on the Coronado National Forest southeast of Tucson.

Hudbay Minerals is telling investors it is financially prepared to begin construction on its proposed $1.9 billion project “soon” after receiving final permitting approval for the massive project that would be the third largest open pit copper mine in the United States and dump waste rock on more 2,500 acres of national forest.

“Rosemont project development is conditional upon receipt of final permits and Board approval,” the company’s January 2018 Investor Presentation states on page 29. Hudbay states it expects to spend $35 million in 2018 on advancing the permitting process, up from $20 million in 2017.

But the company is far from setting a groundbreaking date on the project which has repeatedly been touted to be primed for construction by Hudbay and its previous owner, Augusta Resource Corporation, since 2009.

Rosemont continues to face strong opposition from a Native American tribe, and conservation and environmental groups that have already filed federal law suits (here and here) seeking to block the project. Continue reading →

Posted in Clean Water Act, Hudbay, Investors | 4 Comments

The EPA concludes Rosemont Copper Mine fails to meet regulatory requirements needed for Clean Water Act permit

Posted on January 12, 2018 by admin

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently notified the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals’ environmental mitigation plan for the proposed $1.9 billion Rosemont Copper Mine fails to address its impacts to southern Arizona’s water resources and fails to meet regulatory requirements under the Clean Water Act.

Hudbay’s 859-page mitigation plan is its latest attempt to salvage efforts to obtain a Section 404 Clean Water Act permit from the Army Corps.  The 404 permit is the last major permit needed before construction could begin on what would be the third largest open pit copper mine in the United States.

The  EPA’s 77-page assessment puts significant pressure on the Army Corps to reject the permit, which is under review by Army Corps’ San Francisco regional office. The EPA has veto authority over Corps permitting for Section 404 Clean Water Act permits.

The Army Corps’ Los Angeles district office recommended against issuing the 404 permit in July 2016 because of shortfalls in a previous version of Hudbay’s mitigation plan. The district determined the project would “cause or contribute to” violations of Arizona water quality standards and trigger “significant degradation” of federally regulated washes, the Arizona Daily Star reported on Jan. 14, 2017. The Army Corps notified Hudbay of the shortfalls in a Dec. 28, 2016, letter. Continue reading →

Posted in Clean Water Act, water | 2 Comments