Save the Scenic Santa Ritas

Fighting to protect the Santa Rita and Patagonia Mountains from the devastating impacts of mining.

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Recent News Articles and Letters – 2018

December 20, 2018 By Lisa Froelich Leave a Comment

Letter: Mine offers short-term gain
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-mine-offers-short-term-gain/article_cdc1c614-046f-11e9-b14a-5be852dfae12.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the Editor by Sandra Katz
December 20, 2018

Letter: Stop The Rosemont Mine!
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-stop-the-rosemont-mine/article_eef9c4c2-046e-11e9-87d1-efe73107e059.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the Editor by Waid Reynolds
December 20, 2018

Letter: Mine would bring great damage, little benefit
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-mine-would-bring-great-damage-little-benefit/article_547c4e78-03b1-11e9-80d2-0f0096fa23d9.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the Editor by Peter Steere
December 19, 2018

Former Rosemont lobbyist set to become acting Interior Secretary
https://www.rosemontminetruth.com/former-rosemont-lobbyist-set-to-become-acting-interior-secretary/
Rosemont Mine Truth
December 17. 2018

Rollback of federal water rule would have major impacts in Tucson area
https://tucson.com/news/local/rollback-of-federal-water-rule-would-have-major-impacts-in/article_2ba8c53e-590a-5776-9830-33ee8c3f0f54.html
Tony Davis, Arizona Daily Star
December 11, 2018

Letter: Little hope on Rosemont
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-little-hope-on-rosemont/article_542c7166-fcd9-11e8-8d51-0faafb46e600.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the Editor by Richard Govern
December 10, 2018

Manuel and Elías: Rosemont mine would bring devastation to Southern Arizona
https://tucson.com/opinion/local/manuel-and-el-as-rosemont-mine-would-bring-devastation-to/article_d55e8126-206d-5e11-bb28-2d1d60d674a8.html
Special to the Arizona Daily Star by Edward Manuel and Richard Elias
December 9, 2018

Local efforts look at replenishing groundwater aquifer
https://www.gvnews.com/news/local-efforts-look-at-replenishing-groundwater-aquifer/article_ab7d3a5e-fb26-11e8-bc61-b7f30142a28b.html
David J. Del Grande, Green Valley news
December 8, 2018

Pima County ratchets up opposition to Rosemont Mine as Army Corps Clean Water Act permitting decision looms
https://www.rosemontminetruth.com/pima-county-ratchets-up-opposition-to-rosemont-mine-as-army-corps-clean-water-act-permitting-decision-looms/
Rosemont Mine Truth
November 13, 2018

Letter: The Rosemont Mine is coming
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-the-rosemont-mine-is-coming/article_c65631ee-de04-11e8-bf00-6f78f0a36a7a.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the Editor by Diane Stephenson
November 1, 2018

Letter: Editorial perspective has gone off the rails
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/politics-local/letter-editorial-perspective-has-gone-off-the-rails/article_09c209bc-dc66-11e8-b490-0ffbdb8657b9.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the Editor by Peggy Hendrickson
October 30, 2018

Letter: The Star’s missteps
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/politics-local/letter-the-star-s-missteps/article_bba6b152-d723-11e8-884c-e3a45d7829e0.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the Editor by Richard Demers
October 23, 2018

Letter: No Rosemont Mine
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-no-rosemont-mine/article_9508c4ec-d258-11e8-92bb-174412689cc8.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the Editor by Sam Kalter
October 17, 2018

Letter: Rosemont Mine Op-ed
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-rosemont-mine-op-ed/article_7a02b4bc-d0ca-11e8-9f08-93014535e7cd.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the Editor by Ihor Kunasz
October 15, 2018

Robert Vint: Environmental degradation caused by Rosemont would last forever
https://tucson.com/opinion/local/robert-vint-environmental-degradation-caused-by-rosemont-would-last-forever/article_0740549f-66a6-51d1-ae2d-953e0ab3a250.html
Robert Vint Special to the Arizona Daily Star
October 12, 2018

Range Wars – A copper rush sparks last-ditch battles for Arizona’s soul
https://harpers.org/archive/2018/09/copper-mining-in-arizona-silver-bell-mine-morenci-bhp-ascaro-apache-land/2/
Samuel James (Artist), Mort Rosenblum, Harper’s Magazine
September 2018 issue
Letter: Rosemont’s too small to matter
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-rosemont-s-too-small-to-matter/article_6c37203a-b463-11e8-8c6b-bf4af9fbb3d9.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the editor by Scott Dreisbach
September 9, 2018
Letter: Tucson’s blood? What about ours?
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-tucson-s-blood-what-about-ours/article_1df7cb6c-aaf0-11e8-83c5-cb1caf07adae.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the editor by Anthony Strungis
August 28, 2018
Letter: Chamber is not an independent actor
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-chamber-is-not-an-independent-actor/article_48b92a96-aaf8-11e8-b447-13601ba3a11e.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the editor by John McLean
August 28, 2018
Letter: Chamber overstates Rosemont benefit
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-chamber-overstates-rosemont-benefit/article_bc295356-aaef-11e8-9eed-9b80baaf0ff6.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the editor by Todd Smyth
August 28, 2018
Letter: Mining ‘legacy’ is not what it seems
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-mining-legacy-is-not-what-it-seems/article_51899a5c-ab07-11e8-85ac-0344cc25e4b5.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the editor by John Hughes
August 28, 2018
Letter: Questioning Rosemont is good policy
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-questioning-rosemont-is-good-policy/article_847ab5e4-aaef-11e8-bd0c-23d0d55068bd.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the editor by Peter Coston
August 28, 2018
Letter: No to Rosemont
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-no-to-rosemont/article_c06ce2b2-ab11-11e8-aa79-2764d7bab51c.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the editor by Geoffrey Bland
August 28, 2018
Letter: Tucson is much more than a mining town
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-tucson-is-much-more-than-a-mining-town/article_f97a24ee-ab15-11e8-97bf-93a509652163.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the editor by Roger Barthelson
August 28, 2018
Letter: Go ahead with Rosemont
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-go-ahead-with-rosemont/article_f818f704-ab12-11e8-b8fc-1f3a848007d0.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the editor by Gary Hecksel
August 28, 2018
Harper’s turns its sharp eye on Rosemont and Resolution mines
http://www.rosemontminetruth.com/harpers-turns-its-sharp-eye-on-rosemont-and-resolution-mines/
Rosemont Mine Truth
August 27, 2018
Letter: Rosemont Mine would hurt our region
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-rosemont-mine-would-hurt-our-region/article_7efe2f6c-aa25-11e8-b694-c7b9499db418.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the editor by Kathy Altman
August 27, 2018
Head of Tucson Chamber: With mining in city’s blood, it’s time to move ahead with Rosemont
https://tucson.com/opinion/local/amber-smith-it-s-time-to-move-forward-stop-fighting/article_ae6239a6-314d-53e7-84ca-8669f86a40c7.html
Amber Smith Special to the Arizona Daily Star
August 27, 2018
Letter: Rosemont mine not worth the cost
https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-rosemont-mine-not-worth-the-cost/article_817d76a6-a7fc-11e8-bb53-972b24e69bc0.html
Arizona Daily Star Letter to the editor by Daryl Alderson
August 24, 2018
After 11 years, legal, bureaucratic battles over Rosemont Mine continue
https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2018/08/14/after-11-years-legal-bureaucratic-battles-over-rosemont-mine-continue/
Sarabeth Henne, Cronkite News
August 14, 2018
Hudbay stock falls below $5 a share for first time in 14 months
http://www.rosemontminetruth.com/hudbay-stock-falls-below-5-a-share-for-first-time-in-14-months/
Rosemont Mine Truth
August 3, 2018

Opinion: Arizonans should demand responsible mining
https://tucson.com/opinion/local/opinion-arizonans-should-demand-responsible-mining/article_4cc2cd2f-f0e9-52a1-b839-79e33c10e746.html
Melanie Lippert and Stephen Nash Special to the Arizona Daily Star
July 17, 2018
Hudbay stock hits one year low as copper prices slump
http://www.rosemontminetruth.com/hudbay-stock-hits-one-year-low-as-copper-prices-slump/
Rosemont Mine Truth
July 16, 2018
Conservationists: The death of the jaguar Yo’oko is a call to action
https://tucson.com/opinion/local/conservationists-the-death-of-the-jaguar-yo-oko-a-call/article_d8b946da-5674-5f17-b2b6-bce82ee725d9.html
Randy Serraglio, Louise Misztal and Diana Hadley Special to the Arizona Daily Star
July 8, 2018
Former Rosemont Owner poised to gross $400 million on Arizona Mining Inc. sale
http://www.rosemontminetruth.com/former-rosemont-owner-poised-to-gross-400-million-on-arizona-mining-inc-sale/
Rosemont Mine Truth
June 29, 2018
Proposed state stream rule changes could help Rosemont Mine
http://www.rosemontminetruth.com/proposed-state-stream-rule-changes-could-help-rosemont-mine/
Rosemont Mine Truth
May 7, 2018

Hudbay confronted over its conflicts with indigenous people
http://www.rosemontminetruth.com/hudbay-confronted-over-its-conflicts-with-indigenous-people/
Rosemont Mine Truth
May 22, 2018

Audubon Society urges feds to reject Rosemont Mine permit
http://www.rosemontminetruth.com/audubon-society-urges-feds-to-reject-rosemont-mine-permit/
Rosemont Mine Truth
May 21, 2018

Letter: Rosemont mine
https://www.gvnews.com/opinion/rosemont-mine/article_5c06c7da-58a4-11e8-97af-b72b63114a85.html
Green Valley News Letter to the Editor by Laurie Jurs, Green Valley
May 16, 2018

A murder in Guatemala raises questions of intimidation
http://www.rosemontminetruth.com/a-murder-in-guatemala-raises-questions-of-intimidation/
Rosemont Mine Truth
April 30, 2018

Three Arizona tribes file federal law suit against U.S. Forest Service seeking to block Hudbay’s Rosemont Copper Mine
http://www.rosemontminetruth.com/three-arizona-tribes-file-federal-law-suit-against-u-s-forest-service-seeking-to-block-hudbays-rosemont-copper-mine/
Rosemont Mine Truth
April 16, 2018

Tribes sue feds over Rosemont Mine, citing ‘irreversible’ damage to sacred sites
http://tucson.com/news/local/tribes-sue-feds-over-rosemont-mine-citing-irreversible-damage-to/article_fd114e72-4680-51fa-b8ca-ad0a6f911d0d.html
Tony Davis, Arizona Daily Star
April 14, 2018

Arizona Tribes Seek to Halt Copper Mine on Sacred Lands
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/arizona/articles/2018-04-13/arizona-tribes-seek-to-halt-copper-mine-on-sacred-lands
Associated Press
April 13, 2018

Tohono O’odham, Pascua Yaqui, Hopi Sue to Stop Rosemont Mine
https://news.azpm.org/p/news-topical-nature/2018/4/12/127451-tohono-oodham-pascua-yaqui-hopi-sue-to-stop-rosemont-mine/
Christopher Conover, AZPM
April 12, 2018

Hudbay projects 2022 as the “hypothetical” year for its embattled Rosemont project to begin copper production
http://www.rosemontminetruth.com/hudbay-projects-2022-as-the-hypothetical-year-for-its-embattled-rosemont-project-to-begin-copper-production/
Rosemont Mine Truth
February 1, 2018

Rosemont Mine ready to start construction next year if final permit OK’ed
http://tucson.com/news/local/rosemont-mine-ready-to-start-construction-next-year-if-final/article_9e26e0ad-05da-50eb-8811-3452ac53503d.html
Tony Davis, Arizona Daily Star
January 27, 2018

The EPA concludes Rosemont Copper Mine fails to meet regulatory requirements needed for Clean Water Act permit
http://www.rosemontminetruth.com/the-epa-concludes-rosemont-copper-mine-fails-to-meet-regulatory-requirements-needed-for-clean-water-act-permit/
Rosemont Mine Truth
January 12, 2018

EPA attacks Rosemont Mine’s newest land restoration plan
http://tucson.com/news/local/epa-attacks-rosemont-mine-s-newest-land-restoration-plan/article_b2752ee1-b27d-5a15-858f-659781c0975e.html
Tony Davis, Arizona Daily Star
January 7, 2018

Rosemont Mine owner: No mitigation land available in Cienega Creek watershed
http://tucson.com/news/local/rosemont-mine-owner-no-mitigation-land-available-in-cienega-creek/article_33e30950-0ae3-595d-9b0f-0883e76e985c.html
Tony Davis, Arizona Daily Star
January 6, 2018

Media Release: Key elements of Rosemont water mitigation plan “commonly fail”
http://www.scenicsantaritas.org/water/media-release-key-elements-of-rosemont-water-mitigation-plan-commonly-fail/
Scenicsantaritas.org
January 5, 2018

Expert: Hudbay’s environmental mitigation plan needed for key federal permit to build $1.9 billion Rosemont mine is likely to fail
http://www.rosemontminetruth.com/expert-hudbays-environmental-mitigation-plan-needed-for-key-federal-permit-to-build-1-9-billion-rosemont-mine-is-likely-to-fail/
Rosemont Mine Truth
January 5, 2018

Filed Under: News, Rosemont in the News

Manuel and Elías: Rosemont mine would bring devastation to Southern Arizona

December 13, 2018 By Lisa Froelich Leave a Comment

By Edward Manuel and Richard Elías Special to the Arizona Daily Star – Dec 9, 2018

The moment of decision for the Rosemont Mine, with its mile-wide pit, toxic waste, roads, and processing facilities — and together with it, the fate of our cherished Santa Rita Mountains — is coming ever closer. Despite the destruction of the natural and cultural resources they are entrusted to protect, two of the three principal federal agencies involved in authorizing the project — the U. S. Forest Service and Arizona Department of Environmental Quality — already have approved the Rosemont Mine.

These agencies have attempted to placate us with assurances that the mine, slated to be one of the largest copper mines in the world, won’t harm the water, wildlife or the sacred character of the land on which native peoples have lived for thousands of years. They use the nice-sounding phrase “resolution of adverse effects” to imply that that the adverse impacts from the Rosemont mine can be easily “fixed” or mitigated.

This is what the U.S. Forest Service and Canadian mining company Hudbay would like us to believe — that there would be no reduction to our municipal water supply, no loss of wetlands, no degradation of surface water quality, no loss of watershed function, no impacts to our natural, cultural, and human environment, and no impacts to our community and our citizens. This could not be farther from the truth. There simply is no mitigation adequate to offset the impacts from an open pit mine that would destroy more than 5,000 acres of mostly Coronado National Forest land.

Read more…

Filed Under: News, Rosemont, Rosemont in the News

Arizona Daily Star: State to review streams’ protections at request of Hudbay Minerals

July 15, 2017 By Lisa Froelich Leave a Comment

(From the Arizona Daily Star, July 15, 2017): A planned state water-quality review of streams is sparking concerns among Pima County officials that two in Southeastern Arizona may lose their strict legal protection.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, at the request of Hudbay Minerals Inc., will review the state’s past decisions to protect 22 streams across the state, including Davidson Canyon and Cienega Creek near Tucson, that are classified as Outstanding Arizona Waters. This work will be part of a broader state review of surface water-quality standards typically done every three years.

At the same time, some heavy metal contamination has already been discovered in both streams, officials said last week. While Outstanding Arizona Waters are legally supposed to have good water quality, ADEQ is noncommittal as to the contamination’s impact on the streams’ future status.

Hudbay’s letter and the state’s response have triggered suspicion from County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry that Hudbay wants to remove key protections for Cienega and Davidson.

Click here to read full article

Save the Scenic Santa Ritas submitted comments to ADEQ as part of the Triennial Review of State Water Quality Standards, as did Pima County. Links to both are below.

SSSR_Davidson Canyon ADEQ review July 2017

Pima County Triennial Review of State Water Quality Standards

Filed Under: News, Rosemont in the News

Hudbay again reduces Rosemont spending

January 23, 2017 By Lisa Froelich Leave a Comment

Rosemont Mine Truth
January 23, 2017

Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals Inc. plans to spend $20 million in 2017 on its proposed Rosemont open-pit copper mine, down from $30 million last year and $50 million in 2015.

“Arizona spending of $20 million on the Rosemont project is intended to support ongoing permitting efforts,” Hudbay reported last week.

The roll-back in investment in Rosemont comes at the same time Hudbay states it may challenge the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to require Hudbay’s subsidiary Rosemont Copper Company to obtain a Clean Water Act permit before construction can begin on the $1.5 billion mine. [Read more…]

Filed Under: News, Rosemont in the News, SSSR News

Hudbay warns it may challenge federal authority requiring Clean Water Act permit for its Rosemont copper mine

January 18, 2017 By Lisa Froelich Leave a Comment

Rosemont Mine Truth
January 18, 2017

Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals Inc. is warning the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that it may legally challenge the Corps’ authority requiring Hudbay’s Rosemont Copper Company subsidiary to obtain a Clean Water Act permit prior to beginning construction of the proposed Rosemont Mine.

Neither Hudbay, nor Rosemont’s previous owner, have previously challenged the Corps’ jurisdictional authority over the proposed mine.

Hudbay’s salvo comes after the Corps’ Los Angeles district office recommended last July that Rosemont’s application for the permit be denied. The Corps’ South Pacific Division in San Francisco is reviewing the permit application and is expected to make a decision later this year. [Read more…]

Filed Under: News, Rosemont in the News

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Recent Posts

  • Litigation Schedule February 17, 2021
  • Links to recent news and letters – 2021 February 15, 2021
  • Links to recent news and letters – 2020 December 31, 2020
  • Long Mountain – a film by Leslie Epperson July 8, 2020
  • A major win for endangered species in the Santa Ritas February 13, 2020

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RSS Latest from Rosemont Mine Truth

  • Pima County reaffirms resolution opposing Rosemont Mine April 19, 2019
  • Hudbay approves $122 million spending plan for “early works” at Rosemont March 29, 2019
  • Hudbay seeking Rosemont Mine joint venture partner after receiving key federal Clean Water Act permit March 15, 2019
  • Hudbay has failed to provide legal justification for Clean Water Act permit, Natural Resources Committee chairman says March 5, 2019

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Litigation Update

Speaking of which (the appeal originally filed in Nov. 2017 challenging the Forest Service’s approval of the mine), we now have a schedule for that case in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals – not definitive, but at least a general time frame:

 

After a lot of negotiating, the lawyers have come to an agreement on the final schedule of our cases before the 9th Circuit Appeals Court. Here is the updated schedule:

  • Feds opening brief due by 1 June 2020
  • Hudbay opening brief due by 15 June 2020
  • Then, our response by 3 September 2020
  • Feds optional reply brief by 2 November 2020
  • Hudbay optional reply brief by 9 November 2020

Click here for more updates

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