2007 and 2009 biological inventories of Devil’s Canyon below State Highway 60. This area will likely be heavily impacted by the proposed Resolution Copper minenearby.
This stretch of Devil’s canyon has perennial water, lush riparian vegetation, and National Park-like scenery. Riparian species flourish along this stretch of canyon including Black and Zone-tailed Hawks and Peregrine Falcons.
Please read the press statement released by the San Carlos Apache Tribe on the mark -up of S 409 on Wendsday, December 16th, 2009.
Well folks, it’s official. The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee would rather give another handout to a foreign mining consortium worth $300 Billion than to protecting the religious freedom or the natural treasures of this country.
Today, by a voice vote and without debate The Committee passed S 409 as amended along with 31 other bills despite knowing that the compromise between Senator Bingaman and Senator McCain did not pass muster from taxpayers, Native Americans, climbers, or conservationists. To get the job done Senator Bingaman and Senator McCain resorted to backroom horse-trading and maneuvers instead of doing the people’s business in the light of day.
Please contact your Senators on the Committee and express your disappointment and stay tuned for ways you can help stop this government handout on the Senate floor and in the House.
There will be campaign corks popping in the corporate headquarters of Rio Tinto in London and BHP in Australia, but to put things in perspective, these mining giants have had an army of paid lobbyists and PR hacks working this legislation since 2004 and this is the first time they’ve gotten a bill out of committee. Who says the average Joe or Jane can’t make a difference?
The following statement was released by Congressman Grijalva today on human rights violations by Rio Tinto and the Oak Flat land exchange.
Wednesday December 16, 2009
Washington, DC – Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva today questioned the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s decision to vote on the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2009 without investigating the poor human rights record – including alleged illegal payments to a foreign army – of the bill’s main beneficiary, mining conglomerate Rio Tinto.
The bill grants Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton,a lucrative land swap in central Arizona that would give the company mining rights it values at approximately $140 billion over the mine’s projected life span. The company would receive the title to land previously removed from mining activities by President Eisenhower’s administration.
According to the US EPA, Arizona mines are once again Arizona’s biggest polluters. Each year, the EPA releases it’s Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data for each state. This inventory, required by law since 1987, tallies pollution released into our air, water, and ground. These releases are not verified independently and come form the companies themselves, so the figures are probably conservative.
For 2008, 7 out of the top 10 polluters in Arizona are mines. The report shows that toxic release in Arizona increased by 7% in 2008 while the national average dropped 6%. The Arizona figures do not include billions of pounds of tailings that Congress exempted from the reporting requirements.