Environmental groups are urging the Bureau of Land Management to redo an environmental assessment for the Copper Creek Exploration Project near Mammoth, Arizona.
The proposed copper mine is operated by Redhawk Copper, a subsidiary of the Canadian company, Faraday Copper, which was recently approved to modify 18 acres of public land and expand 67 existing drill sites.
The project is located in the sky islands, within the Galiuro Mountains, an area known as a biodiversity hotspot.
That’s why the Center for Biological Diversity, San Carlos Apache Tribe and other organizations filed a formal petition to Arizona State Director of BLM, Raymond Suazo, to conduct an official administrative review of the final environmental assessment that the Safford Field Office completed last month.
“This gives the Arizona state director an opportunity to reverse or remand the decision before it becomes truly final,” said Russ McSpadden, the southwest advocate for the Center.
He added that the organizations are trying to leverage administrative remedies to address observed flaws within the assessment, including what they describe as insufficient tribal consultation by disregarding archaeological and traditional knowledge.
“BLM rushed the decision process again, without honoring tribal sovereignty and they again ignored and dismissed tribal cultural property concerns and they really substituted corporate engagement for formal government consultation,” he said.
The groups’ petition states that, “the Project poses serious risks to wildlife, water resources, landscape connectivity, human health, and cultural resources of the San Carlos Apache Tribe.”
Melissa Crytzer Fry is the Chair of the Lower San Pedro Watershed Alliance.
The conservation advocacy group filed their own request for review with the BLM calling out a lack of transparency with the local community and that communication efforts have been disappointing.
“There’s a history of that with BLM where they say that they want to engage meaningfully with the public and we are not seeing that to be the case,” Crytzer Fry said.
She noted that when the approval of the project’s environmental assessment was announced locals weren’t notified, despite signing up for project-updates, instead finding out on the Safford Field Office’s Facebook page.
The Alliance is made up of local volunteers.
Fry said that they had alerted BLM about road-widening activities that were occurring on public land prior to the June 30th decision.
“We asked all kinds of questions, ‘Is it authorized during this decision period? Who approved it? What’s the purpose of the road widening?’ We also pointed out the work’s proximity to a Mexican spotted owl site,” she said. “Sent that out, asked for information and insight and [didn’t] get any response.”
In February, the BLM published a draft EA that was open to public comments for 45 days.
According to the agency’s Decision Record document, 2,300 comment letters were received and organized into about 7,500 comments.
“Public comments generally provided opposition for the action, with few in support of the exploration project,” the document stated.
Key issues that were identified included a lack of hydrological data, negative impacts to water, riparian and wildlife habitat, the lack of tribal consultation among other concerns.
AZPM reached out to the BLM Safford Field Office for comment and hasn’t heard back yet.
The groups are also asking Suazo to issue a stay, which would stop all activities for the project while a review is conducted.
After the agency’s approval of the final environmental assessment, exploration activities were permitted to begin immediately.
McSpadden highlighted the similarities between the federal permitting processes for the Copper Creek Project and nearby SunZia Transmission Line Project– a 550-mile long transmission line that would carry wind generated energy from New Mexico to California.
“Recently the courts found BLM had actually violated the tribe’s rights under the exact same issue, they failed to consult with the tribes,” he said.
In May, AZPM reported that a federal appeals court found that BLM on behalf of the energy company, violated the National Historic Preservation Act by failing to properly consult with tribes regarding a historic property designation within the San Pedro Valley.
The original complaint was filed in January 2024 by the Center, the San Carlos Apache Tribe, the Tohono O’odham Nation and Archaeology Southwest, which alleged that the federal government illegally greenlit construction in 2023.
“They really substituted corporate engagement for formal government-to-government consultation,” McSpadden said. “This Copper Creek Project is a test case for whether BLM and the federal government has learned from SunZia or whether it will continue to fast track industry at the expense of tribes, ecosystems and public trust.”
Suazo has 21 days from receiving the petitions to respond.
If the groups do not hear back, they can move on towards filing a federal appeal to the Interior Board of Land Appeals.
