Pima County has provided additional information to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Division Commander and staff to bolster their long-standing opposition to the proposed Rosemont mine.
In a series of five letters written since September, Pima County provided the Corps with additional evidence to support denying the Section 404 CWA permit to Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals Inc. The Corps’ Los Angeles district office recommended denying the permit in July 2016.
The CWA permit is needed before Hudbay could begin constructing the mile-wide, half-mile deep open-pit mine that would dump hundreds of millions of tons of potentially toxic waste rock and mine tailings on more than 2,500 acres of Coronado National Forest. The mine – which would become the third largest open-pit copper mine in the U.S. – is planned for the Santa Rita Mountains 35 miles southeast of Tucson.
In several instances, Pima County only learned of pertinent permitting information submitted by Hudbay to the Army Crops through federal Freedom of Information Act requests.
There is also evidence that Hudbay significantly understated anticipated mining production when it applied for a state Air Quality Control permit in 2013 only to revise production upward when it applied for an amended air pollution permit after federal environmental studies were concluded. Higher production will increase toxic air emissions.
Pima County’s letters focus on five different topics:
- Pima County’s opposition to Hudbay’s request that the Corps not consider the negative impacts of groundwater depletion caused by construction of the Rosemont mine pit.
- The county’s request that the Corps analyze increased air pollutants based on the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s decision to sharply increase the allowable tons of ore mined per day and the amount of explosives used when ADEQ issued a revised Air Quality Control Permit earlier this year.
- The mine’s negative impact on Pima County park land and county-owned property set aside to protect endangered species downstream of the mine.
- Hudbay underestimated the mine’s negative environmental impact on streams flowing through canyons on the northeastern flank of the Santa Rita Mountains.
- ADEQ’s exclusion of livestock as a designated use of ephemeral streams in the Santa Rita Mountains allows ADEQ and the federal agencies to use less stringent standards to evaluate the mine’s impact on the waterways than is required under the Clean Water Act.
Groundwater Drawdown
In a Sept. 7 letter to the Corps, Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry states the county opposes Hudbay’s request that the Rosemont pit’s anticipated drawdown of groundwater should not be considered by the Corps in its determination of whether to issue the Section 404 CWA permit.
Huckelberry notes that the county only recently obtained a copy of Hudbay’s Feb. 2, 2018 letter to the Corps asking that groundwater drawdown caused by construction of the open pit not be considered in the permitting decision. The county obtained Hudbay’s request through a FOIA request.
Huckelberry states that the County supports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s position that groundwater impacts caused by the open pit “must be considered” by the Corps in its permitting decision.
“Groundwater emanating from the Santa Rita Mountains is a source of water supply for the Tucson Active Management Area and sustains wetlands of national interest along Cienega Creek and other streams,” Huckelberry states. (The Tucson Active Management Area is a state designation that imposes restrictions on the use of groundwater within the management area.)
Huckelberry also highlights new research by the University of Arizona that “clearly links the springs and wells in Las Cienegas to the Santa Rita Mountains.”
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management operates Las Cienegas National Conservation Area in the valley immediately east of the Santa Rita Mountains. The BLM has stated in the past that it was not waiving any of its rights to water flowing from the Santa Rita Mountains. The northerly flowing Cienega Creek bisects the conservation area and flows through lands owned by the county.
“The mine’s dredge and fill activity could alter physical and biological integrity of some very important water sources and wetlands within Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, which support tourism, hunting and other forms of recreation, grazing and wildlife uses,” Huckelberry states. “These wetlands are considered traditional cultural places, sacred to the Tohono O’odham and the shared heritage of Native people in the region.”
Increased Air Pollution
In a Sept. 11 letter to the Corps, Huckelberry notified the Corps that the state Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) issued a revised Air Quality Control permit that allows for emissions of certain pollutants higher than the mine’s anticipated air pollution in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) prepared by the Coronado National Forest.
Huckelberry states the ADEQ increased the allowable amount of rock mined per day from 359,000 tons in its original 2013 air pollution permit to 420,000 tons per day – a 16.8 percent increase – under its revised 2018 pollution permit. ADEQ also greatly increased Hudbay’s use of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil used for blasting. The 2013 permit limited Hudbay to 52 tons a day of explosives. This was increased to no more than 250 tons per day, a 380 percent increase.
The increased rate of mining and subsequent jump in the use of explosives has resulted in an increase in projected nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions. Despite the increase, the state issued the revised air pollution permit. Huckelberry states the county believes the state’s assumptions used in its air pollution model understate potential air pollution.
“The incorrect assumptions resulted in inaccurate conclusions regarding the mine’s impact on air quality and visibility in the FEIS,” Huckelberry states. “Because nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions have been revised upward, we ask for your independent consideration of ozone and visibility impacts as you conclude your public interest review.”
Impact on County Parks
In a Sept. 13 letter to the Corps, Huckelberry notifies the Corps that Hudbay provided “misinformation” concerning the status of county-owned park land in Davidson Canyon that provides protection for plants and wildlife under the Endangered Species Act.
“Hudbay consistently understates the value of Davidson Canyon for regional conservation,” Huckelberry states.
Davidson Canyon originates just east of the proposed Rosemont mine site and cuts to the north running beneath Interstate 10. The canyon is a crucial waterway that provides surface water flows into Cienega Creek and is an important wildlife corridor. Pima County has acquired lands in the canyon and operates them as county parks. The county also entered into an agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the lands for endangered species.
Huckelberry requested the Corps consider the mine’s potential impacts on county parks under a Clean Water Act provision that requires the Corps to consider public interest impacts in its permitting decision.
Greater Impact on Stream Flows
In an Oct. 18 letter, Huckelberry notes that the county recently obtained rainfall and runoff data through a FOIA request that Hudbay had earlier provided to the Corps. The data measured flows in waterways downstream from the proposed mine site.
“Hudbay’s new data supports our contention that the impact of flow reduction from the mine has been greatly understated,” Huckelberry states. The data also confirms Pima County’s long held contention that there are “intermittent” water flows in Barrel Canyon as well as other waterways immediately downstream of the mine.
The designation as an intermittent stream is crucial because the CWA requires states “to develop anti-degradation policies to establish a level of water quality necessary to protect existing uses of a stream.”
Hudbay, however, wants to classify the water flows in these streams as “ephemeral” meaning that water only is only present during storm events. Such a designation, according to Pima County, would allow Hudbay to illegally reduce existing downstream flows that support wildlife.
Pima County has presented research documenting the presence of an aquatic invertebrate called the stonefly that only can survive in intermittent streams. Hudbay claims the stonefly can also survive in ephemeral streams.
Impacts on Livestock
In a Nov. 5 letter, Huckelberry requested the Corps to consider the mine’s impact on livestock relying on ephemeral streams that flow after rains and their associated impoundments known as stock ponds.
Huckelberry notes that ADEQ has not included livestock as a “designated use” of water in ephemeral streams and impoundments in much of eastern Pima County where the Rosemont mine would be constructed. Livestock grazing has occurred in this area since the late 1800s, if not before.
“The gap between the designated uses recognized by ADEQ and the actual dependence of livestock use of surface water means that ADEQ and federal agencies lack the correct information when your agency reviews potential new point-source discharges” such as the Rosemont mine, Huckelberry states.
The failure to include livestock as designated use allows for more copper to be discharged into ephemeral streams. If livestock were included as a designated use, the amount of copper allowed in ephemeral streams would be 500 micrograms/liter. By excluding livestock, the permissible level of copper increases to 1,300 micrograms/liter, according to the county.
“Under the state’s anti-degradation standards and the Clean Water Act itself, existing uses – whether designated or not – must be protected,” Huckelberry states. “The ADEQ and the federal agencies should recognize and protect water quality needed for livestock health…”
Hudbay’s plans to construct the Rosemont mine have already resulted in three lawsuits filed in federal court against the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
* The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in September 2017 against the Fish and Wildlife Service alleging the violations of the Endangered Species Act;
* A coalition of four citizens groups filed a lawsuit in November 2017 alleging the Forest Service failed to comply with National Environmental Policy Act when it issued a Final Record of Decision approving the mine;
*Three Arizona Tribes filed a lawsuit last April against the Forest Service alleging violations of the National Historic Preservation Act and other federal laws.
HUDBAY’S CONTINUING EFFORTS TO BRING THE ROSEMONT COPPER PROJECT INTO PRODUCTION CLEARLY EXPOSE A POLITICAL AGENDA WHICH WAS STARTED BY AUGUSTA RESOURCES FROM WHOM HUDBAY PURCHASED THE PROPERTY . ALSO , HUDBAY IS FACING A SIGNIFICANT DISSIDENT SHAREHOLDER GROUP WHO WANT THEM TO GET ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROSEMONT PROJECT .
INITIALLY , AUGUSTA SUBMITTED A PERMIT APPLICATION TO THE FOREST SERVICE . THIS APPLICATION INCLUDED THE RELATIVE COMPONENTS AS REQUIRED BUT THE DETAILS WERE SHROUDED IN SECRECY . DOCUMENTS WERE SUBMITTED AND EXTENSIVE AGENCY REVIEWS WERE UNDERTAKEN REGARDING THE APPLICATION PROCEDURES . IN ADDITION , THERE HAS BEEN INPUT ALONG THE WAY FROM THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS INCLUDING THE LEGALITY OF THE ENTIRE AFFAIR . HOWEVER , IN SPITE OF ALL OF THE NEGATIVE FACTUAL INPUT , THE FOREST SERVICE WENT AHEAD AND ISSUED A FINAL RECORD OF DECISION(ROD) . AT THIS POINT , THE FOREST SERVICE HAS DONE ITS DAMAGE AND APPEARS TO BE NO LONGER INVOLVED .
SINCE HUDBAY ACQUIRED THE ROSEMONT COPPER PROJECT , THEY HAVE MADE SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES TO THE ORIGINAL APPLICATION AS SUBMITTED TO THE FOREST SERVICE . THESE CHANGES HAVE NOT BEEN MADE PUBLIC AND REMAIN SHROUDED IN MYSTERY AND POLITICAL INTRIGUE . WHERE IS THE UP-TO-DATE MINE PLAN THAT HUDBAY HAS CREATED AS A BASIS FOR JUSTIFYING THE ROSEMONT COPPER PROJECT ? HUDBAY CARRIED OUT SIGNIFICANT DRILLING AND TESTING AFTER ACQUIRING THE PROPERTY . WHERE ARE THE RESULTS OF THIS WORK ? THE FACT THAT HUDBAY SOLD OFF BASIC MILLING EQUIPMENT PURCHASED BY AUGUSTA IN SUPPORT OF THEIR APPLICATION WOULD STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT HUDBAY HAS ESTABLISHED ITS OWN SET OF PARAMETERS AS TO HOW THEY PLAN TO DEVELOP THE ROSEMONT COPPER PROJECT . THESE PARAMETERS ARE BEING KEPT RELATIVELY SECRET AND AWAY FROM PUBLIC SCRUTINY .
THERE IS A LOT MORE GOING ON BEHIND THE SCENE THAT THE PUBLIC AND THOSE CONCERNED ARE AWARE OF . BUSINESS CARRIED OUT IN THE ” BACK ROOMS ” OF GOVERNMENT OFTEN DOES NOT LEAVE A ” PAPER TRAIL ” .