Fighting to protect the Santa Rita and Patagonia Mountains from the devastating impacts of mining.
Things continue to be quiet at the Rosemont site, and it would appear that Hudbay continues to scale back operations. Compare the below images…the first taken late August, and the second taken in October. As you can see, the large stacks of water pipes that were on site in August have since been removed.
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Federal Judge Halts Construction of Rosemont Mine in ArizonaTUCSON, Ariz.— A federal judge today overturned the U.S. Forest Service’s approval of a controversial open-pit copper mine in southern Arizona’s Santa Rita Mountains, citing the agency’s “inherently flawed analysis from the inception of the proposed Rosemont Mine.” The ruling blocks Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals from beginning construction on the proposed $1.9 billion mine in the Coronado National Forest, 30 miles southeast of Tucson. “We are heartened that the federal judge recognized that the Forest Service fell short in their duty to protect public lands and resources,” said Gayle Hartmann, president of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas. “Our public lands are a public trust, and we must not allow them to be illegally used to enrich a foreign mining company.”
Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition and the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter filed a lawsuit in November 2017 challenging the Forest Service’s approval of the mine. The Center also sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over its determination that the mine would not jeopardize threatened and endangered species. A decision in that case is pending. “This is a crucial victory for jaguars and other wildlife that call the Santa Ritas home,” said Randy Serraglio, conservation advocate at the Center. “The judge’s ruling protects important springs and streams from being destroyed. We’ll move forward with everything we’ve got to keep protecting this southern Arizona jewel from this toxic mine.” In 2017 the Forest Service issued a “record of decision” for the Rosemont Mine, saying the project complies with environmental laws and regulations and should proceed. The decision authorized Hudbay to build and operate the mine for its projected life of 30 years. Today’s decision overturns the record of decision and the underlying environmental analysis for the mine project, sending both back to the Forest Service.
“Whether your concern is this proposed mine’s excessive water use, mountain of toxic mine tailings and waste rock and the harm it would do to the watershed for outstanding waters Davidson Canyon and Cienega Creek; the destruction of thousands of acres of public land; or the negative impacts to habitat for jaguars and other endangered species, this decision is good news,” said Sandy Bahr, chapter director for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter. “This decision means the Santa Rita Mountains are about more than lining the pockets of a foreign mining company.”
In today’s ruling, U.S. District Judge James Soto determined that the Forest Service violated federal mining and public land laws in approving the massive waste rock and tailings piles that would be located on Forest Service lands. Judge Soto said no work on the mine could begin due to the fundamental violations of federal law. “Given the magnitude of the errors,” Judge Soto wrote, “allowing the Rosemont Mine to proceed while the Forest Service conducts further proceedings… is unwarranted.” “Today’s decision by Judge Soto will help ensure that Arizona’s communities and the environment will be protected from the ravages of this ill-conceived and devastating mining proposal,” said Roger Featherstone, director of the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition. “Future generations will look back at these proceedings and marvel that our organizations and tribal governments needed to go to court to force the U.S. Forest Service to do what they are chartered to do — protect our water and natural heritage.” Hudbay wants to blast a mile-wide, half-mile-deep pit in the Santa Rita Mountains and pile toxic mine tailings and waste rock hundreds of feet high across nearly 2,500 acres in the headwaters of Davidson Canyon, a tributary to Cienega Creek, which replenishes Tucson’s groundwater basin.
“The court correctly found that the Forest Service violated federal law in giving rights to Rosemont that the law does not recognize, making their entire decision approving the project illegal,” said Roger Flynn, director and managing attorney for the Western Mining Action Project, one of the attorneys representing the environmental groups. More than 5,000 acres would be harmed by the mine, including nearly 4,000 acres of public land that would be covered by the mine’s waste dumps, processing plant and infrastructure.
The pit and waste dumps would remain as a permanent scar and environmental hazard. The mine would also destroy prime jaguar habitat, land that’s critical to the survival and recovery of jaguars in the United States. The Rosemont Mine faces additional legal challenges not addressed by today’s ruling. The judge has not yet ruled on the merits of the groups’ March lawsuit challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ issuance of a Clean Water Act permit for the mine. The mine, which would threaten critical water resources and wildlife habitat, cannot be constructed without the permit.
In September 2017 the Center sued to challenge a biological opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that determined the mine would not jeopardize threatened and endangered species in the area. The Forest Service relied on the Fish and Wildlife Service’s opinion in its decision to approve the mine. In today’s ruling, the judge said he will issue a separate order at a later date for this case. The Court’s also ruled in favor of the three American Indian tribes ― the Tohono O’odham, Pascua Yaqui and Hopi ― that filed a similar lawsuit challenging the Forest Service’s approval of the mine. Like the environmental groups, the tribes have filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Army Corps issuance of the Clean Water Act permit. The tribes are represented by Earthjustice.
Save the Scenic Santa Ritas is a nonprofit organization working to protect the Santa Rita and Patagonia Mountains from environmental degradation caused by mining and mineral exploration activities.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.4 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
Founded in 1892, the Sierra Club is a national nonprofit environmental organization with approximately 2.7 million members and supporters, including more than 60,000 in Arizona. Sierra Club’s mission is “to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the earth’s ecosystems and resources; and to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment.
The Arizona Mining Reform Coalition represents 16 local, regional, and national organizations working in Arizona to improve state and federal laws, rules, and regulations governing hard rock mining to protect communities and the environment. We work to hold mining operations to the highest environmental and social standards to provide for the long term environmental, cultural, and economic health of Arizona.
The groups are represented by the Western Mining Action Project, a public interest law firm specializing in litigation on mining issues in the western states.
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TUCSON, Ariz.— Conservation groups and tribes yesterday asked a federal court to prevent construction from starting on the Rosemont Copper Mine in southern Arizona until a judge rules on pending lawsuits filed by the parties.
Yesterday’s motion for a preliminary injunction, filed in U.S. District Court in Tucson, pertains to five lawsuits filed over the past two years by Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter, and the Tohono O’odham, Pascua Yaqui and Hopi tribes. The lawsuits seek to overturn a series of federal approvals greenlighting the controversial open-pit copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains.
“The Rosemont mine would cause irreparable and permanent damage to our water and mountains,” said Gayle Hartmann, president of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas. “Allowing Rosemont to commence construction activities prior to a judge addressing the serious issues in our suit would deny southern Arizonans the justice to which they are entitled under the law.”
The lawsuits say that federal agencies violated fundamental environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, when they approved the massive Rosemont Mine. The mile-wide, 3,000-foot-deep mine would dry up critical water sources, harm a number of endangered species and destroy thousands of acres of public land in the Coronado National Forest.
Hudbay Minerals, the project’s owner, has announced plans to begin ground-disturbing activities in July.
“It’s senseless to allow Rosemont to start shredding our public lands before the judge has a chance to rule whether this is legal,” said Randy Serraglio, conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Thousands of acres of prime jaguar habitat, a scenic highway and critically important springs and streams are at immediate risk of irreparable harm.”
If the preliminary injunction is granted, mine construction would be prevented until a federal judge rules on the underlying lawsuits.
Hudbay Minerals, Rosemont’s Canadian owner, wants to blast a mile-wide, half-mile-deep pit in the Santa Rita Mountains and pile toxic mine tailings and waste rock hundreds of feet high in the Davidson Canyon/Cienega Creek watershed, which directly replenishes Tucson’s groundwater supply.
More than 5,000 acres would be destroyed by the mine, including nearly 4,000 acres of public land that would be covered by the mine’s waste dumps, open pit, processing plant and infrastructure. The pit and waste dumps would remain as permanent scars and environmental hazards on the landscape.
The mine also would destroy thousands of acres of federally protected jaguar critical habitat — land that’s been formally designated as essential to the survival and recovery of jaguars in the United States. This area includes the former home territory of the famous jaguar named “El Jefe” by Tucson schoolchildren.
The groups are represented by the Western Mining Action Project, a public interest law firm specializing in litigation on mining issues in the western states, and Marc Fink and Allison Melton of the Center for Biological Diversity. The Tribes are represented by Heidi McIntosh, Stu Gillespie and Caitlin Miller of Earthjustice.
Background
In 2016 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a “biological opinion” declaring that the Rosemont Mine would not unduly harm jaguars, ocelots or any of a dozen endangered species threatened by the mine.
In 2017 the U.S. Forest Service approved a “record of decision” for the Rosemont Mine, declaring that the project complies with all applicable environmental laws and regulations and should proceed. These decisions were challenged by three lawsuits filed in late 2017 and early 2018.
In March two more lawsuits were filed in federal court challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ issuance of a Clean Water Act permit for the mine, which was the final outstanding permit Rosemont needed to begin construction. In 2016 the Army Corps district engineer in Los Angeles formally recommended denial of the permit, concluding that the mine would violate water-quality standards and a number of laws and was not in the public interest. But under the Trump administration, the agency reversed its position and issued the permit in March 2019.
All five lawsuits have been consolidated before U.S. District Judge James Soto in Tucson, Ariz.
Save the Scenic Santa Ritas is a nonprofit organization working to protect the Santa Rita and Patagonia Mountains from environmental degradation caused by mining and mineral exploration activities.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.4 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
Founded in 1892, the Sierra Club is a national nonprofit environmental organization with approximately 2.7 million members and supporters, including more than 60,000 in Arizona. Sierra Club’s mission is “to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the earth’s ecosystems and resources; and to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment.”
The Arizona Mining Reform Coalition represents 16 local, regional, and national organizations working in Arizona to improve state and federal laws, rules, and regulations governing hard rock mining to protect communities and the environment. We work to hold mining operations to the highest environmental and social standards to provide for the long term environmental, cultural, and economic health of Arizona.
As you know, our beloved Santa Rita Mountains and our vital drinking water are under serious threat from the proposed Rosemont Mine. Join Save the Scenic Santa Ritas and other members of the coalition fighting the mine to make a statement that we will not stand idly by while our environment is under assault from foreign mining companies.
We need a big crowd to send a clear message: No to Rosemont Mine! Yes to clean water and air, protection of sacred lands, and wildlife habitat!
Save the Scenic Santa Ritas will provide signs, but feel free to bring your own, too (keep them family-friendly).
For more information, e-mail info@scenicsantaritas.org
Please take a moment to let us know if you will be able to attend
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
PDF version can be downloaded here
TUCSON, Ariz.— Together, four conservation groups filed a lawsuit in federal district court today to overturn a key permit for the controversial proposed Rosemont Copper Mine in southern Arizona. The lawsuit challenges the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ issuance of a Clean Water Act permit for the mine, which would threaten critical water resources and wildlife habitat.
“In spite of reports from multiple government agencies that the proposed Rosemont Mine does not comply with federal law, the Army Corps of Engineers has chosen to grant the federal Clean Water Act 404 permit,” said Gayle Hartmann, president of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas. “Because of this, we have no choice but to seek justice in federal court in support of our community, our health and our environment. We will move forward and present our case, reiterating the extensive damage this project will do to our water resources and our beautiful Santa Rita Mountains.”
Earlier this month the Corps reversed course from a 2016 determination and issued the final permit needed to start construction of the vast open-pit copper mine. Hudbay Minerals, Rosemont’s Canadian owner, wants to blast a mile-wide, half-mile-deep open pit in the Santa Rita Mountains and pile toxic mine tailings and waste rock hundreds of feet high in the Davidson Canyon-Cienega Creek watershed, which replenishes Tucson’s groundwater basin, a source for roughly 20 percent of Tucson’s drinking water.
More than 5,000 acres would be destroyed by the mine, including nearly 4,000 acres of public land that would be covered by the mine’s waste dumps, open pit, processing plant and infrastructure. The pit and waste dumps would remain as a permanent scar and environmental hazard on public land.
“The proposed Rosemont Mine would be a blight on the Santa Ritas and do serious harm to Outstanding Arizona Waters such as Davidson Canyon and Cienega Creek,” said Sandy Bahr, chapter director for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter. “The Corps has not considered the degree or scope of the impacts to wildlife, cultural resources, and other protected public lands in its decision, and it has not done its job to ensure that this project is in the public’s interest.”
The Rosemont Mine would drain the regional aquifer that supports dozens of springs and streams in the area that are home to endangered fish, frogs, snakes, birds and plants. It would also destroy thousands of acres of federally protected jaguar critical habitat and sever a critically important wildlife corridor essential to the recovery of the northern jaguar population that spans the U.S.-Mexico border.
“The Corps’ outrageous flip-flop on the Rosemont Clean Water Act permit is politics at its worst and cannot be justified by science or law,” said Randy Serraglio, a conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This decision to betray southern Arizona and greenlight this disaster won’t stand. We’ll fight for Tucson’s water security and the jaguars, ocelots and other wildlife that call the Santa Ritas home.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has weighed in against the Rosemont proposal numerous times over a period of several years, saying that the project would violate water-quality standards and was not in the public interest. In July 2016 the Corps’ own scientists determined that the permit should be denied, yet the Trump administration reversed course and issued the permit anyway.
“There is no better example of the failure of our government to provide effective protections from the harms of mining than the proposed Rosemont Mine,” said Roger Featherstone, director of the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition. “This project is bad for communities, devastating to wildlife, and should not be allowed to proceed.”
The groups are represented by the Western Mining Action Project, a public-interest law firm specializing in litigation on mining issues in the western states, and Marc Fink and Allison Melton of the Center for Biological Diversity.
Save the Scenic Santa Ritas is a nonprofit organization working to protect the Santa Rita Mountains from environmental degradation caused by mining and mineral exploration activities.
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