Editorial: Mining impact statement raises stakes

An environmental impact statement on the Rosemont Mine is being developed by the Coronado National Forest staff. The Forest Service oversees the permitting for mining and never has rejected one under the 1872 Mining Law.

The process includes a series of meetings, including one tonight in Green Valley, for the public to comment.

The forest sits next to the proposed Rosemont Mine in the Santa Rita Mountains and will be impacted more than any area in Southern Arizona. It would be used partially for operations if Augusta Resource Corp. wins approval for the open-pit mine east of Green Valley.

The argument over Rosemont has been passionate for nearly two years. Once Pima County residents understood the scope of Augusta’s intentions, many were outraged. Politicians from state Senate President Tim Bee, R-Corona de Tucson, to U.S. Reps. Gabrielle Giffords and Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., to Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll, a Republican, have raised objections.

With the price of copper high, Augusta wants to start construction on the mine and wants to begin hauling its precious cargo to market in 2010. The timetable seems unreasonable, but the Canadian company has to keep its stakeholders interested.

The process toward a resolution goes forward with the environmental impact statement. The federal government does not have to abide by the findings in the report, but it must be filed when the federal government takes a “major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment,” as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

The environmental impact statement usually contains four sections: a introduction and purpose and need for the proposed action; a description of the affected environment; alternatives to the proposed action, and an analysis of the environmental impacts.

The detailed information will be distributed to government agencies, political leaders and the public.

Some consider compilation of a mining environmental impact statement to be an exercise in folly. After all, the Forest Service and 1872 Mining Law will determine whether the mine goes forward. The Bush administration has said it has no intention of signing legislation pushed by Grijalva and Giffords to update the law.

The NEPA contains no language that would prohibit the federal government from granting licenses and permits to Augusta. The act only requires that the impacts be understood, and disclosed, in advance.

The Forest Service can, however, raise concerns. It can tell Augusta that it must mitigate some problems before the mine can open. Issues that could change the complexion of the mine would be ones of health and safety.

Water is a major issue in Green Valley. Augusta’s agreement with the Community Water Company of Green Valley to extend the Central Arizona Project pipeline into the area, subject to approval by regulators, was seen as a water grab by the company. The area aquifer has been dwindling regularly, raising concerns that the mine would jeopardize the water supply.

Critics also have questioned the validity of Augusta’s claims. The Sonoran Institute released a report last month saying the mine would take a toll on tourism and property values.

“Tourism and travel-related economic activity is crucially important to the economy, particularly in rural areas where the (proposed) mine is located,” says Ian Wilson, a spokesman for the Sonoran Institute.

The impact is so important, Wilson says, “that even a 1 percent impact on tourism spending in that area would more than offset the total annual benefits associated with the mine.” Those benefits are estimated at around $20 million.

The Rosemont Mine is supposed to have a 20-year lifespan. Would the short-term project, with the possibility of some high-paying jobs, be worth the impact on the environment and economy? Small towns near the mine, such as Patagonia, have positioned themselves as tourist attractions. A tourist economy seems like a sure bet compared to the roller-coaster price of copper through the years.

Nils Urman, community and economic development director for the city of Nogales, said she’s skeptical of the promise of 500 high-paying jobs at the mine.

“It’s easy to discuss creating jobs,” he says. “But nobody goes back later to verify what jobs have really been created. And anybody who says they’ve created a job has always had help” from some other factor in the local economy.

Augusta has hired public-relations experts and even union members to campaign on its behalf.

“Mining jobs normally pay two and three times as much as entry-level tourism jobs,” Bill Hogan, an Asarco employee and president of United Steelworkers Local 937, told our sister newspaper Tucson Weekly. “If I had a choice of whether I’d rather see Tucson’s economy expand by 3,000 tourism jobs or 400 mining jobs, I’d rather have mining jobs. That’s just the way I look it.”

Green Valley has lived with mining for decades. Mines owned by Freeport-McMoRan and Asarco make up the community’s Western border. But the issues involved in opening a new mine require fresh examination and could change with winds in Washington.

The environmental impact statement hearings will help residents understand the issue. Everyone will know what’s at stake if the Rosemont Mine opens for business.

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