Thursday, February 4, 2010

Rosemont Mine Update: State Legislative Leaders Back Mine, But Local Lawmaker Objects

Posted By on Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 12:56 PM

Dan Shearer of the Green Valley News brings us this bulletin regarding the proposed Rosemont Mine:

State Senate President Bob Burns and Speaker of the House Kirk Adams said in a letter to the head of the Coronado National Forest that they support the Environmental Impact Statement process under way on Rosemont mine, and added that the proposed mine presents “a tremendous economic opportunity” for the state.

The letter dated Feb. 2 was sent to forest supervisor Jeanine Derby and copied to 11 people, including U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar and Tom Tidwell, chief of the U.S. Forest Service.

But Burns and Adams evidently didn't check with state Sen. Jonathan Paton, who represents the area and is well aware that his constituents are mostly against the mine:

But state Sen. Jonathan Paton, who represents District 30, where Rosemont is located, said the letter was sent out without his knowledge and that there was no discussion or resolution in the Legislature about the matter.

Paton, who has opposed the mine from the start, said it appears Rosemont is “going further afield looking for support” after finding little backing in Southern Arizona.

“You can’t really say it’s on behalf of the members when I don’t even know about the letter,” he said.

Paton said he is drafting a letter and considering calling for a resolution to measure support for the mine at the Legislature.

“I completely disagree with the mine and it’s very simple,” Paton said. “I don’t believe trading CAP water with ground water is a fair trade, and I don’t trust our good friends in California to always keep the (Colorado River) water flowing.”

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