Featured: Democrats move to halt Ariz. copper mine
This piece originally appeared as an article featured on E&E News on April 29, 2021.
By Jennifer Yachnin, E&E News reporter | 04/29/2021 12:00 AM MST
Democratic lawmakers moved a step closer to thwarting a proposed copper mine in Arizona last night, as the House Natural Resources Committee approved a measure to unwind a land exchange for the site.
Natural Resources Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) won approval of his H.R. 1884, the "Save Oak Flat Act," on a party-line vote, 23-20.
Over the course of a nearly eight-hour session, Democrats also beat back eight amendments to send the measure to the House floor.
In his opening remarks, Grijalva said the bill "will do exactly what its name says: It will prevent the destruction of Oak Flat, a sacred site with tremendous cultural and religious significance for many tribes in the region since time immemorial."
House Natural Resources Chair Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) during a markup yesterday. Natural Resources Committee/YouTube
The legislation would repeal a policy rider in the fiscal 2015 defense authorization bill that approved the exchange of 2,422 acres in the Tonto National Forest for 5,344 acres of privately held land elsewhere in Arizona.
The agreement was intended to make way for Resolution Copper Mining LLC, owned by Anglo-Australian miners Rio Tinto PLC and BHP Group Ltd., to develop the 40-billion-pound copper deposit that lies more than a mile below Oak Flat.
But that site, an Emory oak grove, is also a Native American religious site important to the members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, who pray, collect acorns and hold ceremonies there (Greenwire, Dec. 9, 2020).
"This bill is about environmental justice, religious freedom, tribal sovereignty, sacred sites and water protection. A vote against this bill is a vote against all of those," Grijalva said.
The land exchange was headed toward completion — inside a 60-day countdown mandated by Congress — when the Biden administration withdrew an environmental review for the mine last month (E&E News PM, March 1).
Echoing a contentious hearing on the same bill earlier this month, Republicans argued that the legislation would force the United States to import copper as its needs increase for use in electric vehicles and wind turbines. Those Republicans point out that other nations may fail to meet similar environmental standards (E&E Daily, April 14).
Arkansas Rep. Bruce Westerman, the panel's top Republican, lamented the Oak Flat legislation as "one of the most atrocious of all the bills" before the panel.
"This bill before us today would also send a message that the U.S. is closed to mining at a time when we must encourage responsible domestic mining to reduce foreign dependence, grow our economy and limit the environmental human rights abuses that occur in other countries," he said.
Both Westerman and Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar (R) clashed with Democrats over their characterization of the fiscal 2015 rider, defending the agreement as a "bipartisan land exchange."
"This is an effort to undo a congressional bipartisan agreement," Gosar said, citing his work on the original provision with the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.).
Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum (D) countered that the concerns of Native populations were paramount: "The intent of Congress and the will of tribal leaders was absolutely clear: This southeast Arizona land exchange should not become law."
Among the amendments blocked by the committee were proposals from both Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert (R) and Minnesota Rep. Pete Stauber (R) that would have mandated the Interior Department study whether the bill could increase demand for minerals from "mines that employ child or forced labor."
Stauber also offered a pair of amendments to examine how the measure could impact union jobs in the region of the mine, and another that would delay the act until the town of Superior, Ariz., approved a referendum in "support [of] the loss of high-paying jobs to the local communities."
The Minnesota lawmaker also proposed blocking the measure's enactment if the Interior Department determined that it would result in imports of copper from nations including China, Russia or Congo.
"We can mine these minerals with the best environmental standards and the best labor standards and secure our supply chain," Stauber said.
A Resolution Copper spokesman said the company is "committed" to continuing with the process outlined in the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act, the provision included in the fiscal 2015 defense authorization, and seeking input from both local communities and Native American tribes.
"This process is a core requirement before obtaining final permits and approvals or any decision to proceed with development, which is years away," the spokesman said.
But environmental organizations opposed to the mine praised the committee's vote.
"The Save Oak Flat Act is critical to protecting a site that is deeply sacred to Indigenous communities that have for time immemorial practiced land-based traditions relying on a healthy ecosystem at Chi'chil Bidagoteel," Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting and the Outdoors Executive Director Camilla Simon said in a statement, using the traditional name for the site.
"To allow mining operations at Oak Flat is to sever the connection this community has to land that is part of their very identity."
National Wildlife Federation President and CEO Collin O'Mara likewise said the measure would "conserve critical wildlife habitat and precious water resources for Arizona communities."
Methane waste
The full committee also approved Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette's (D) H.R. 1492, the "Methane Waste Prevention Act."
The bill, which would direct the Bureau of Land Management to tighten rules on releases of the powerful greenhouse gas, passed 24-19, on a party-line vote.
"If we're going to be serious about staving off the worst effects of this climate change, we're going to have to get serious about cutting the amount of methane released into the atmosphere," DeGette said.
The Colorado lawmaker is also the sponsor of a House resolution that would allow EPA to bypass the rulemaking process to restore the methane standards set by the Obama administration. The Senate approved its version yesterday (see related story).
Republicans unsuccessfully sought seven amendments to the bill, including measures that would have mandated studies to prove the law would not increase imports of natural gas or increase energy costs for at-risk communities.
California Rep. Jared Huffman (D) at one point slammed his GOP colleagues for the number of amendments, many of which called for delaying implementation of the act if adopted.
"This hearing is about wasteful venting in more ways than one," Huffman quipped. "We're not going to respond to all of this nonsense because so much of it is just performance theater for the oil and gas and mining interests watching at home."
Although the committee also spent time debating California Rep. Mike Levin's (D) H.R. 1503, which would end noncompetitive leasing for public lands, it did not complete a vote on the measure or proposed amendments.
The House panel will take up that bill when it reconvenes next Wednesday, along with a half-dozen other proposals it did not get to during its extensive hearing.
Those measures include Rep. Alan Lowenthal's (D-Calif.) H.R. 1505, the "Bonding Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act," and H.R. 1506, the "Transparency in Energy Production Act." The latter would mandate public reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from wells on federal lands.
The panel will also consider California Rep. Katie Porter's (D) H.R. 1517, the "Ending Taxpayer Welfare for Oil and Gas Companies Act," which would increase royalty rates for onshore oil and gas leases for the first time in more than a century.
Grijalva said lawmakers will also consider three Republican bills under unanimous consent:
Utah Rep. Chris Stewart's H.R. 2348, the "Advancing Conservation and Education Act," which aims to streamline the exchange of state trust lands for other public lands.
Alaska Rep. Don Young's H.R. 443, the "Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Land Transfer Act."