News articles August 2011

While the U.S. Forest Service says it can’t legally say “no” to the proposed Rosemont Mine, another federal agency says it can.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which must act to grant or deny a permit for the mine under the federal Clean Water Act, says a permit denial could stop the project proposed on private and public land in the Santa Ritas southeast of Tucson.

Rosemont Copper hasn’t yet filed a formal permit application with the corps. Agency officials have no position on how they’ll act on that application.

But the corps says it can say “no” if it determines that the project isn’t in the public interest and isn’t the least damaging, “practicable” alternative. That’s a legal term essentially meaning a project that can be feasibly done at a reasonable cost.

Under the Clean Water Act, Rosemont Copper must obtain a permit from the corps to build diversion structures to reroute water now running in washes around various proposed mine facilities, including its open pit. Such permits are typically required for placement or discharge of fill material into rivers, streams, washes and adjacent wetlands that fall under the corps’ legal jurisdiction.

Five law professors around the country, including three with experience on Clean Water Act issues, and an attorney for the property-rights-oriented Pacific Legal Foundation agreed that the Corps of Engineers can legally deny a permit for a mine on federal land.

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/business/local/article_bc66bf97-1e8f-566e-8364-d48d83409cff.html

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By Tony Davis, Arizona Daily Star

Sunday, August 7, 2011

A proposed southern Arizona mine that would dig up 234 million pounds of copper annually remains in limbo awaiting permit applications and federal approval.

The U.S. Forest Service says it can’t legally say “no” to the proposed Rosemont Copper Co. mine on public and private land in the Santa Rita Mountains, some 30 miles southeast of Tucson.

However, Rosemont Copper has yet to file a formal permit application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The agency must act to grant or deny a permit for the mine under the federal Clean Water Act, and a permit denial could stop the project.

Under the Clean Water Act, Rosemont Copper must obtain a permit from the corps to build diversion structures to reroute water now running in washes around various proposed mine facilities, including its open pit.

Such permits are typically required for placement or discharge of fill material into rivers, streams, washes and adjacent wetlands that fall under the corps’ legal jurisdiction.

Five law professors around the country, including three with experience on Clean Water Act issues, and an attorney for the property-rights-oriented Pacific Legal Foundation agreed that the Corps of Engineers can legally deny a permit for a mine on federal land.

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/state-and-regional/article_9375810e-5818-5434-b688-851d837de0fb.html

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Saturday, August 6, 2011

By Philip Franchine, Green Valley News

One measure the county advocates is backfilling the mine’s entire planned open pit, not just part of it. The new comments say that would have “tremendous positive impacts for reducing what would otherwise be irretrievable losses of habitat, scenic views and water resources,” and would also have economic benefits.

The working DEIS gives a cost estimate of $90 million for backfilling part of the mine pit, and Huckelberry asked whether that figure was “purposely inflated” to make it sound impractical.

Rosemont officials could not be reached Friday but have said that filling the pit is not a reasonable option.

Forest Service officials have declined comment while the EIS process is under way.

Aug. 1 was the deadline for public agencies to submit comments. The Forest Service will incorporate those comments in a formal DEIS, which will be published for public comments this fall. The current Forest Service Schedule of Proposed Actions lists Jan. 20, 2012, as the date a decision is expected on the mine proposal.

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Rosemont Mine face-off in Tucson

Monday, August 1, 2011
By David Rookhuyzen, Green Valley News

Representatives of the proposed Rosemont mine and its chief opposition sparred over matters of economy and ecology during a meeting Wednesday of the Southern Arizona Green Chamber of Commerce.

Jeff Cornoyer, senior geologist for Rosemont Copper, and Morris Farr, vice president for Save Our Scenic Santa Ritas, gave presentations and answered questions about the effects of the controversial mine slated to be built in the Santa Rita Mountains about 30 miles southeast of Tucson.

Cornoyer continued the company’s promotion of the economic benefits of the mine, highlighting the 400 direct and 1,700 indirect jobs in the area that Rosemont says the mine will create. Cornoyer compared the potential annual revenue to other big events the state has hosted.

“That’s one Super Bowl and two Gem and Mineral Shows for every year the mine is in operation,” Cornoyer said.

He also touched on the environmentally conscious aspects of the mine, such as LEED-compliant buildings, using electric shovels instead of hydraulic, and filtering tailings to recycle water and not leave any lakes or ponds behind.

Cornoyer repeated the mine’s goal of having a zero-impact on the local aquifer and said it had already banked nine years of water to be put back into the ground.

Farr argued the local economy would grow better without the mine, as companies and individuals continue to move to the unmarred, scenic area.

If the mine does not move in, Farr said, his town of Sonoita alone could add more than 400 permanent, wage-earning residents, instead of the 400 direct mining jobs that would leave after the mine’s expected 20-year lifespan.

Farr  derided Rosemont’s claims of ecological sustainability, pointing out the mine has a projected lifetime of 20 years and a vast, open pit, several times deeper than the height of the Tucson skyline, will be left behind.

He also expressed skepticism of the mine’s reclamation plans for the tailings, saying the method has never been tested on this scale.

“I don’t know if we in Arizona want to be Rosemont’s experiment,” he said.