The Concerned Citizens and Retired Miner Coalition is hosting a Picnic and rally at Oak Flat Campground this weekend as part of World Earth Day.
Please join us at Oak Flat.
The celebration starts Friday afternoon, April 20 and goes through the Day on Saturday April 21.
The picnic will be held at the Oak Flat campgrounds at the first campsite under the big oaks.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is in the middle of a public comment period for a draft Aquifer Protection Permit (APP) they propose to give Augusta Resources for its proposed Rosemont Mine.
There are many things wrong with the draft permit. Some are institutional with all APP’s and some are unique to this draft proposal.
While we are still reviewing the draft permit and factsheet, we have identified a number of problems with the proposal.
Please see a factsheet outlining problems with this APP.
Please see comments we have written on other Draft Aquifer Protection Permits to get a better idea of the institutional limitations of these permits in general.
ADEQ Documents:
On September 29, the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality denied Augusta Resource Corporation an air quality permit for the proposed Rosemont mine. Pima County cited a number of deficiencies in the permit application. (Read Pima County’s letter to Augusta here.) Augusta now has several options. They can appeal the decision, give up and go home, or they can submit a new, correct permit and try again.
This is good news and shows that Augusta does not have the wherewithal to handle the intricacies of building a mine. While this does not mean that the fight to protect the Santa Ritas is over, it does show that despite Augusta’s multi-million dollar PR campaign to bully Tucson and the surrounding communities into accepting their mine proposal, has fallen short.
Curis Resources, a Canadian Junior mining company is proposing an in-situ copper mine on the banks of the Gila River within the town boundaries of Florence, Arizona.
Don Steuter, the Conservation Chair of the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club (and one of our steering committee members), wrote an editorial about the proposed project which appeared in the Arizona Republic today.
Several organizations have sent letters to the House Natural Resources Committee opposing the Oak Flat land exchange.
Of note are:
The Access Fund — A national climbers advocacy group dedicated to climbing access and conservation.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation — an organization dedicated to saving historic places and revitalizing America’s communities.
Concerned Climbers of Arizona — an organization advocating continued recreational access to climbing areas that are threatened by development or other forms of encroachment.
Bryan O’Neal has created a new 2 minute preview of the Great Oak Flat Land Giveaway. See the video below or on YouTube.
See this video to learn why we should protect the Grand Canyon from uranium mining. Comments are due May 4.
Grand Canyon Uranium Mining PSA from James Q Martin Media on Vimeo.
See a clip to learn why we should protect the Grand Canyon from Uranium Mining.
Grand Canyon Uranium Mining PSA from James Q Martin Media on Vimeo.
One would think that in Arizona, which has the worst mining
laws and regulations of any state in the union, the mining industry would
realize how good they’ve got it. However,
in their quest to mine fettered only by the limits of their own greed, min
ing
companies carp as loudly as ever about being over-burdened and over-regulated
to death.
Mining companies trot out a list as long as your arm about
how many reports and permits they are required to obtain. However, given the track record of the mining
industry in Arizona, there is a good reason for regulation – for nearly 150
years, mining in Arizona has proven to be a social and environmental nightmare.
The truth however, is far different.