Save the Scenic Santa Ritas

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

Close×
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact
    • Board of Directors and Staff
    • Endorsements
    • Opposition and Resolutions
    • Volunteers and Friends
  • Background
    • Rosemont Mine
      • History
      • Impacts
        • Air Quality
        • Land Use
        • Wildlife and Habitat
        • Scenic Views
        • Heritage
        • Recreation
        • Economy
        • Water and Hydrology
    • Legislation
    • Copper
    • Patagonia Area Mines
  • In the News
  • Action
    • What Can I Do?
    • Donate
    • Volunteer
    • Join Mailing List
    • Endorse Us
    • SSSR Presentation
    • Show Your Support
    • Letter Writing
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Recommended Reading
    • Visual Media
    • Links
    • Documents and Reports
    • 1872 Mining Law
    • Inspiration
  • Projects
    • Lens on the Land
      • Biodiversity
      • Culture
      • Economy: Industry, Tourism & Recreation
      • The Land
      • Night Sky and Astronomy
      • Water Resources
    • Rosemont Mine Truth
  • Newsletter

Mine opponents sue over Rosemont role

February 9, 2011 By Administrator Leave a Comment


Mine opponents sue over Rosemont role

Posted: Tuesday, February 8, 2011 3:48 pm

By Philip Franchine Green Valley News Green Valley News & Sun and The Sahuarita Sun

Opponents of the proposed Rosemont Copper mine have filed a federal lawsuit to stop the Forest Service from working on a key environmental study until opponents can join Rosemont in meetings with government agencies.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Tucson, alleges the Forest Service violated federal law by regularly including Rosemont, a private entity, in meetings with cooperating government agencies. That  means those meetings are subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which requires public participation, the suit says.

The suit also asks that the Coronado National Forest be required to turn over minutes of all 23 meetings of the cooperating agencies plus other documents in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed in September.

The plaintiffs include Dick and Nan Walden of Farmers Investment Co., Gayle Hartmann of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, and Randy Serraglio of the Center for Biological Diversity. The open pit mine would be on the eastern slope of the northern Santa Rita Mountains.

A Forest Service spokeswoman said she could not comment on the lawsuit. Coronado National Forest Supervisor Jim Upchurch said in a Jan. 14 letter to mine opponents that the agency did not violate federal law by allowing Rosemont in meetings and that the agency would respond to the FOIA request by Jan. 31.

However, on Feb. 2, Upchurch sent a letter to Serraglio saying the agency does not have a delivery date and is “in the process of reviewing responsive records for Privacy Act and other information that must be withheld in accordance with FOIA exemptions before we transmit them to you.”  Upchurch added that he was “rerouting” the request to the Forest Service Southwestern Region’s FOIA/Privacy Act Service Center in Albuquerque.

Serraglio said a handful of documents have been released.

The Forest Service web site says Rosemont participated in 18 of the 23 meetings of cooperating agencies in 2009 and 2010.

Serraglio said “FACA is very clear what role the proponent (Rosemont) plays. They can come in and give presentations on technical issues to help the cooperating agencies understand the proposal and in a couple of instances they did that, but they definitely are not supposed to be sitting there in the vast majority of meetings, participating in the conversations in which decisions are being made.

“I think it is entirely possible that Rosemont’s presence would have a chilling effect on the kinds of concerns that are brought up, mitigation suggested, further study that needs to be done. There are all kinds of ways that Rosemont’s participation would have a chilling effect, but without the minutes of the meetings or other info from the Forest Service, it’s anybody’s guess,” Serraglio said.

DEIS due out

The Forest Service web site says it expects to publish the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) on Rosemont this month, with a decision by June 2012, and implementation by October 2012.

However, on Tuesday agency spokeswoman Heidi Schewel said, “We have not yet identified a new timeline for the DEIS (draft environmental impact statement).  When we do it will be shared widely.”

Schewel said she hopes to release more information on the Rosemont consideration process in the next few days. Before the Forest Service can rule on the mine request, the DEIS must be published, followed by a 90-day comment period and publication of the final EIS.

The lawsuit asks that the court stop the agency from doing any work on the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) “until the agency immediately reconstitutes its FACA advisory committee to include Plaintiffs as full committee members with Augusta/Rosemont.”

Augusta Resource, headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, owns Rosemont Copper.

The suit asks that the agency turn over all communications between Rosemont and Coronado; a list of all documents that CNF has received from Rosemont and a “privileged list” of documents being withheld under FOIA exemptions, such as including proprietary information.

Raquel Cantu, acting Southwestern Region Forest Service Liason, said on Tuesday, “I know they’ve been working on this FOIA request for a long time but I’ve seen nothing on my end yet.”

In January, Upchurch wrote that FACA applies when “a specific group of individuals is formally designated to collectively advise and/or make recommendations to a Federal agency. This is not occurring in the Rosemont Copper Project environmental review process.

“The cooperating agencies in the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) process of the Rosemont Copper Project do not function as a formal, organized group or committee. They are not directed by a group charter or similar document,” Upchurch wrote.

Instead, Rosemont’s participation is to provide technical information,

Upchurch wrote, and its role is governed by a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the mine and the Forest Service.

Serraglio said “this process has been flawed from the very beginning,” arguing the CNF tried to fast-track the consideration of the matter.

pfranchine@gvnews.com | 547-9738

Filed Under: Rosemont

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Posts

  • LENS ON THE LAND May 16, 2023
  • 1872 MINING LAW May 16, 2023
  • SENATE BILL FAVORS HUDBAY May 16, 2023
  • HUDBAY LEGACY May 16, 2023
  • “DIRTY MINING TRUMPS ALL OTHER USES” ACT May 8, 2023
  • See Our detailed letter to the Arizona State Land Department April 18, 2023
  • HUDBAY’S NEGATIVE IMPACTS TO ALL OUR BACKYARDS  April 18, 2023
  • Guardians of The Santa Ritas April 18, 2023
  • Pima County Urges Arizona State Land Department To Deny Hudbay’s Request To Purchase 200 Acres For Tailings And Rubble  April 11, 2023
  • Federal Memo May Bolster Hudbay’s Position on Rosemont Mine Site March 16, 2023

Newsletter Sign-Up

You will receive an email asking you to confirm your subscription by clicking on a link. If you don’t see the email right away in your inbox, please check the junk folder.

You will NOT be added UNLESS you confirm your subscription. Thank you!

COPPER MINE TOXINS

In this video Dr. Hart describes how copper mines fail to prevent toxins concentrated in tailing piles and ponds from polluting our air and water. WATCH NOW video by John Grahame

Copper Mines and Aquifers

Dr. Stanley Hart describes the impact of copper mining on underground aquifers, both how much groundwater is used and where it ends up. WATCH NOW video by John Grahame

Why Mine the Santa Ritas? – Dr. Stanley Hart

Dr. Stanley R. Hart, Scientist Emeritus at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, talks with a group from Save the Scenic Santa Ritas about the factors that are causing HudBay Corporation to pursue development of a large open pit mine (“Copper World”) in the Santa Rita Mountains near Sahuarita in southern Arizona. WATCH NOW video by John Grahame

Geology of the Santa Ritas — Dr. Stanley Hart

Dr. Stanley R. Hart talks with a group from Save the Scenic Santa Ritas about the geology of this Sky Island mountain range near Sahuarita in southern Arizona. Dr. Hart is Scientist Emeritus at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. WATCH NOW video by John Grahame

Rosemont/ Copper World Mine Complex News

LENS ON THE LAND

1872 MINING LAW

SENATE BILL FAVORS HUDBAY

HUDBAY LEGACY

“DIRTY MINING TRUMPS ALL OTHER USES” ACT

See Our detailed letter to the Arizona State Land Department

More Posts from this Category

Update on Lake Mead and Lake Powell water levels

Watch the April video update about Lake Mead, new water restrictions in Las Vegas, and news from Lake Powell.
WATCH NOW

Copper World Flyover January 6, 2023 by David Steele

Another shocking sight of the incredible destruction happening on our beautiful Santa Ritas.WATCH VIDEO NOW

Russ McSpadden’s recent fly-over showing mine activity

In Nov 2022 Russ captured recent bulldozing in the Santa Rita Mountains. His video starts over the Rosemont mine project on the east side and then swings over the Copper World project on the west side. WATCH VIDEO NOW

Explore the proposed Rosemont and Copper World projects virtually

Check out Pima County’s updated map of the proposed mine site. Click on any spot on the map for ownership/status information. Mapping details are based on Hudbay’s PEA dated May 1.

Proposed Rosemont/ Copper World Mine Complex

Image compilation of the area

LENS ON THE LAND

Sign the Petition

Please ask Commissioner Arizona State Land Department Ms. Robyn Sahid to deny request by Rosemont Copper Company for the department to sell at auction two noncontiguous parcels of State Trust land totaling 200 acres.

SIGN HERE

Recommended Reading List

Browse HERE over 30 titles of carefully selected books in various categories including: copper, water, mining, wilderness, exploration, and more. Your purchase supports the efforts of the SSSR

January 2023 Powerpoint Presentation

Click here to download (PDF)

Litigation Update

There have been two recent judicial rulings on the Rosemont Copper Company projects — one favorable and one unfavorable.

Click here to learn more

The latest on Hudbay’s Copper World project in the Santa Rita Mountains

Click here to download (PDF)

Where is the Rosemont/Copper World Mine Complex?

Click here for directions

HELP US PROTECT THE SANTA RITAS

Close×

Copyright © 2023 · Save the Scenic Santa Ritas