TUCSON, Ariz. — On Monday, October 26th, the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition and several other environmental organizations submitted public comments to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), arguing that the department did not meet its mandate to protect Arizona water in a recently-published draft total maximum daily load (TMDL) for the Upper Queen Creek Watershed. This draft TMDL represents the department’s latest failure in a nearly 25-year effort to address pollution in Queen Creek. It also raises serious technical and legal questions as drafted and if approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is another example of the department’s prioritization of multi-national mining interests to the detriment of Arizonans.
Read our joint press release with the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club – Grand Canyon Chapter, Earthworks, and Concerned Citizens & Retired Miners of Superior here.
Read our public comments here.