Phoenix, Arizona, United States – Indigenous and environmental groups in the United States are suing the US Forest Service (USFS) to try to prevent the transfer of more than 9.7 square kilometres (2,400 acres) of land in Arizona to a mining company for potential development.
The co-plaintiffs in the case, including the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona and the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club, on January 22 filed a lawsuit against a proposed copper mine about 100km east of Phoenix that they say would harm the local environment.
“Without a doubt, the proposed mine presents a huge threat to water quality and water supplies for our region,” said Shan Lewis, vice chairman of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe and president of the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona in a written statement.
For Immediate Release, January 25, 2021
Contact:
Roger Featherstone, Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, (520) 777-9500, roger@azminingreform.org
Randy Serraglio, Center for Biological Diversity, (520) 784-1504, rserraglio@biologicaldiversity.org
Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter, (602) 999-5790, sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org
Pete Dronkers, Earthworks, (775) 815-9936, pdronkers@earthworksaction.org
Curt Shannon, Access Fund, (480) 652-5547, curt@accessfund.org
Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration Review of Massive Arizona Copper Mine That Would Destroy Sacred Oak Flat
PHOENIX Tribal and conservation groups sued the U.S. Forest Service Friday to stop a land trade that would hand over thousands of acres in the Tonto National Forest in central Arizona to a London-based mining company. The Oak Flat area, considered sacred by Apache and other Native people, would be destroyed by multinational mining company Rio Tinto for a massive copper mine.