Hearing shows divide on Rosemont mineBy Tony Davis Arizona Daily Star Tucson , Arizona | Published: 02.25.2007 A contentious congressional field hearing Saturday in Tucson kicked off a two-year effort by Rep. Raúl Grijalva to prevent new mining on public lands in Pima County and to overhaul federal mining law. But after sitting through three hours of divided testimony Saturday about a proposed copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains, Grijalva acknowledged his goals will be difficult. Getting legislation passed to change the 1872 Mining Law or withdraw the Rosemont Ranch site from mining activity is "not going to be a walk in the park," the Tucson Democrat said. "None of these efforts will be easy. I knew that going in," Grijalva said shortly after holding the oversight hearing, for two House subcommittees, on the mining law's impact on the Santa Ritas, south of Tucson. Among more than 20 speakers from the general public, mine opponents outnumbered supporters by more than 2-1, after six scheduled speakers from both sides gave their views. That's just a hint of the tensions that will surface when hearings on the 135-year-old mining law are held later across the West, Grijalva said. More than 300 environmentalists and mining-industry supporters packed a hearing room Downtown to argue for and against Augusta Resources Corp.'s plans to start mining 225 million pounds of copper annually from the Rosemont Ranch in the Santa Ritas in 2010. Opponents hammered at what they see as the inability of mining operations to clean up environmental damage after a mine closes; threats of air and water pollution from dust, leaks and spills; and the industry's boom-bust economic cycle. Allies of Rosemont stressed its 400 proposed jobs, the need for mining in the United States so mining jobs won't go to other countries, and the risk to national security from depending on foreign countries for copper. Afterward, Grijalva, who chairs the House Resources environment and public lands subcommittee, laid out the following agenda: ● He'll first push legislation this year removing the 17,000 acres of public land planned for Rosemont from mining. ● Then, he'll try to push separate legislation withdrawing all public lands in Pima County and possibly Eastern Santa Cruz County from new mining activity. He has no specific timetable for introducing bills. ● He'll look into concerns raised by Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry —but rejected by the U.S. Forest Service — that Augusta Resources doesn't have valid claims to use public lands surrounding its 3,000-acre Rosemont property for mining. ● By early next year Grijalva said he hopes to put together a bill to reform the 1872 Mining Law, a law that now makes it difficult if not impossible for federal agencies to deny companies the right to mine on public lands and doesn't require companies to pay mineral royalties. Grijalva's fellow Tucson Democrat, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, said in a statement that she has very deep concerns about putting an open pit mine in one of Southern Arizona's most scenic areas and finds it "telling" that the 1872 law has no environmental, public health or safety provisions. Several industry supporters urged Grijalva not to tamper with the law, although others said the law should allow for charging royalties. A spokeswoman for the American Institute of Professional Geologists said the group supports unfettered access to public lands to "environmentally responsible and smart" mineral-resource development. "Restricting access to public lands severely inhibits the responsible development of domestic energy and mineral resources," testified Dawn Garcia, a Tucson geologist. "Lack of access to public lands encourages imports of oil, metals and other resources from other countries without the environmental protection laws that we have in the U.S., or from countries where those laws are not enforced." A mining industry geologist, Tim Marsh of Mesa, testified that, "You can't go (just) anywhere on this planet and find copper . . . the Santa Rita Mountains, a very precious environment, needs to be preserved for the exploitation of mineral resources." But resident Cynthia Lunine recounted tales of encountering hazardous, open mine shafts and possibly toxic tailings or waste piles while growing up in Lordsburg, N.M., and living the past 12 years at the base of the Santa Ritas. "In addition to hazards, mines destroy property values," Lunine testified, telling of her family's recent efforts to buy back her mother's family home. After inspecting the property, "what we found is that it had been devastated by mining." "A fluorspar mine across the Gila River had been allowed to dump all the mill crushing/tailings on the land in a huge, multi-acre surface," in the 1970s or '80s," she said. Huckelberry testified that more than 35,000 acres, or twice the size of Tucson Mountain Park, have been or are being mined in Pima County, and he knows of no plans by any mine to try to restore their site's natural landscape. James A. Sturgess, Augusta Resource Corp.'s vice president of projects and environment, told Congresswoman Giffords that the Rosemont mine was valued last April at $500 million, contains 5 billion pounds of copper, 100 million pounds of molybdenum and 100 million ounces of silver, and will generate a total of $1.8 billion in federal income taxes during the project's 20-year life. ● Contact reporter Tony Davis at 806-7746 or [email protected]. |