January 16, 2009
Quadra Resources, present owner of the Carlota Mine, announced in December 2008 that construction of its project some 50 miles east of Phoenix was complete and production of copper had begun. The announcement may have closed a chapter in the fate of one segment of a special place called Pinto Creek, but the fight to protect the remainder of the waterway and its tributaries continue.
Pinto Creek, January 9, 2009
Pinto Creek has its origins high on the western slopes of the Pinal Mountains and flows some 31 miles through the Tonto National Forest crossing Highway 60 near the town of Miami, Arizona, and continuing northward until it empties into Roosevelt Lake. Lower Pinto Creek, along with one of its tributaries, Haunted Canyon, have long been known for their outstanding scenic, riparian, and ecological values. An 8-mile stretch of perennial Pinto Creek, beginning at the confluence of a tributary named Horrell Creek, has been found potentially eligible for Wild and Scenic River designation. Similarly, a segment of Haunted Canyon also has permanent water, and its interlocking canopy of alders, cypress, and sycamores have fascinated hikers and biologists for decades.
Haunted Canyon, January 9, 2009
In the early 1990's, a Canadian gold mining company named Cambior purchased about 300 acres of patented land that contained old copper diggings and announced to stunned environmentalists and wary federal regulators that it was planning a large open pit mine that would swallow up a mile long stretch of Pinto Creek. The site of the pit was just a few miles upstream of the possible W&SR portion of the creek. To make matters worse, the water supply for the mine was to be pumped from under the Haunted Canyon/Pinto Creek confluence and the leach pad for the mine was to be in Powers Gulch, a small tributary of Haunted Canyon. To government agencies credit, an extensive Environmental Impact Statement was prepared to analyze damage to natural resources from the mine.
Published in 1997, the EIS acknowledged much of the risk associated with the project. Pinto Creek was to flow through a man-made channel on a backfilled portion of the pit. To prevent subflows from going into the pit a cutoff wall was to be constructed upstream of the pit was to intercept water and divert it into the channel. Huge dams were to be built in Powers Gulch to prevent acidic waste from the leach pad washing down into Haunted Canyon, and a diversion channel was needed to channel Powers Gulch flows around the pad. Among the greatest risk was Haunted Canyon itself. Early pump tests quickly determined that surface flows and alluvial waters were immediately reduced when deep underground pumps were turned on, indicating direct hydrologic connectivity and thus imminent death of riparian vegetation when mining commenced. In addition, rock dumps would be located near the west side of Pinto Creek, close to the site of the Pinto Valley Mine rock dumps on the opposite side of the creek where massive spills have occurred in the past.
The Environmental Protection Agency reviewed the EIS and promptly rated it EU-3 (Environmentally Unsatisfactory/Inadequate Information), the lowest rating it assigns to projects. The EPA, along with other agencies and environmental groups, questioned a water mitigation plan that Cambior had agreed to that would pump additional water and irrigate Haunted Canyon to try to keep it alive. All agreed that other sources of water should try to be secured and brought in rather than pump from under the creek, and Cambior assured everyone that it was working toward that end and listed other potential water supplies. Dozens of other concerns were raised, including the inevitable effects of liner leaks under the leach pad, inability to neutralize the acidic leach pad after mining, impacts on air and water quality, and inadequate bonding for reclamation and accidents. Nonetheless, the EIS was approved and permits were issued, the Forest Service stating that it had to abide by the General Mining Law of 1872 which stated that all valuable mineral deposits belonging to the U.S. were to be free and open to exploration and purchase.
Thus began the battle to litigate over the future of Pinto Creek, a fight which carries on to this day. A lawsuit brought by environmental groups that argued that the Forest Service decision was wrong was easily overturned, with the Courts holding that an EIS only needs to divulge impacts to the environment, it does not have to prevent them. A second lawsuit challenging the air quality permit also failed - the Court ruling that sulfuric acid mist and emissions from ore trucks do not count in overall calculations and therefore the mine need not be licensed as a major emitter. But a third suit met with more success. Originally filed in 2000, a suit challenged the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water Act Permit, known by its long title the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit (NPDES). After years of challenges and counterchallenges, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals finally ruled in 2007 in favor of the plaintiffs - polluted water cannot be added to a stream that is already in violation of water quality laws. That decision stands to this day - on Jan 12, 2009 the US Supreme Court refused a request by Carlota to review the decision.
To date, none of this has deterred the current owner of the mine. After purchasing the mine from Cambior in 2005, Quadra immediately began construction trying to capitalize on the soaring price of copper. Now, to resolve its litigation problems, Quadra may try to upgrade the mine to a more expensive zero-discharge facility, negating the need for NPDES permit. And the mine owners have another tactic: if you can't meet water quality standards, get the standards changed. Attempts have been underway for several years to raise the allowable amount of dissolved copper, blaming high levels on natural background conditions instead of man-made disturbances and leaking abandoned mines that dot the landscape.
As for outside sources of water, it was never found. To this day, the mine is completely reliant on groundwater pumped from under the Pinto Creek/Haunted Canyon confluence, approximately 600 gallons per minute for the next 15 years. Sadly, parts of Haunted Canyon did not even survive pumping tests conducted in 2007 and now the irrigation system has been running overtime in an attempt to keep the Canyon alive.
A chapter may have closed, but the story is far from concluded. Laws written to protect water quality are now gaining new teeth, and long discussed mining law reform which would give agencies discretion to say no to overly destructive projects continues to move forward. Until that time, every effort should be made to protect special places like Pinto Creek.
