Opponents worry feds have fast-tracked Resolution mine OK
by Claire Chandler | Cronkite News
Members of the San Carlos Apache tribe gathered at the Capitol building to protest a proposal that would trade away land for mining, land that is sacred to them.
Jamie Cochran/Cronkite News
Activists worry that the Trump administration has fast-tracked the final environmental impact statement for the massive Resolution Copper mine in Pinal County, a project planned for lands near Superior that are claimed as sacred by the San Carlos Apache.
Opponents became alarmed when the U.S. Forest Service’s schedules of proposed action, which said the environmental statement would be completed by December 2021, suddenly shifted this year to a finishing date of this December, before President Donald Trump leaves office.
“A lot of alarm bells went off when we saw this,” said Randy Serraglio, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center For Biological Diversity. “We realized … they’re just rushing this through to get it done, while Donald Trump is still president.”
