Forwarded message from Ron Barber, District Director to Congresswoman Giffords** I am forwarding a copy of the letter that Congresswoman Giffords received today from USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack. In the letter, Secretary Vilsack indicates that he was unsatisfied with the letter that staff prepared for the Green Valley Community Coordinating Council and he requested it be held until a thorough review of the issue had been completed. He regrets that the letter was mistakenly sent before that review was done. The Secretary’s letter goes on to say that the Forest Service will examine the no action alternative in its review of the Augusta mine plan of operation and that no decision will be made until they have completed a thorough review of the mine plan of operation and any required mitigation. Also significant is the secretary’s statement that Deputy Under Secretary Jay Jensen will "review the actions that the Forest Service has taken to date with respect to the proposed mine." Congresswoman Giffords is pleased to have received the Secretary’s clarification about the application of the no action alternative and that he will be reviewing the actions the Forest Service has taken to date. Please share this letter with others who are interested in this matter. Ron Barber In case you haven't been reading the news over the past few days, this letter received today was in response to an earlier letter from Oct. 14th sent by the USDA which indicated that for various reasons the Forest Service would not be able to select a no-action alternative. Today's letter indicates that the earlier letter was sent prematurely, and that the Forest Service is examining both the proposed mine and a no-action alternative in its environmental impact statement. As a reminder, if you are planning to attend one of the public meetings TOMORROW, October 24th with Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Jay Jensen, Deputy Undersecretary of Agriculture, please RSVP to RSVPGiffords@mail.house.gov. If you cannot make it to one of the events but would like to send comments, please send to this same email address. Click here to download suggestions for comments. Again, here is the schedule for these meetings: 10:15 am – 11:45am 2:15 pm – 3:45 pm Thank you, Lisa
_______________________________________________________
District Director
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords
Elgin Elementary School
23 Elgin Road
Elgin, Arizona
Desert Hills Social Center
2980 S. Camino del Sol
Green Valley, Arizona
Mine inspector OKs reclamation plan for Rosemont Mine
The Arizona State Mine Inspector's Office has approved a plan by the owners of the Rosemont Mine for reclaiming the land once the mine is finished, stirring charges from opponents that the state rushed to judgment.
In approving the $23 million reclamation plan last month, Mine Inspector Joe Hart turned down requests from about 25 neighbors of the proposed mine in the Santa Rita Mountains to have a hearing for people to air their concerns about the plan. He and other officials said the plan was approved because it met all the legal standards in the state's law governing mine-reclamation plans.
_____________________________________________________________________________
TEP - Rosemont Survey
http://www.epgaz.com/SelectSurveyNET/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=72KJ6l2
Ann Brown of the Arizona Daily Star and Jim Nintzel of the Tucson Weekly join Host Bill Buckmaster for a conversation about the controversial Rosemont Mine proposal. This weeks guests are: Rod Pace, President and CEO of Rosemont Copper and Gayle Hartmann, President of the Save the Scenic Santa Ritas Organization.
IT'S NOT A DONE DEAL!
http://tv.azpm.org/kuat/segments/2009/7/24/kuat-rosemont-copper/
I get this call this morning. he says "will you answer a quick two question survey?" I said go ahead. Question is "with this bad economical atmosphere, would you be in favor of utilizing Pima County's resources to help the economy?" I answered "if you are talking about mining
Published: Tuesday, July 7, 2009 2:16 AM MSTTUCSON —
Here is information from the Federal Highway
Administration on SR83 from a report date 8/29/2007.
STATUS:SR 83 at MP 44 asphalt pavement consists of two 11-12 ft travel lanes
(one NB and one SB) a
nd 0 - 4 ft variable shoulder widths on each side. SR 83 is a two lane highway with 1,200 vehicles per day in each of the northbound and southbound directions. This Pima County rural roadway accommodates 8% trucks with an average annual daily traffic count of 950 vehicles (2005). SR 83 is a fairly curvilinear route, which winds its way through some of the most scenic, high-country vistas throughout the entire southern Arizona, Coronado National Forest region. Nevertheless, this particular highway segment also ranks first among roadways locations experiencing motorcycle-related collisions, and eighth highest for run-off-road accidents in the State of Arizona (2007). Accordingly, a safety enhancement project for this site recently finished the scoping phase, is currently in design development, and scheduled to enter the construction phase during fiscal year 2009. The proposed project will widen existing roadway shoulders, improve motorist sight distance, provide side-slope flattening and install new signing and striping improvements. Read the full reportNotice their description of Highway 83 "SR 83 is a fairly curvilinear route, which winds its way through some of the most scenic, high-country vistas throughout the entire southern Arizona, Coronado National Forest region.Nevertheless, this particular highway segment also ranks first among roadways locations experiencing motorcycle-related collisions, and eighth highest for run-off-road accidents in the State of Arizona (2005)".
6/10/09
Lawmakers decry US stance that it can't block Rosemont mine
Please contact Reps Giffords & Grijalva and thank them for their support!
Arizona District 7
The Honorable Raúl Grijalva U.S. House of Representatives
DC Phone: 202-225-2435
Electronic Correspondence:
http://grijalva.house.gov/?sectionid=49§iontree=249
WWW Homepage: http://grijalva.house.gov/
Arizona District 8
The Honorable Gabrielle Gifford sU.S. House of Representatives
DC Phone: 202-225-2542
Electronic Correspondence: http://giffords.house.gov/contact/email/
WWW Homepage: http://giffords.house.gov/
6/2/09
From Save the Scenic Santa Ritas:
For immediate release, 1 June 2009
NEWS RELEASE
Save the Scenic Santa Ritas
8987 E. Tanque Verde #309-157
Tucson, AZ 85749
Contact:
Gayle Hartmann, president
gayleh@theriver.com; Tel. 520-325-6974
Morris Farr, vice president
And_far975@msn.com; Tel. 520-604-0836
***********************************************************
CORONADO NATIONAL FOREST IGNORES FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN RELATION TO ROSEMONT MINE
Tucson, AZ (31 May 2009) -- Before completion of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, with no notice to the public, and in contradiction to previous public statements by Forest officials, the Coronado National Forest has predetermined its decision on the proposed Rosemont Mine. This has been done by precluding selection of the “No Action Alternative” – the only option in the EIS process that would prohibit the Rosemont Mine. This was done despite the fact that the purpose of the EIS, as defined by the National Environmental Policy Act, is to include all alternatives, specifically including the “No Action Alternative.”
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) submitted to the Pima County Board of Supervisors by the Coronado National Forest, states that the Forest Service believes it “cannot categorically prohibit mining activity or deny reasonable mineral operations under the mining laws.”
This statement not only contradicts the NEPA process but also contradicts a public statement made by Coronado National Forest ecosystem management planner, Teresa Ann Ciapusci. At a Rosemont public hearing held on 30 June 2008 she stated, “In our study, the Forest Service will consider a no action alternative.” While the MOU continues to state that the Forest Service will analyze the No Action alternative in the EIS, it also states that the Forest Service, which is supposed to be a neutral judge of the proposed project, will “work[s] with the mining applicant to develop an acceptable legally-compliant Plan of Operations.” This statement makes it sound as though the Forest Service now thinks its role is to provide a helping hand to Augusta, rather than be a federal agency working on behalf of the public.
Save the Scenic Santa Ritas believes that these statements clearly indicate a bias in favor of the Rosemont Mine and a blatant disregard for the thousands of local citizens who have opposed the proposed mine. These statements also ignore the public opposition of the Boards of Supervisors in Pima and Santa Cruz counties; the City/Town/Community Councils of Tucson, Sahuarita, Marana, Oro Valley, Green Valley and Patagonia; and the San Xavier District of the Tohono O’odham Nation.
Gayle Hartmann, president of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, notes, “Forest Service officials have often said that the mine decision will likely wind up being made in the courts. This disregard of NEPA and of widespread local opposition is one more step in that direction.”
Pima County also disagrees with the Forest Service position. In a Memo from Pima County Administrator, Charles Huckelberry to the Board of Supervisors, he states, “We still have a significant disagreement with the Forest Service regarding their ability to select a no-action alternative as part of the EIS, and how the project purpose and need are so narrowly defined as to exclude meaningful alternatives.” He continues, “We will continue to pursue this specific issue with our Congressional delegation and the Secretary of the Interior, as well as the Secretary of Agriculture.”
County seeks involvement in mine review process
Pima County officials hope they can influence the environmental requirements placed on a proposed copper mine in Santa Rita Mountains by becoming a "cooperating agency" in the Forest Service review process.
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/295312.php
Updates
1- I called the County and was advised that the County unanimously agreed to be a participating 'cooperating agency.'
2- After a couple of E-mails, with the Star, I was told that the Star is cautioning those who turn topic threads into a series of personal attacks and fake registrations by both sides of the issue. They further said that the editors have only restricted those articles, from comments, where the comments do not advance the conversation and that so far, the restriction has been on only a few topics, such as local crime, with mining now under that same internal scrutiny
3- Please contact the Star, not allowing comments is censorship. Both sides of any issue should have the opportunity to comment.
Debbie Kornmiller kornmill@azstarnet.com
CAP PIPELINE ISSUE
*******The Bureau of Reclamation is issuing the subject draft environmental assessment, on the proposed CWCGV (Community Water Company Green Valley) CAP Water Distribution System and Recharge Facility (Proposed Project), for public review and comment. This EA has been prepared to describe and assess the environmental consequences that may result from construction and operation of the proposed project to take and use its CAP entitlement of 2,858 acre-feet per year. Reclamation will hold a public meeting to receive oral comments regarding the adequacy of the draft EA on *March 26, 2009, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. American Legion Post 66 1560 West Duval Mine Road Green Valley, Arizona
ELECTRICITY FOR ROSEMONT
******Tucson Electric Power (TEP) is in the preliminary stages of planning for the construction and operation of new electrical transmission facilities to serve the proposed Rosemont Copper Company (Rosemont) operations. The power delivery requirements will necessitate expansion of the existing electrical system in the area, including construction of a new 138-kilovolt (kV) transmission line, a new substation at the Rosemont facilities, and upgrades to an existing substation. The transmission line is expected to be in service by early 2011. PUBLIC INFORMATION OPEN HOUSES are being held. Comments will be taken:
*March 24, 2009 5:30-7:30PM Acacia Middle School 12955 East Colossal Cave Road Vail, Arizona 85641 *March 25, 2009 5:30-7:30PM Canoa Hills Social Center Palo Verde Room 3660 South Camino del Sol Green Valley, Arizona 85622 Please visit http://www.tep.com/Company/News/Rosemont/index.asp for information on these meetings.
Tucson's two congressional representatives have taken the Forest Service to task for saying that the service cannot say "no" to the proposed Rosemont mine.
In a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Reps. Raúl Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords criticized the service for having said it will not consider a "no action" alternative on the Rosemont project as part of its formal Environmental Impact Statement review. The service's statement came in a memorandum of understanding with Pima County that the Board of Supervisors adopted last week.
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.13.2009
Dear supporters and friends:
We wanted to let you know that Save the Scenic Santa Ritas was not involved in any way in these acts, and do not know any of the people who were. We do not support this kind of activity. As stated in the article by Gayle Hartmann, our board president, this kind of negative behavior does nothing to further our efforts.
As always, thank you for your continued interest. Kim Beck, Coordinator, SSSR
Fringe group of enviros vandalizing homes, cars
By Tom Beal ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Vandals who claim to act in the name of animal rights and the environment are expanding their targets from laboratories and constructon sites that offend them to homes and cars of those with whom they disagree.On Feb. 19 in Tucson, a UA researcher had her water valve cemented shut and a mining ...
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/mailstory-clickthru/282283.php
3/2/09: AzHighway83.com is against the Proposed Rosemont mining activity and has not, nor condones the activity perpetuated by HAAND. We are not affiliated to this group.
2 mining firms settle suit over Rosemont sale
Augusta Resource Corp. and Asarco LLC have reached a settlement in the lawsuit involving the Rosemont property, the site of a proposed copper mine southeast of Tucson.
Tucson copper producer Asarco had sued for return of the land, stating the company did not received fair value for the property.
Thelma Grimes/Vail Sun
Despite the state of the national economy, Augusta Resource Corporation said it will move full speed ahead with plans to reopen the Rosemont Mine near Vail.
Jamie Sturgess, Augusta's vice president of projects and environment, said the project has been ongoing for the last three years and they will not be putting any of it on hold.
"I know the economy is bad right now, but when you realize the deposit at Rosemont will support 20 to 25 years of mining, there's good reason to keep going," he said. "We already have three years invested, and actual construction, or production is still about three-and-a-half years away."
Opponents are not so sure.
Gayle Hartman, president of the Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, said she is a little hesitant to believe Augusta Resources is so optimistic about the future.
"Considering the steep drop in both copper prices and Augusta's stock, combined with the strength of local opposition, it seems unlikely that the proposed mine has much chance of occurring," she said.
To further discuss what is happening, and what the community will be doing in the future regarding the mining proposal, Hartman said a public meeting will be held Jan. 13 at 7 p.m., at the Corona Fire Station in Corona De Tucson.
While Augusta, a Canadian company, proceeds with the process, Sturgess said the actual production is far enough off that the next few months of economic uncertainty will not be a problem.
What may be a problem for the project, proposed off State Route 83 in the Santa Rita Mountains, is opposition from the public and from state and federal lawmakers.
Augusta Resources asked the U.S. Forest Service to approve a plan that would allow them to begin operations in the Rosemont Mine, which includes 995 acres of private land, 3,670 acres of National Forest land, 15 acres of land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and 75 acres of Arizona State Trust Land.
Augusta Resources said the mine will bring 2,950 high-paying jobs, $256 million annually will be generated in Pima County both directly and indirectly, $4.8 million will go toward schools, local governments, families and private businesses in Pima County and $488 million per year will be generated for Arizona's economy.
However, a study released by the Sonoran Institute last year said the economic benefit of the Rosemont Mine project is minimal compared with the cost to repair the damage the open-pit copper operation will cause to the environment.
Joe Marlow said the mine would eliminate tourist revenues, which is estimated to be about $2.95 billion a year, Marlow said.
Throughout 2008, the battle continued through several public hearings hosted by the Forest Service and through various complaints filed by residents and elected officials.
Among the biggest opponents are Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, D-District 8, and Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll, who represents District 4.
Carroll asked Gov. Janet Napolitano to intervene last year, while Giffords has said on several occasions she is looking at changing outdated laws that virtually give mining companies carte blanche.
In the coming year the proposed mine will come under plenty of scrutiny as groups such as the Save the Scenic Santa Ritas (SSR) wait for the environmental impact analysis to be provided by the Forest Service this summer.
The analysis came under fire last year, as residents questioned the Forest Service's process and whether or not they held enough meetings and gathered enough public comments.
Trying to mediate the process, the Forest Service and Giffords' office had attempted to hire a conflict resolution firm to work with residents on the issues regarding the mine.
In early December, however, Carrie Fox of the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution (IECR), pulled out of the project, stating the problem lies in the myriad of smaller decisions that go into that whole, such as decisions about protocol, people the community wishes to have as speakers. Tactical considerations can pull people in different directions or at least dominate their attention, Fox said.
After the environmental impact statement is released, there will be a 45-day public comment period. After the comment period, the Forest Service will present its final findings some time in November 2009.
Sturgess said Rosemont mine first opened in 1880 and shut down just over 50 years ago. The reason for resuming operations is that technological ad-vances will allow crews to get further into the mine, rather than in small veins as they had in the past, he said.
http://vailsun.com/articles/2009/01/06/news/news03.txt
Although the economy seems to be in a freefall, that has had little impact on Augusta Resources Corporation, which still intends to reopen the Rosemont Copper Mine near Vail.
Jamie Sturgess, vice-president of projects and environment for Augusta, said the company is moving full speed ahead. He said actual mining is more than three years away, and by that time he is confident the economy will have recovered.
Augusta has asked the U.S. Forest Service to approve a plan that will allow them to begin mining on land that includes 995 acres of private land, 3,670 acres of National Forest land, and 15 acres of land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and 75 acres of Arizona State Trust Land.
Augusta claims the mine will bring in 2,950 high-paying jobs and generate millions in tax revenues for Pima County. But a study released last year by the Sonoran Institute said the economic benefit of the Rosemont Mine project is minimal compared with the cost to repair the damage the open-pit copper operation will cause to the environment.
Joe Marlow said the mine would eliminate tourist revenues, estimated to be about $2.95 billion a year, Marlow said.
Virtually all local and national lawmakers oppose opening the mine. Nearby residents are also opposed and a plan to mediate their differences fell apart late last year when a mediator brought in by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords pulled out.
Part of the frustration of all of this is the large number of government agencies that all seem to be oblivious to what the others are doing. In an op-ed piece in Sunday's Arizona Daily Star, District 3 Supervisor Sharon Bronson rightly pointed out that lack of coordination is one of the big problems in conserving Arizona lands.
As an example, Augusta proposes to mine near the Cienega Creek Natural Reserve and Conservation area. And while the U.S. Forest Service is dead-set against littering in national forests, they have no problem with allowing Augusta to dump mine tailings on National Forest land. Add to that different standards for protecting the environment for each of the agencies involved and a less than enthusiastic acceptance of public comment and what you have is what looks like a hopeless situation.
We hope that the new administration in Washington will be more concerned with our environmental legacy and will force similar standards on different federal agencies. At least that way, we would know what the rules are.
http://vailsun.com/articles/2009/01/06/opinion/editorials/edit1.txt
I am of Irish and Native American heritage. I learned from my mother that if you steal the life of the earth it will steal yours. If you take its heart it will take yours and if you dig deep and destroy its soul, it will dig deep within you and destroy yours.
This is not just land, this is not just a national forest. This is sacred Indian land. And it is better to give it back to our Indian brothers than to give it to carpetbaggers from Canada to ravage and plunder for 30 pieces of copper.
This would truly be a sacrilege.
In this plot to steal, plunder, rape and pillage our land, it is not the end of this desecration but just the beginning. The ecology of this area will be changed forever. This company will be using our most precious resource here in the desert. They will use and pollute, in the time span of this mine, enough of our water to fill lake Mead 10 times over.
It seems ridiculous that we have been in a legal battle for years with California and Nevada for our fair share of the Colorado River water costing Arizona millions and millions of dollars. Yet, we, in the Tucson basin, will allow a foreign Canadian company, to cause a disaster, right here under our noses. They are doing this right now while we sleep, on board the Titanic.
People of Vail, wake up! Join us in this fight to save our environment, our clean water and our clean air. These cronies will cause a following of pollutions for us now, and for years to come, if you don't turn off that TV and come fight the fight with us.
Rosemont Mine will have an impact on:
• Light pollution: There will be a light pollution from the mine whose lights will be on all night every night.
• Noise pollution: There will be noise pollution from the explosions and digging that will go on constantly.
• Air pollution: There will be air pollution from the dust particles and spores allowed to land on our homes and we will inhale these into our lungs and so will our children. These will cause untold medical anomalies.
• Wildlife desecration: There will be a change in the wildlife habitat, driving out our precious animal life, deer, fox, birds etc.
• Real estate devaluation: There will be a further decline in our real estate values as more and more people get smart and move away.
• Tourism destruction: Finally, there will be a catastrophic loss of billions of dollars in tourism revenue.
Now, that is only part of the story. The rest of this ugly saga is when the mine is tapped out. We get to see what is left for us then, a giant hole in the ground, mountains of slag piles as far as the eye can see.
Do you want to know more? The answer is... turn off your T.V. get involved. Join a group, join me, and raise up your voices.
It's not too late but it will soon be. Something still can be done to stop this. This catastrophe will not happen if you A) read the Vail Sun and stay informed! B) Join us in the fight! Get up, get mad and get involved.
Terry 0' Rourke
Vail
http://vailsun.com/articles/2009/01/06/opinion/editorials/edit2.txt
Total Opposition Opposition is more widespread than a decade ago. Every elected official and government body in the region opposes the Rosemont Project. The county boards of both Pima and Santa Cruz counties surrounding the project have passed resolutions (every resolution passed by local governments has been unanimous). The city of Tucson and the towns of Marana, Patagonia, Oro Valley, and Sahuarita. Both Congressman Raul Grijalva and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who represent the region in the US House of Representatives are in total opposition of the mine project. Republican state legislators Tim Bee, Marian McClure and Jonathan Paton who represent the region in the State or Arizona House and Senate also are in opposition to the project. At both US Forest Service hearings held so far to take public comments about the project, out of 600 people that attends, at most a dozen have spoken in favor of the mine project and nearly all of them work for the company. In short, opposition to the project is overwhelming.
Far from a done deal The first two Plans of Operation Augusta management has submitted to the US Forest Service were rejected as being incomplete. The US Forest Service has accepted the third plan, but it is widely viewed as being incomplete even in statements made by company management. The process used by the Forest Service to begin the permitting process is flawed and pressure is being put on the Forest Service from US Congress Representatives to stop the process until documentation is complete. This rough start to the permitting process will delay progress considerably and will inevitably lead to lawsuits. In addition, new designations of the waters of the nearby Santa Cruz River and Davidson Canyon will require additional permits. It will take at least five years, if not much more, for a decision on mine permits and there is no guarantee that permits would be granted. It is likely that US hard rock mining laws will be revised and updated within the next five years ,which will almost certainly lead to a more arduous permitting process.
Water woes Arizonans are very protective of both their water quality and quantity. The Rosemont project sits at the headwaters of much of the city of Tucson’s water supply and water pollution from a mine at Rosemont would have serious consequences. Hydrological studies conducted by Pima County show that a mine at Rosemont would require dewatering of the open pit by pumping during operation. When mining ceases, groundwater would flow back into the open pit to create a pit lake. This would cause a cone of depression that would dry up area springs and seeps for many years beyond the life of a mine. Augusta is drilling wells on the west side of the Santa Rita Mountains near the town of Sahuarita and plans to pipe water over the top of the mountains to the mine. Early testing of these wells has already caused a drop in production to private wells nearby and there is a serious possibility that company wells would cause widespread problems with private and commercial wells in the area. The fact that Augusta is
trying to get residents in the area to sign agreements that would limit Augusta’s liability in the event that neighboring wells would dry up is an indication that the company recognizes the problem. Finally, Augusta has been buying excess water supplied to Tucson via a canal from the Colorado River 350 miles away to recharge at a facility 30 miles downstream from the company’s water supply wells. While technically in the same water basin, the recharge will do nothing to mitigate problems near the company wells. Projections show that this “excess” water from the Colorado River will run out long
before the mine would close.
Economics A study by the Sonoran Institute shows that a mine at Rosemont would have, at best, no positive impact on the economic wellbeing of the region but more likely would have a negative economic impact. A major conclusion of the study shows that if the Rosemont project displaces only 1% of tourism/outdoor recreational activity in Santa Cruz and Pima Counties, the economic losses would be greater than the entire annual payroll of the project. Since the Santa Rita Mountains are heavily used for recreation and other outdoor activities and Highway 83, which is slated to be the main entrance to the mine, is one of Arizona’s few Scenic Byways and heavily used for tourism, this is a very real possibility. “These beautiful and unique places need to be preserved and protected, not decimated by open pit mining,” said Nancy McCoy, Patagonia business owner and president of the Patagonia Area Business Association. “Our small town livelihoods depend on a pristine landscape. The only livelihoods that will be enriched by these mines are those of the mine owners and investors, who are mostly foreign and out‐of‐state individuals and corporations.”
Conclusion The chances of the Rosemont project being built and successfully operated are small in comparison to the risks involved. It would be prudent for the company to divest itself of this project and move on to a project that has much less risk.
To hear more about problems with the Rosemont project, please attend a briefing following this meeting at 4:00 in room 1510 of the Harbour Centre."
http://www.scenicsantaritas.org/docs/AugustaAGMHandout062308.pdf
MEDIATION DETERIORATION
The Coronado National Forest's attempt to farm out its analytical legwork--and deflect a bit of political heat--surrounding a proposed mine in the Santa Rita Mountains has crashed and burned.Coronado mandarins had hired Tucson's U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution to help sift through public comments on the Rosemont Valley project, which will eventually be melded into a draft environmental statement. In turn, the institute hired an Oregon mediator to convene a citizens' group, with the apparent aim of providing an independent assessment of those roughly 11,000 comments.
But there were formidable problems from the get-go, such as nagging questions over the transparency of a "public" process where meetings were to be held behind closed doors. Then came concerns about what actually could be accomplished; after all, digging half a mine was never much of a compromise.
These hefty hurdles eventually led mediator Carie Fox to pull the plug, after conducting a flurry of late October bull sessions in Tucson. Fox says that both sides in the matter--would-be mining company Augusta Resource Corp. and its fierce opponents--were simply angling for advantage.
"If people are having to think about strategies when they're in my meetings, you know what ends up happening?" Fox says. "Nothing."
Many observers considered the mediation effort doomed from the start. Much of that failure emanates from the simple, irreversible destructiveness of an open-pit mine. Blame also lies with mistrust sewn by Augusta's PR hacks, who haven't missed many chances to twist the truth.
But a big chunk of culpability lands on the doorstep of the Coronado National Forest, which fanned discordant flames with its ham-handed approach to public meetings. Rather than hosting hearings where folks could speak up, Coronado opted for much tamer "open houses," which provided no platform for public give-and-take.
Frustration with that approach exploded at an open house in Patagonia on March 20, when the Forest Service called in Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputies and the U.S. Border Patrol after a local senior citizen got out of hand.
In their defense, Coronado officials argue that they've obeyed the letter of the law. Perhaps that's true. But throughout this long and bitter process, they've repeatedly proven to be tone deaf when it comes to politics and public sentiment. The demise of this ill-advised mediation process is only the latest evidence of a poisoned process.
Still, mine opponents have reason for hope: Crashing copper prices may achieve what angry citizens could not. As Augusta's dreams of huge profits take a tumble, there's buzz that the company could be a bit more motivated to do the right thing--and could sell the embattled Rosemont Valley to Pima County for a decent price.
link to article http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/fromcomments/269819.php
Rosemont mediator backs out of process Just a month after starting, copper mine effort crumbles
By Tony Davis
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
The controversy over the proposed Rosemont Mine has proved too hot to mediate.
An effort to create a public "working group" to analyze the copper mine's environmental effects has collapsed before the group could get started.
Carie Fox, a professional mediator hired to organize the group, announced last week that she's backing out, barely a month after she began organizing for it and before members were appointed.
Causes of the implosion are in dispute. But interviews with many who participated in trying to draw up the group make it clear that the hotly disputed nature of the mine — slated for the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson — made prospects for mediation tenuous at best.
The group would have consisted of environmentalists and other interest group activists, unaffiliated citizens and mining company officials, among others. It was to provide a forum to focus concerns about the mine to help the federal government prepare a detailed environmental impact statement for it.
Some participants in organizational efforts had hoped the group would let them play a greater role in the lengthy process used by the U.S. Forest Service to analyze the mine's effects and make a decision. Fox ran a number of organizational meetings, drawing 130 people total, plus held a major get-together on Nov. 13 that drew 120 people to Vail High School.
But in an interview, Fox, from Portland, Ore., said the intensity of people's feelings about the mine made it unlikely that the group could successfully focus on its appointed tasks: to analyze thousands of public comments about the mine and give the Forest Service alternatives to study.
"They would never be able to focus on the process when they were also focusing on litigation and legislation," Fox said. "It sucks to say 'no.' But what would have been much worse would be to say 'yes' and to drag people through a process that had fundamental, structural problems."
Usually, Fox's job as a mediator in other places has been to try and find consensus. That wasn't possible here, partly because the overwhelming majority of people interested in the working group were opposed to the mine and partly because the dispute couldn't be mediated, she said.
"It's a zero-sum game. I'm not going to bring people to the table to talk about the color of the lights or to talk about half a mine," said Fox.
"We were trying to focus on the process toward the EIS. But doing that, it's like you talk to your doctor and he says, 'Let's not talk about whether you live or die. Let's talk about whether you get the X-rays right.' "
The group's creation was suggested last March by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Tucson Democrat. The Forest Service got started in the fall when it invited the Tucson-based U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution to organize the group, at a cost of $140,400. The institute is part of the Morris K. Udall Foundation, an independent agency overseen by trustees appointed by the president.
Giffords is "deeply disappointed" at the effort's failure, said her spokesman, C.J. Karamargin. She felt the institute's experience and credibility would have helped ensure meaningful public involvement with the environmental analysis, he said.
"A full and open exchange of views has been the congresswoman's top priority since plans for the mine first became known. She believes the public must have a seat at the table during any discussion involving public land and a public agency," Karamargin said.
Sandy Whitehouse, a Corona de Tucson activist, and Jim Pepper, a Sonoita activist, both Rosemont opponents, were also strongly disappointed at the working group's failure.
"It was tragic that we were deprived of an inroad into this process," said Whitehouse. "As long as we had the institute involved and the process for people to get involved with, we had a rope to hang onto and we could keep the momentum going."
Whitehouse blamed environmentalists in part for the group's dissolution. Some felt the whole working group was just a Forest Service ploy to keep citizens placated, while others focused on "the bunnies and the bees" that would be affected instead of the environmental impact statement, she said.
"This process was not supposed to be about expressing views on their opposition to the mine," Whitehouse said. "But every time you have a meeting, you have 20 new people there who want to discuss all of their reasons for being opposed to the mine."
Pepper said the process was too oriented toward "trying to get people with disparate interests to somehow collaborate and reach some kind of consensus. I'm not sure that is what a public oversight group should have been created for."
Environmentalists Randy Serraglio and Gayle Hartmann said they had tried to make the process work and thought the working group could have been effective if run properly. Serraglio noted that after the Nov. 13 meeting, he sent Fox an e-mail saying he believed the group could be valuable, but that its planned approach of analyzing thousands of detailed comments on the mine over the holidays wasn't workable.
Serraglio pointed to Fox's statement announcing her departure, in which she said she didn't feel there was "a stable space for collaborative dialogue," as a sign the mediator wasn't heading in the right direction.
"We were not looking to collaborate with proponents of the mine," said Serraglio, of the environmentalist Center for Biological Diversity. "We wanted to weigh in on the process, make sure issues are analyzed properly and make sure the Forest Service doesn't do its usual rubber-stamp job."
Hartmann, president of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, said Fox had a hard time figuring out what to do after realizing that most people involved opposed the mine.
"She came here with a notion that we would all be engaged in the process . . . what we all were trying to do was to affect the outcome, not just improve the process," Hartmann said.
Jamie Sturgis, vice president of Augusta Resources Corp., Rosemont's owner, said in a statement that he is disappointed at the working group's demise but confident that there will be future opportunities for the public to participate, "to review plans and proposals by Rosemont to provide copper to the nation."
The company would mine copper, silver and molybdenum on 4,400 acres on the east side of the Santa Ritas and dispose of waste rock and tailings. Company officials say the mine would create 500 jobs. Mining could begin in 2011 and continue for 19 years.
Fox's decision will not affect the timetable for its environmental analysis, Forest Service officials said. The draft statement is due in November 2009. The final statement is due in July 2010.
"It was an innovative, ambitious idea," Reta Laford, deputy forest supervisor, said in a statement about the working group. "The U.S. Institute's professional judgment that the working group is not feasible for this particular project means we'll continue assessing other opportunities to maintain public involvement."
Since March, the Forest Service has held nine public meetings on the mine and received more than 11,000 comments on it.
● Contact reporter Tony Davis at 806-7746 or
Link to article: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/fromcomments/269581.php
11/25/08
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
U.S. INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION ANNOUNCES IT WILL NOT BE CONVENING A WORKING GROUP TO ANALYZE THE PUBLIC COMMENTS INVOLVING THE PROPOSED ROSEMONT MINE
Working on behalf of the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution (U.S. Institute), facilitator Carie Fox has completed her assessment of the feasibility of convening a citizen's working group to assist the U.S. Forest Service as it develops its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis of the proposed Rosemont Mine in the Santa Rita Mountains. For the past two months, Fox and the U.S. Institute have been meeting with interested parties to determine whether the initial design concept, a stronger integration of public input into the NEPA analysis, would be practicable. A public meeting to discuss initial findings of the assessment was held at Empire High School in Vail on November 13. More than 100 people attended the meeting to discuss Fox's findings and recommendations.
Based on these discussions, Larry Fisher, Senior Program Manager at the U.S. Institute has concluded that "it will be difficult for people to commit to a sustained, objective effort that focuses on the analysis, rather than the outcome, of the NEPA process. Given the current character of public opinion, there also appears to be little room for truly collaborative dialogue," Fisher said. For these reasons, the U.S. Institute has determined that a broadly inclusive collaborative working group would not be a productive means of citizen involvement or an effective vehicle for enhancement of the Forest Service's NEPA analysis.
Fox and the U.S. Institute have communicated these conclusions to the U.S. Forest Service and to participants who have been involved in the initial assessment effort. Fox has posted a letter on http://rosemontmine.ecr.gov/ detailing some of the conclusions of her assessment.
In lieu of convening a collaborative working group, the U.S. Institute will continue to work with the public and with the Forest Service to explore other options for promoting meaningful public education and input, and greater transparency for the NEPA process. The U.S. Institute will continue to consult with all affected stakeholders as it considers any possible future role in providing neutral and independent services in support of this effort.
The U.S. Institute is a federal program established in 1998 by the U.S. Congress to assist parties in resolving environmental, natural resource and public land conflicts. The U.S. Institute serves as an impartial, non-partisan institution providing professional expertise, services and resources to all parties involved in environmental disputes. It is the practice of the U.S. Institute to determine whether its assistance can make a meaningful contribution to collaboration on a project and involve all affected parties in its assessment of potential opportunities. For more information on the U.S. Institute, visitwww.ecr.gov
The U.S. Institute is a program of the Tucson-based Morris K. Udall Foundation, an independent agency of the executive branch overseen by a board of trustees appointed by the President. The Morris K. Udall Foundation was established in 1992 by Congress to honor the late Morris K. Udall's thirty years of service in the House of Representatives. For more information about the Udall Foundation, visit www.udall.gov
About 30 protesters gathered Downtown Tuesday morning to demonstrate against development of the Rosemont mine ended after about an hour.
The protest was held in front of the federal building, which houses the Forest Service office.
It was organized by Chuk’shon Earth First, which argues that the mine would destroy sensitive desert habitat and contaminate ground water.
The controversial project would create a 1.2-square-mile open pit in the Santa Rita Mountains. Vancouver, B.C.-based Augusta expects the $782.4 million project to begin producing copper in 2011 for 18 years.
The demonstrators began marching from Estevan Park at 8:30 a.m. to the federal building where they remained for approximately an hour.
Tucson police were monitoring the demonstration after learning that the group planned on briefly blocking traffic on West Congress Street, but the group was prevented from doing so.
No arrests were made, said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
“The Forest Service needs to listen to the public and not allow this project to go forward,” said Jeff Williams, an activist with the group. “Do the right thing and deny the permits.”
Members of the group also went in to the Forest Service office to deliver a letter advising officials of why they were protesting, along with other demands http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/fromcomments/280552.php
About 30 protesters gathered Downtown Tuesday morning to demonstrate against development of the Rosemont mine ended after about an hour.
The protest was held in front of the federal building, which houses the Forest Service office.
It was organized by Chuk’shon Earth First, which argues that the mine would destroy sensitive desert habitat and contaminate ground water.
The controversial project would create a 1.2-square-mile open pit in the Santa Rita Mountains. Vancouver, B.C.-based Augusta expects the $782.4 million project to begin producing copper in 2011 for 18 years.
The demonstrators began marching from Estevan Park at 8:30 a.m. to the federal building where they remained for approximately an hour.
Tucson police were monitoring the demonstration after learning that the group planned on briefly blocking traffic on West Congress Street, but the group was prevented from doing so.
No arrests were made, said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
“The Forest Service needs to listen to the public and not allow this project to go forward,” said Jeff Williams, an activist with the group. “Do the right thing and deny the permits.”
Members of the group also went in to the Forest Service office to deliver a letter advising officials of why they were protesting, along with other demands http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/fromcomments/280552.php
Total Opposition Opposition is more widespread than a decade ago. Every elected official and government body in the region opposes the Rosemont Project. The county boards of both Pima and Santa Cruz counties surrounding the project have passed resolutions (every resolution passed by local governments has been unanimous). The city of Tucson and the towns of Marana, Patagonia, Oro Valley, and Sahuarita. Both Congressman Raul Grijalva and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who represent the region in the US House of Representatives are in total opposition of the mine project. Republican state legislators Tim Bee, Marian McClure and Jonathan Paton who represent the region in the State or Arizona House and Senate also are in opposition to the project. At both US Forest Service hearings held so far to take public comments about the project, out of 600 people that attends, at most a dozen have spoken in favor of the mine project and nearly all of them work for the company. In short, opposition to the project is overwhelming.
Far from a done deal The first two Plans of Operation Augusta management has submitted to the US Forest Service were rejected as being incomplete. The US Forest Service has accepted the third plan, but it is widely viewed as being incomplete even in statements made by company management. The process used by the Forest Service to begin the permitting process is flawed and pressure is being put on the Forest Service from US Congress Representatives to stop the process until documentation is complete. This rough start to the permitting process will delay progress considerably and will inevitably lead to lawsuits. In addition, new designations of the waters of the nearby Santa Cruz River and Davidson Canyon will require additional permits. It will take at least five years, if not much more, for a decision on mine permits and there is no guarantee that permits would be granted. It is likely that US hard rock mining laws will be revised and updated within the next five years ,which will almost certainly lead to a more arduous permitting process.
Water woes Arizonans are very protective of both their water quality and quantity. The Rosemont project sits at the headwaters of much of the city of Tucson’s water supply and water pollution from a mine at Rosemont would have serious consequences. Hydrological studies conducted by Pima County show that a mine at Rosemont would require dewatering of the open pit by pumping during operation. When mining ceases, groundwater would flow back into the open pit to create a pit lake. This would cause a cone of depression that would dry up area springs and seeps for many years beyond the life of a mine. Augusta is drilling wells on the west side of the Santa Rita Mountains near the town of Sahuarita and plans to pipe water over the top of the mountains to the mine. Early testing of these wells has already caused a drop in production to private wells nearby and there is a serious possibility that company wells would cause widespread problems with private and commercial wells in the area. The fact that Augusta is
trying to get residents in the area to sign agreements that would limit Augusta’s liability in the event that neighboring wells would dry up is an indication that the company recognizes the problem. Finally, Augusta has been buying excess water supplied to Tucson via a canal from the Colorado River 350 miles away to recharge at a facility 30 miles downstream from the company’s water supply wells. While technically in the same water basin, the recharge will do nothing to mitigate problems near the company wells. Projections show that this “excess” water from the Colorado River will run out long
before the mine would close.
Economics A study by the Sonoran Institute shows that a mine at Rosemont would have, at best, no positive impact on the economic wellbeing of the region but more likely would have a negative economic impact. A major conclusion of the study shows that if the Rosemont project displaces only 1% of tourism/outdoor recreational activity in Santa Cruz and Pima Counties, the economic losses would be greater than the entire annual payroll of the project. Since the Santa Rita Mountains are heavily used for recreation and other outdoor activities and Highway 83, which is slated to be the main entrance to the mine, is one of Arizona’s few Scenic Byways and heavily used for tourism, this is a very real possibility. “These beautiful and unique places need to be preserved and protected, not decimated by open pit mining,” said Nancy McCoy, Patagonia business owner and president of the Patagonia Area Business Association. “Our small town livelihoods depend on a pristine landscape. The only livelihoods that will be enriched by these mines are those of the mine owners and investors, who are mostly foreign and out‐of‐state individuals and corporations.”
Conclusion The chances of the Rosemont project being built and successfully operated are small in comparison to the risks involved. It would be prudent for the company to divest itself of this project and move on to a project that has much less risk.
To hear more about problems with the Rosemont project, please attend a briefing following this meeting at 4:00 in room 1510 of the Harbour Centre."
http://www.scenicsantaritas.org/docs/AugustaAGMHandout062308.pdf
MEDIATION DETERIORATION
The Coronado National Forest's attempt to farm out its analytical legwork--and deflect a bit of political heat--surrounding a proposed mine in the Santa Rita Mountains has crashed and burned.Coronado mandarins had hired Tucson's U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution to help sift through public comments on the Rosemont Valley project, which will eventually be melded into a draft environmental statement. In turn, the institute hired an Oregon mediator to convene a citizens' group, with the apparent aim of providing an independent assessment of those roughly 11,000 comments.
But there were formidable problems from the get-go, such as nagging questions over the transparency of a "public" process where meetings were to be held behind closed doors. Then came concerns about what actually could be accomplished; after all, digging half a mine was never much of a compromise.
These hefty hurdles eventually led mediator Carie Fox to pull the plug, after conducting a flurry of late October bull sessions in Tucson. Fox says that both sides in the matter--would-be mining company Augusta Resource Corp. and its fierce opponents--were simply angling for advantage.
"If people are having to think about strategies when they're in my meetings, you know what ends up happening?" Fox says. "Nothing."
Many observers considered the mediation effort doomed from the start. Much of that failure emanates from the simple, irreversible destructiveness of an open-pit mine. Blame also lies with mistrust sewn by Augusta's PR hacks, who haven't missed many chances to twist the truth.
But a big chunk of culpability lands on the doorstep of the Coronado National Forest, which fanned discordant flames with its ham-handed approach to public meetings. Rather than hosting hearings where folks could speak up, Coronado opted for much tamer "open houses," which provided no platform for public give-and-take.
Frustration with that approach exploded at an open house in Patagonia on March 20, when the Forest Service called in Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputies and the U.S. Border Patrol after a local senior citizen got out of hand.
In their defense, Coronado officials argue that they've obeyed the letter of the law. Perhaps that's true. But throughout this long and bitter process, they've repeatedly proven to be tone deaf when it comes to politics and public sentiment. The demise of this ill-advised mediation process is only the latest evidence of a poisoned process.
Still, mine opponents have reason for hope: Crashing copper prices may achieve what angry citizens could not. As Augusta's dreams of huge profits take a tumble, there's buzz that the company could be a bit more motivated to do the right thing--and could sell the embattled Rosemont Valley to Pima County for a decent price.
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Rosemont mediator backs out of process Just a month after starting, copper mine effort crumbles
By Tony Davis
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
The controversy over the proposed Rosemont Mine has proved too hot to mediate.
An effort to create a public "working group" to analyze the copper mine's environmental effects has collapsed before the group could get started.
Carie Fox, a professional mediator hired to organize the group, announced last week that she's backing out, barely a month after she began organizing for it and before members were appointed.
Causes of the implosion are in dispute. But interviews with many who participated in trying to draw up the group make it clear that the hotly disputed nature of the mine — slated for the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson — made prospects for mediation tenuous at best.
The group would have consisted of environmentalists and other interest group activists, unaffiliated citizens and mining company officials, among others. It was to provide a forum to focus concerns about the mine to help the federal government prepare a detailed environmental impact statement for it.
Some participants in organizational efforts had hoped the group would let them play a greater role in the lengthy process used by the U.S. Forest Service to analyze the mine's effects and make a decision. Fox ran a number of organizational meetings, drawing 130 people total, plus held a major get-together on Nov. 13 that drew 120 people to Vail High School.
But in an interview, Fox, from Portland, Ore., said the intensity of people's feelings about the mine made it unlikely that the group could successfully focus on its appointed tasks: to analyze thousands of public comments about the mine and give the Forest Service alternatives to study.
"They would never be able to focus on the process when they were also focusing on litigation and legislation," Fox said. "It sucks to say 'no.' But what would have been much worse would be to say 'yes' and to drag people through a process that had fundamental, structural problems."
Usually, Fox's job as a mediator in other places has been to try and find consensus. That wasn't possible here, partly because the overwhelming majority of people interested in the working group were opposed to the mine and partly because the dispute couldn't be mediated, she said.
"It's a zero-sum game. I'm not going to bring people to the table to talk about the color of the lights or to talk about half a mine," said Fox.
"We were trying to focus on the process toward the EIS. But doing that, it's like you talk to your doctor and he says, 'Let's not talk about whether you live or die. Let's talk about whether you get the X-rays right.' "
The group's creation was suggested last March by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Tucson Democrat. The Forest Service got started in the fall when it invited the Tucson-based U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution to organize the group, at a cost of $140,400. The institute is part of the Morris K. Udall Foundation, an independent agency overseen by trustees appointed by the president.
Giffords is "deeply disappointed" at the effort's failure, said her spokesman, C.J. Karamargin. She felt the institute's experience and credibility would have helped ensure meaningful public involvement with the environmental analysis, he said.
"A full and open exchange of views has been the congresswoman's top priority since plans for the mine first became known. She believes the public must have a seat at the table during any discussion involving public land and a public agency," Karamargin said.
Sandy Whitehouse, a Corona de Tucson activist, and Jim Pepper, a Sonoita activist, both Rosemont opponents, were also strongly disappointed at the working group's failure.
"It was tragic that we were deprived of an inroad into this process," said Whitehouse. "As long as we had the institute involved and the process for people to get involved with, we had a rope to hang onto and we could keep the momentum going."
Whitehouse blamed environmentalists in part for the group's dissolution. Some felt the whole working group was just a Forest Service ploy to keep citizens placated, while others focused on "the bunnies and the bees" that would be affected instead of the environmental impact statement, she said.
"This process was not supposed to be about expressing views on their opposition to the mine," Whitehouse said. "But every time you have a meeting, you have 20 new people there who want to discuss all of their reasons for being opposed to the mine."
Pepper said the process was too oriented toward "trying to get people with disparate interests to somehow collaborate and reach some kind of consensus. I'm not sure that is what a public oversight group should have been created for."
Environmentalists Randy Serraglio and Gayle Hartmann said they had tried to make the process work and thought the working group could have been effective if run properly. Serraglio noted that after the Nov. 13 meeting, he sent Fox an e-mail saying he believed the group could be valuable, but that its planned approach of analyzing thousands of detailed comments on the mine over the holidays wasn't workable.
Serraglio pointed to Fox's statement announcing her departure, in which she said she didn't feel there was "a stable space for collaborative dialogue," as a sign the mediator wasn't heading in the right direction.
"We were not looking to collaborate with proponents of the mine," said Serraglio, of the environmentalist Center for Biological Diversity. "We wanted to weigh in on the process, make sure issues are analyzed properly and make sure the Forest Service doesn't do its usual rubber-stamp job."
Hartmann, president of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, said Fox had a hard time figuring out what to do after realizing that most people involved opposed the mine.
"She came here with a notion that we would all be engaged in the process . . . what we all were trying to do was to affect the outcome, not just improve the process," Hartmann said.
Jamie Sturgis, vice president of Augusta Resources Corp., Rosemont's owner, said in a statement that he is disappointed at the working group's demise but confident that there will be future opportunities for the public to participate, "to review plans and proposals by Rosemont to provide copper to the nation."
The company would mine copper, silver and molybdenum on 4,400 acres on the east side of the Santa Ritas and dispose of waste rock and tailings. Company officials say the mine would create 500 jobs. Mining could begin in 2011 and continue for 19 years.
Fox's decision will not affect the timetable for its environmental analysis, Forest Service officials said. The draft statement is due in November 2009. The final statement is due in July 2010.
"It was an innovative, ambitious idea," Reta Laford, deputy forest supervisor, said in a statement about the working group. "The U.S. Institute's professional judgment that the working group is not feasible for this particular project means we'll continue assessing other opportunities to maintain public involvement."
Since March, the Forest Service has held nine public meetings on the mine and received more than 11,000 comments on it.
● Contact reporter Tony Davis at 806-7746 or
Link to article: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/fromcomments/269581.php
tdavis@azstarnet.com.
11/25/08
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
U.S. INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION ANNOUNCES IT WILL NOT BE CONVENING A WORKING GROUP TO ANALYZE THE PUBLIC COMMENTS INVOLVING THE PROPOSED ROSEMONT MINE
Working on behalf of the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution (U.S. Institute), facilitator Carie Fox has completed her assessment of the feasibility of convening a citizen's working group to assist the U.S. Forest Service as it develops its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis of the proposed Rosemont Mine in the Santa Rita Mountains. For the past two months, Fox and the U.S. Institute have been meeting with interested parties to determine whether the initial design concept, a stronger integration of public input into the NEPA analysis, would be practicable. A public meeting to discuss initial findings of the assessment was held at Empire High School in Vail on November 13. More than 100 people attended the meeting to discuss Fox's findings and recommendations.
Based on these discussions, Larry Fisher, Senior Program Manager at the U.S. Institute has concluded that "it will be difficult for people to commit to a sustained, objective effort that focuses on the analysis, rather than the outcome, of the NEPA process. Given the current character of public opinion, there also appears to be little room for truly collaborative dialogue," Fisher said. For these reasons, the U.S. Institute has determined that a broadly inclusive collaborative working group would not be a productive means of citizen involvement or an effective vehicle for enhancement of the Forest Service's NEPA analysis.
Fox and the U.S. Institute have communicated these conclusions to the U.S. Forest Service and to participants who have been involved in the initial assessment effort. Fox has posted a letter on http://rosemontmine.ecr.gov/ detailing some of the conclusions of her assessment.
In lieu of convening a collaborative working group, the U.S. Institute will continue to work with the public and with the Forest Service to explore other options for promoting meaningful public education and input, and greater transparency for the NEPA process. The U.S. Institute will continue to consult with all affected stakeholders as it considers any possible future role in providing neutral and independent services in support of this effort.
The U.S. Institute is a federal program established in 1998 by the U.S. Congress to assist parties in resolving environmental, natural resource and public land conflicts. The U.S. Institute serves as an impartial, non-partisan institution providing professional expertise, services and resources to all parties involved in environmental disputes. It is the practice of the U.S. Institute to determine whether its assistance can make a meaningful contribution to collaboration on a project and involve all affected parties in its assessment of potential opportunities. For more information on the U.S. Institute, visitwww.ecr.gov
The U.S. Institute is a program of the Tucson-based Morris K. Udall Foundation, an independent agency of the executive branch overseen by a board of trustees appointed by the President. The Morris K. Udall Foundation was established in 1992 by Congress to honor the late Morris K. Udall's thirty years of service in the House of Representatives. For more information about the Udall Foundation, visit www.udall.gov
11/17/08
KOLD REPORT
Rosemont mine parent reports Q3
By Toby Herschler - email
Canada's Augusta Resource reports losing $9.4 million in the first nine months of the 2008, nearly double the loss reported over the same period last year.
Augusta wants the to mine copper and other metals on its Rosemont property on the eastern edge of the Santa Rita mountains south of Tucson.
The Forest Service is currently studying Rosemont's operating plan for environmental impact.
Augusta's third quarter report says the company will need to find money to continue developing Rosemont, and that while the company is seeking alternative financing there is no assurance that capital will be available for continuing mine development.
An Augusta official who spoke to KOLD News 13 emphasized that pre-production development of Rosemont will be an ongoing process over the next two years
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