|
|
|
|
Sulfate plume plan
by mine is scrutinized |
|
By Jaime Richardson, Green Valley News
Some Green Valley residents
are concerned that mining company Freeport McMoRan’s plan to
alleviate the effects of an underground sulfate plume, which can
make drinking water foul-tasting, could hurt the West Desert
Preserve.
A community advisory group formed three years ago to tackle the problem of the sulfate leaks met Tuesday at Joyner-Green Valley Library to hear the copper mining company present details of a mitigation plan they submitted to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality in May. Freeport McMoRan inherited the sulfate plume problem in 2007 when it acquired the Sierrita Mine west of Green Valley from Phelps Dodge. The open-pit copper mine produces sulfide-based ore deposit, and the plume is generated from tailings, or leftover ore. Studies had found that chemicals were leaking from a plume in the mine tailings impoundment into the water supply, concerning local water companies and activists. Although sufates are not toxic, they can affect the taste of water and in high concentrations can cause diarrhea. At the meeting, several potential plans to fix the problem were presented, one of which would require the building of a new tailing impoundment and wells on 2,000 acres of State Trust Land overseen by the Green Valley West Desert Reserve. Nearly three years after initial steps were taken to address the issue, one of the alternatives is expected to be approved by ADEQ this summer, though it would be years before actual construction would begin. Several members of the Committee to Save the West Desert Preserve showed up at the meeting to find out what would happen to the preserve, popular among local hikers and bicyclists, if ADEQ approves the plan that would affect it. “Basically, my concern is if they start to drill all these wells, will this keep us from using (the reserve) as an open space?” said member Paul Reiser. Bill Adamson, chairman of the Committee to Save the West Desert Preserve, said the group has been asking the mine for more details, such as how much noise the pumps will make, and if the project will require roads and pipelines through the preserve. “Tell us what this is going to do to our West Desert Preserve. Is it going to be as bad as having a refinery in your backyard?” he said. When committee member Jim Jordan asked Freeport-McMoRan for more details, Ned Hall, manager of water quality programs, told him that specifics weren’t available at this preliminary stage, but said “not to worry.” “I understand that having a sustainable, clean water supply is a top priority for the whole region,” Adamson said. “I don’t want to do anything to upset those solutions, but we want those solutions to be acceptable to the community.” Currently the reserve acts as a buffer between the town and the copper mines, and runs from Camino Casa Verde on the north to Desert Hills subdivision on the south. “We don’t want the mine moving closer to the community, and if that’s what these wells will do, we don’t want them,” Adamson said. jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726
|
|
