ADEQ grants Copper World their Air Quality Permit

While we knew this moment was coming, it is no less disappointing. We learned yesterday that the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality granted Copper World their Air Quality Permit.

All key documents related to the permit are linked below:

• Final Permit | View >

• Final Technical Support Document | View >

• Responsiveness Summary | View >

• Letter to Commenters | View >

• Public Comments | View >

OUR RESPONSE

In September, Save the Scenic Santa Ritas partnered with the Center for Biological Diversity in submitting comments that included signatures from a total of 15 Tribes and environmental conservation organizations. You can read our comment letter here.

We have already begun reviewing the terms of the permit and the responses we received from ADEQ about our comments. We are in active conversations about our next steps as a result of this decision.

In addition, we are proceeding with our lawsuit against the Arizona State Land Department and continue to advocate for a dust mitigation plan for Santa Rita road and the project site.

The work continues…

IN THE NEWS

“The state’s flawed air permit for Copper World is another dangerous gift to the mining industry. It’s riddled with loopholes, it misclassifies controllable emissions as ‘fugitive,’ and it allows pollution beyond legal limits"

- Russ McSpadden, southwest conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity.

As quoted in this Tucson Sentinel article.