Town of Superior Ends Agreements with Rio Tinto
On February 21, 2013, the town of Superior officially terminated its Mutual Benefits Agreement with Rio Tinto and withdrew it’s letter of support for the Oak Flat land exchange.
The town’s letter begins, “Due to the financial condition of the Town of Superior, I have been instructed to inform you that we regret that we can no longer express our unqualified support of the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act (HR 687 or SB 339, as drafted.)”
The letter cites 6 reasons for the termination with its relationship with Rio Tinto:
of water a day from its normal course down Queen Creek to a pipeline carrying the water directly to the Phoenix area where it is diluted and dumped on agriculture fields in return for water credits going to Rio Tinto that could be used should Rio Tinto develop a proposed mine at Oak Flat. This diversion has left Queen Valley, a small retirement community centered around it’s golf course, with water shortages.See the