Rosemont mine public meetings - starting May 12! : AZ IMC

This coming Monday is the first Forest Service HEARING on the Rosemont
mine proposal.

Monday May 12, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Elgin Elementary School Cafeteria
293 Upper Elgin Rd, Elgin, AZ (map here)

The next hearings are in June-
June 7, 9am-noon
Sahuarita High School Cafeteria
350 W. Sahuarita Rd, Sahuarita, AZ

June 30, 6-9pm
Rincon High School
421 N. Arcadia (Just east of Swan and Fifth Street, Tucson)

Please attend these meetings! Important points to bring up are provided
below and check the Save the Scenic Santa Ritas website for more
information on how to comment. The Forest Service News release is also
pasted below.

Please forward this to everyone you know! It is important that we have a
strong turnout at these meetings! Thanks and see you there!

Talking Points:
* State your objection to the fact that Augusta Resource Corporation has
not yet completed the studies and documentation requested when the Forest
Service rejected their second Mining Plan of Operation. For example, the
hydrologic studies are not yet complete, therefore the hydrologic impacts
cannot yet be determined.

* Demand that the Forest Service STOP all activity at Rosemont by Augusta
until the NEPA process is complete. Demand that the Forest Service not let
Augusta piece-meal this mine, thereby avoiding REAL and meaningful
environmental analysis of the impacts.

* Request that the CUMULATIVE IMPACTS of all the new mining proposals in
the area be considered in the EIS. Currently, in addition to the Rosemont
Mine, there are several calcium carbonate/limestone mine proposals in the
Davidson Canyon area, and several copper/silver mine proposals in the
Patagonia Mountains, Canelo Hills and San Rafael Valley. All of these
mines would use Highway 83 to transport their chemicals and explosives.

* Demand that there be NO revision to the Forest Plan to accommodate
Augusta! The Forest Service should NOT revise the Forest Plan to
accommodate mining. The 1872 Mining Law does not require the Forest
Service to revise this plan to accommodate mining. If Augusta's Mining
Plan of Operation (MPO) cannot meet the current standards and requirements
of the Forest Plan, then the Forest Service must deny the mine.

* Ask that the process be fair! Make the mining plan and additional
materials submitted by Augusta easily available to the public for review.
Not everyone has internet, so make sure that hard copies are distributed
throughout Southern Arizona.

* Demand that the Forest Service conduct a validity exam on all mining
claims Augusta wants to use for their mine waste, tailings, and other
facilities. Unless these claims are valid, Augusta has no real legal right
to use our public land for their dump.

* Media must be at all public meetings to record all sides of issues
raised and the FS itself must provide a general presentation to the public
and media at these hearings.

* Extend the comment period to 60 days AFTER Augusta submits ALL
information and data the Forest Service requested in their letter dated
Oct. 19, 2007, rejecting Augusta's mining plan last July 2007.

For much more information please check out Save the Scenic Santa Ritas

Coronado National Forest Press Release
For Immediate Release Contact: Beverly Everson (520) 388-8300

Public Hearing in Elgin, Arizona for proposed Rosemont Copper Project

TUCSON, AZ, (May 9, 2008) - The public is invited to make oral comments
regarding the proposed Rosemont Copper Project on May 12, 2008 at Elgin
Elementary School, 93 Upper Elgin Rd, Elgin, Arizona. The meeting is
scheduled for 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.; however, school officials will
allow the meeting to continue past 9:00 p.m. to accommodate all who want
to speak. Spoken comments will be transcribed by a court reporter and will
become part of the "scoping" record used to develop an Environmental
Impact Statement.

While previous public meetings were designed to inform the public about
the project and to collect written comments, the next series of three
meetings will be conducted as hearings. Speakers who sign in, will be
given a maximum of three minutes to address Forest Service officials who
oversee the National Environmental Policy Act process, including Ms.
Jeanine Derby, Coronado National Forest Supervisor, who is the deciding
official.

Two future hearings will occur June 7, 2008 at Sahuarita High School, and
June 30, 2008 at a Tucson location.

Speakers will be selected on a first come, first served basis; however,
entrance onto school grounds will not be permitted prior to 5:00 p.m.

Alternatively, for those who do not wish to attend the hearing, submit
comments by mail, FAX, or email as follows:

Mail comments to:
Team Leader, Rosemont Copper Project, Coronado National Forest
300 W. Congress St., Tucson, Arizona 85701

FAX comments to:
(520) 388-8305, ATTN: Rosemont Team Leader

email comments to: comments-southwestern-coronado@fs.fed.us

Comments submitted by mail, FAX, or email, are given equal consideration
to comments made at public meetings. Comments are welcome during the
National Environmental Policy Act review until the draft environmental
impact statement is issued for public comment (scheduled for March, 2009);
however, comments will be most useful if received during the public
scoping period, which ends July 14, 2008.

Participants are urged to read the Notice of Intent prior to making oral
or written comments. The Notice of Intent is available online at
http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=210355696&u=2165162.
Those without Internet access may request a hard copy by calling (520)
388-8300. Copies of the Notice of Intent will also be available at all
public meetings.

The comments most useful for the EIS process should be directly related to
issues associated with the proposed action described in the Notice of
Intent, rather than general advocacy for or opposition against the
project..

For questions about the public meetings or the comment period, the public
can call
(520) 388-8300.