FOREST SERVICE QUESTIONS
According to an article in World Mining Stocks from Sept 2007, issue 11 Gil Clausen, president and CEO of Augusta Resource noted that although developing Rosemont is the companies primary focus, three other properties in Augusta's land holdings offered opportunities for further exploration. These properties are the Peach-Elgin, Broadtop Butte, and Copper World prospects. The article makes it clear that Augusta has no intentions of stopping with the Rosemont Mine. Rosemont may be where they plan to start but it looks like they intend on pursuing several future mines along the Sonoita-Patagonia Scenic route, and one on the west side of the Santa Rita's, which will be visible from Green Valley. Augusta is not making it clear to the public what their future intentions are in the Santa Rita's
These are our concerns and some questions we would like answered by the National Forest Service representatives:
General
Questions:
1. What type of trust is being established for the land reclamation? When will it be funded in full?
2. What criteria will be used to determine when the Rosemont mine is closed?
3. Who in the forest service actually makes the final decision whether to grant the Rosemont mine the right to use National Forest Service land? What criteria is their decision based upon.
Water Resources;
Questions concerning water resources
1. There are already strains on the water supply coming from the Colorado River to the Central Arizona Project. One look at lake levels along the damn system will verify this. If water allocations are reduced due to lack of water will Augusta Resources guarantee in writing that the reduction in water will be absorbed by them in their allocation and not the public of Green Valley and Sahurita even if that leads to the requirement of shutting down or slowing activity at the mine?
2. If the groundwater in our area becomes polluted like the Green Valley water where, will the water for all of us living in the Sonoita/Patagonia corridor come from and will Augusta Resources guarantee they will pay all related expenses to get it piped directly to our homes?
3. Is there any guarantee that Rosemont mine will not pump groundwater from the East side of the Santa Rita’s?
4. What effect on the groundwater table will digging a mile wide 2500 foot deep pit have on the groundwater on the East side of the Santa Ritas. Many residents have wells that are 3 to 4 hundred feet deep. Will they require deeper wells, or will city water have to be provided? Who will pay for this?
5. Many residents in this area are on fixed income. If their wells run dry many cannot afford to have them drilled deeper. Proving that the mines are responsible for lower groundwater tables is difficult. If this becomes a problem will Augusta guarantee that they will pay for well improvements necessary to provide water?
6. Is the Cumulative effect of all of the area mines water use and contamination problems being considered in the approval of these mines?
7. In Augusta's water plan dated 5/2007 they claim that in 2007 they would recharge 15,000 acre feet in the Santa Cruz Basin. What is the status of this claim?
Noise Pollution
1. Mine blasting creates sonic booms. What times of day would Rosemont blast? If it effects nearby homes by cracking foundations and stucco, will Augusta pay for improvements that are necessary?
Light Pollution from night
operations;
Questions concerning Light Pollution
1. What will the mine do to assure the light pollution does not adversely impact the observatories on Mt Hopkins?
2. If
it is later discovered that the lights do interfere with the Mt Hopkins
observatories will Augusta Resources guarantee in writing that they will either
reduce the lighting to acceptable levels, or if that is not possible to stop
mining during the night? According to
Augusta's lighting plan "The project, although not required to do so, will
make every attempt to comply with the Pima county Outdoor lighting code.
It should be noted, however, that federal and state laws also require Rosemont
operations to give utmost attention to the safety of its employees and the
public"
Safety on Arizona State Road
83
Augusta Resources estimates approximately 4 trucks per hour 24 hours per day 7 days a week. They also claim that they will not transport material during peak travel times.
Questions concerning SR83 Safety:
1. The School buses are on the road M-F from 6:00AM to 8:30AM, 11:00AM to12:00PM and from 1:00PM to 6:00PM. Will trucks carrying ore or explosive supplies to the mine travel on the road during these hours?
2. Will the I-10 Marsh Station Bridge be updated to eliminate the oversized loads now routed through SR83, or will these loads share this dangerous winding road with Augusta's trucks?
3. Will passing lanes be installed anywhere along SR83 to allow traffic to pass slower moving trucks?
4. How much more frequently will road maintenance be required on SR83 due to the volume of heavy trucks if the Rosemont mine is approved? Since it is a two lane highway construction has a major impact on travel times and safety.
5. Can SR83 in its present state support the loads and volume that Augusta has presented?
6. Wouldn't it be better and less intrusive on the current SR83 travelers to improve it before opening the mine so it can handle the additional volume of heavy trucks, perhaps make it a concrete highway in the sections supporting heavy trucks?
7. The Portland Cement mine approved in the Empire Mountains will also be sending trucks onto SR83. What will the cumulative effect of Rosemont traffic and Portland’s traffic have on safety?
8. The interchange from I-10 onto SR83 is not the safest. It consists of sharp curves, and an intersection of I-10 traffic, frontage road traffic, and old Sonoita highway traffic. It can be a very confusing intersection. Shouldn't this interchange be redesigned to handle the large increase in traffic volume before people die?
9. Is the Arizona Department of Transportation involved in the mine approval process to ensure proper planning to account for the increased SR83 use and safety issues?
10. Has the Federal Highway Safety Administration information from the Arizona 2007 Five percent report which outlines the top 5 percent of its locations currently exhibiting the most severe highway safety needs be taken into account when determining SR83 safety?
Loss of Scenic Beauty and Public investment
Questions about scenic impact: I know they want to limit our questions to what they are doing today at Rosemont, but they were very clear in their desire to "explore" Peach-Elgin, Broadtop Butte, and Copper World prospects in the future.
1. If Augusta pursues the Peach-Elgin, Broadtop Butte, and Copper World prospects in the future how could their development combined with the Rosemont mine not drastically impact the scenic views?
2. If they don't plan to develop these mines in the future then will they donate the Peach-Elgin mine, Broadtop Butte mine, and Copper World mine properties to Pima County for conservation before the Rosemont mine proceeds?
Corridor management involves the preparation of a Corridor Management Plan (CMP) which must be completed as part of proposing a scenic byway for national designation. (SR83 was the second scenic road designation in Arizona) The CMP is an inventory of the corridor's existing conditions including the intrinsic qualities that attract visitors to the corridor. The plan outlines goals and strategies for preserving and enhancing the features of the scenic byway.
3. The Arizona Department of Transportation has spent a great deal of taxpayer money to perform a Corridor Management Plan for the Sonoita/Patagonia Scenic route on SR83 and SR82. A vast amount of information is available in this report. Is the ADOT consulted during the approval process and the information they have compiled considered in the approval?
4. Augusta resources makes it clear that the people of Green Valley, Tucson, and Vail will not see the Rosemont Mine. If they have future plans for additional mines in the area shouldn't they be fair to the public and inform them of these plans and their impact? The Peach-Elgin mine will clearly be visible to residents of Green Valley.
5. A group of us visited the area recently and were told by subcontractors of Augusta Resources that there is no trespassing, that it is private land. The land they were on was clearly national forest land. Does August Resources have a right to stop the public from enjoying this land? Many people travel to Gunsight Pass daily. Augusta is already constructing new roads, putting up fences and other obstacles to prevent access. Is this legal? THIS IS OUR LAND!
Economic Impact
On 2/11 2007 the Sonoran Desert Institute released their Final mining study. The study says if the mines displaced only one percent of travel and tourism-related spending in the region, the economic loss would be greater than the entire annual payroll of the mine. Augusta Resources tries to gain public approval of the mine by advertising the jobs and tax revenue for both the state of Arizona and the Fed's. Does the study take into account the loss of tourism dollars and land values?
Environmental
Impact
Can the disruption of the rain runoff, and lowering of the local
groundwater table from the Rosemont mine further threaten the surface water of
the Cienega Creek? Is there potential for the creek to be polluted from
the mine operations during heavy rains?
The Cienega Creek is approximately 8 to 9 miles east of the Mine
location. The Fish and Wildlife service under the US department of the interior
has classified the Ceinega Creek (upper and lower) as a critical habitat for
the Gila Chub (Gila Intermedia) which is designated as endangered with critical
habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as documented in the Federal
Register.
[Federal Register: November 2, 2005 (Volume
70, Number 211)]
[Rules and
Regulations]
[Page 66663-66721]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02no05-22]
[[Page 66663]]