Tucson—Save the Scenic Santa Ritas today filed a formal protest challenging the Arizona State Land Department’s pending April 29 auction of 160-acres of State Trust Land requested by Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals for the proposed Copper World mine.
The protest challenges the state-approved $993,000 valuation of the land, the state’s failure to determine the impact on the value of nearby State Trust Land caused by Hudbay’s anticipated groundwater depletion, and the department’s violation of a statute requiring five-year disposition plans for state lands prior to being sold.
“Once again, we are requesting Governor Katie Hobbs to withdraw this ill-conceived auction of land that Hudbay states it won’t need for at least 15 years,” said SSSR Executive Director John Dougherty. “This auction undermines the public’s faith that the department is working in the best interest of Arizona citizens rather than enriching a foreign mining company with a sweetheart deal.”
The appraisal acknowledged that the proposed use of the land was for industrial purposes but then used rural residential and vacant land to determine the value of the property. Hudbay intends to use the land to dump mining waste which will allow it to process additional copper ore worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The sale of the land facilitates development of the mine that will pump at least 9 million gallons of groundwater a day from the aquifer beneath Sahuarita and Green Valley, which is already in a subsidence zone. The appraisal did not determine the impact of groundwater depletion on the value of thousands of acres of State Trust Land slated for development immediately east of Hudbay’s primary well field.
SSSR’s protest also focuses on the department’s failure to have a legally required disposition plan in place before auctioning the 160-acre parcel. The protest states the department may only “cause state lands to be sold if the sale of them is not prohibited by law.”
“SSSR will consider all legal options if the department rejects the protest including filing a lawsuit that could result in a ruling that restricts future state land auctions until the disposition plan is in place,” Dougherty said.
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Thank you for the update
Hope on the legislation.
Keep fighting
Thank you for taking this step to throw a road block in Hudbay’s way. As a retired public health nurse, my concern is for the health and welfare of the citizens who will be impacted severely by the mine. If possible I would love to see some monthly op-Ed’s in the Star by some well respected people in their field regarding water usage and health risks. Someone needs to unpack the water restitution plan in light of the impending water crisis we face. TheWWMAN group has many well respected international scientists that could address this. The Pima County Health Department has data that can illustrate the effects of expected air pollution on the surrounding population highlighting expected asthma rates in children. The purpose of these articles is to educate officials and the public, keeping Hudbay negatively in the public eye.
The implied threat of ongoing lawsuits with the EPA could also discourage Hudbay investors. According to their website, the EPA has to have some accountability to the public for health concerns, use of best practices and public safety. For instance, why are they not using underground mining or underlayment under their tailings piles as a best practice. I’m sure they currently are concerned they may not have enough water for their 44 years stay. We need to emphasize that and the ridiculousness of their putting the concerns of a mine before those of the public. Again, thank you for all you do. Now is the time to put the pressure on.
Hi Elaine –
Thank you for your comment. We have tried multiple times, so far with no luck, to run op-eds in the Star.
You’re right that we need to keep the pressure on. This mine would be devastating for public health, water, wildlife, and a myriad of other issues.
Keep up the fight, and thank you again for being engaged!