Please contact your Members of Congress to pass the Save Oak Flat Act On January 17, 2019, the Save Oak Flat Act was introduced in the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.  The Bills would repeal Section 3003 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015...

 If you are in Washington, DC, on March 11, 2020, please attend this rally to protect Oak Flat.

The deadline for this action has expired. The Coronado National Forest is currently accepting comments on the Sunnyside Exploratory Drilling Project in the Patagonia Mountains A Canadian junior mining company is attempting to develop another mining project in the...

The Tonto National Forest has released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) examining Rio Tinto’s Resolution Copper mine proposal and is asking for your comments. The deadline for comments is November 7, 2019.  Please go to our alert to learn more and to edit...

New Reports reveal serious problems with Proposed Resolution Copper mine proposal and US Forest Service DEIS The Arizona Mining Reform Coalition has released three new reports showing that Resolution Copper’s proposal to mine copper and the US Forest Service’s Draft...

The US Forest Service will host 6 public meetings starting September 10 in Superior, AZ, on Rio Tinto's proposal to destroy Oak Flat and thousands of additional acres of public land.  The Forest Service has added (as of September 20) another meeting in Tempe, AZ on...

High above the town of Superior a hour east of Phoenix, Arizona, lies Oak Flat.  Oak Flat campground was protected from mining by President Eisenhower in 1955 and is a rare desert riparian area with large oak trees, cool shade, year around water in pools and springs. ...

Please comment now to protect precious Arizona groundwater

The deadline for comments is Tuesday, February 27, 2018, so act now!

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently accepting comments for a draft permit that would allow a brand-new mining company with no track record to pollute Arizona groundwater to extract copper from Arizona grasslands rich in cultural heritage just upstream from the Willcox playa, winter home to thousands of imperiled Sandhill cranes.

The permit would allow the company to drill 1,400 wells and inject over 7,000,000 gallons of sulfuric acid a day into the groundwater. 

In-situ mining is a type of mining that injects acid into the ground to dissolve copper and other minerals.  This toxic solution of copper and acid is then pumped from the ground and processed to remove the copper.  In-situ mining, by definition, is the intentional pollution of ground water.  In-situ mining has long been used to produce uranium but (outside of several existing mines) has never been attempted to mine copper.  No in-situ mine has ever returned the groundwater to pre-mining conditions.

Please send the EPA comments on this inappropriate project. 

For More Information:
Original comments from a Coalition of groups
Supplemental comments
EPA’s project website

 

Updated 2/26/18

On June 15, 2017, the Save Oak Flat Act was introduced in the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.  The Bills would repeal Section 3003 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015 and keep Oak Flat in public ownership.

Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) introduced the US House version, HR 2915, with 30 cosponsors from both parties. 

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced S 1375, the Senate version of the Save Oak Flat Act with four cosponsors, Senators Merkley (D-OR), Wyden (D-OR), Heinrich (D-NM), and Booker (D-NJ).

The success of the Save Oak Fat Act is very important for the protection of Oak Flat. 

Please contact your Representative asking him/her to cosponsor HR 2915 and your Senators to cosponsor S 1375.  (If your Congressional delegation members are already cosponsors, please thank him/her for helping to protect Oak Flat).

Attend public workshops in Superior and Gilbert to tell the Forest Service to protect Oak Flat