Friends of Pinto Creek, Citizens for the Preservation of Powers Gulch and Pinto Creek, Maricopa Audubon Society, Sierra Club-Grand Canyon Chapter, Western Mining Action Project
For Immediate Release: January 12, 2009
Contacts:
Don Steuter, Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter, 602-956-5057 or 602-253-8633
Roger Flynn, Lead Attorney, Western Mining Action Project, 303-823-5738
Tom Sonandres, Friends of Pinto Creek, 623-583-6764
Big Win for Clean Water: Supreme Court Refuses to Review Case That Struck Down Open Pit Copper Mine Permit
Downstream from the mine is the Pinto Creek Bridge
(Phoenix, AZ) Today, the United State Supreme Court denied an industry petition to review a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which struck down a Clean Water Act permit issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Carlota Copper Company (Carlota). The permit would have authorized Carlota to release significant levels of copper and other toxic pollutants into Pinto Creek, a tributary to the Salt River, which provides a portion of Phoenix’s water supply. The Carlota Copper Project is a proposed open pit copper mine covering over 3,000 acres near the small mountain town of Globe, Arizona, about two hours east of Phoenix.
“This is a great victory for clean water and for protecting Pinto Creek,” said Don Steuter, Conservation Chair for the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter. “This project’s discharges of toxic metal would have further polluted Pinto Creek, which has been listed as one of nation’s most endangered rivers due to the threat posed by the Carlota Project.”
The Ninth Circuit was the first federal court to rule on the key issue presented by the case, specifically whether the EPA or a state can issue permits for new pollution discharges into streams that already have too much pollution. These waterways are known as “impaired waters.” The EPA, the State of Arizona, and Carlota had argued that such new discharges are allowed. The Court agreed with the local and state conservation groups (Friends of Pinto Creek, Citizens for the Preservation of Powers Gulch and Pinto Creek, Maricopa Audubon Society, and the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club) that new pollution is not allowed until the agencies address the deficiencies in the old permit as found by the 9th Circuit Court.
“The Supreme Court recognized the legal soundness of the Ninth Circuit’s decision,” said Roger Flynn, the Colorado attorney with the non-profit law firm, Western Mining Action Project, who argued the case. “The Ninth Circuit’s decision is simple: the public deserves cleaner water, not more polluted water. This case sets a national precedent to protect waters that need less pollution, not more,” said Flynn.
As recognized by the late Arizona Senator Barry M. Goldwater: “Maybe we need copper, but we also need exceptional places like Pinto Creek. We’ve lost a lot of little gems like Pinto Creek in Arizona over the years for various reasons. How many more can we afford to lose?”
"This victory is significant," said Friends of Pinto Creek coordinator, Tom Sonandres. "It should help protect Pinto Creek and Haunted Canyon as well as other rivers and streams in Arizona and throughout the country."
Sandy Bahr
Conservation Outreach Director
Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter
202 E. McDowell Rd, Suite 277
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phone (602) 253-8633
Fax (602) 258-6533
sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org
3 comments:
So Carlota still operates the mine and has in fact had major discharge events including the failure of their heap leach pad. The damage from two major discharge events is significant. My question is: How is the mine operating without a valid permit?
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