The Tonto National Forest has began the permitting process for Rio Tinto’s proposed mine at Oak Flat on March 18, 2106. The first step in the process is a 60 day scoping comment period running from March 18 – May 17. During this period, the public will provide comments to the Forest Service to help them identify the issues that should be studied and included when they write a Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
The Forest Service has scheduled 4 open houses to explain Rio Tinto’s mining plan and to take public comments. Those meetings all take place from 5:00 – 8:00 PM.
They are:
- March 31, Queen Valley Recreation Hall, 1478 East Queen Valley Drive, Queen Valley.
- April 4, Superior High School, 100 Mary Drive, Superior.
- April 5, Elks Lodge, 1775 East Maple Street, Globe.
- April 6, Southwest Regional Library, 775 North Green Field Road, Gilbert.
Please sign up for our action alerts to make sure you will receive notification on how and when to act on this scoping period and other actions. Please also check back to this page as we will soon provide information and an action page to help you prepare and submit your comments.
Go here for some taliking points to bring up at the public meetings.
For More information:
Forst Service project website
Forest Service scoping factsheet
Federal Register Notice
Uploaded or changed last on 3/20/16