Greaterville Fire general

May 2, 2011 a fire was started in the Greaterville area by an employee of Rosemont copper. The fire investigation should have been a straightforward short process. The president and CEO of Rosemont copper, Mr. Rod pace, admitted the fire began by a welder employed by Rosemont. From the information available that welder was working by himself during one of the worst fire seasons in Arizona’s history. The report from Rosemont copper stated that welder was working on a broken bracket at a well site, why did not the welder use the water available to pre-soak the work area. That fire consumed approximately 2200 acres before being extinguished.

Bracket welded

I began my request for information from the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement Division and was told they could make no commentas it was an active investigation. That was five months after the fire. My next contact was Mr. Jim Upchurch, Forest supervisor of the Coronado national Forest. He referred me to the Phoenix office of the United States Attorney’s office with the comment “The case that you mentioned is at the US Attorney’s Office for review.  We would not release any information concerning this case without their approval. ”

After several days of trying to contact Phoenix office, with little success, I was told by an employee that the United States Attorney’s Office could neither confirm nor deny that such a case existed. Eventually I was able to contact Mr. Manuel Turango, the Public Affairs Officer in the Phoenix United States attorney’s office. Initially his response was that he would have to give me the same response the previous employee had given me, “We can neither confirm nor deny that such a case exists.” When I informed him that I had been referred by Mr. Jim Upchurch his response was “who is Mr. Upchurch?” I told Mr. Turango he was the Forest Supervisor of the Coronado national Forest and the head of the office that submitted the case to the United States Attorney’s office. Mr. Turango Then informed me that he would have to check into it. Mr. Turango contacted me one time to inform me that he was checking it out.

That was the last contact I had with Mr. Turango despite several phone messages and e-mails.

Many of us are aware of the term Catch 22, this seems to be a fine example of Catch 22 as you can find no information from the forest service nor from the United States Attorney’s office because of the continuing investigation. It would seem to be less nefarious and suspicious if someone, anyone associated with our Federal Government simply said “Rosemont started the fire.”

The granting of the permits for the proposed open pit copper mine is contingent upon many requirements. One of those requirements is to follow and obey all relevant state and federal regulations. Is this an example of how Rosemont will follow regulations and also an example of how our federal government will treat violations, to simply ignore it and sweep it under the rug?

The wheels of justice are said to turn slowly but I would think there is a difference between turning slowly and what is happening with the investigation of the fire started on May 2 by Rosemont copper in the Greaterville area. Today marks six months since the fire and no information is available from either the United States forest service or the United States Attorney’s Office in Phoenix. The date is November 2, 2011 which makes it an extraordinary example of a slow process in our legal system.

For perspective this fire burned the equivalent in acreage of a square that would extend from Speedway to 22nd St. going north and south and from Kolb to Craycroft going East to West.

It's going to leave a mark

Welcome “The Other Side of the Coin,” a discussion blog for opposing views concerning some southern Arizona issues and developments. Many times in life “we flip a coin to make a decision” but in this circumstance the term is not used to determine the outcome of the situation by luck. It’s to present to you “the Southern Arizona residents” the alternatives to statements presented by others, those alternatives consisting of verifiable facts and data.

An example of an important issue that concerns many people in southern Arizona is the proposed “open pit copper mine in the Santa Rita mountains.”

One of the latest articles concerning Rosemont copper portrays the local residents and landowners as rabble-rousers exaggerating the effects of the proposed open pit mine. The other side of the coin would be the residents endeavoring to educate and disseminate information to the general public.

One example of that information would be the amount of acreage placed under non-patented mining claims. One side of the coin is Rosemont’s statement they will require approximately 4000 acres of national forest for tailings and waste rock. The other side of the coin is Rosemont copper has placed approximately 14,000 acres of non-patented mining claims in the Coronado national Forest. 14,000 acres is approximately 20 square miles of national forest that is supposed to be under the protection of  The National Forest Service.

The second issue for this article concerns water use , Rosemont is quite willing and proud to discuss the “CAP water recharge in the Tucson AMA ” , the other side of the coin deals with the water used on the East side of the Santa Rita Mountains where the pit will be located. If Rosemont copper is granted permits to develop the open pit mine there will be a factor involved called pit dewatering which involves pumping the water out of the pit that seeps in through the walls. It has been estimated by Rosemont studies as  500 gallons per minute as the amount. The proposed Rosemont open pit mine sits in the Cienega Aquifer which is supposed to be a protected water source.

Some are quite proud of a legal document protecting approximately 100 homeowners in the Sahuarita area but that document does nothing to protect the people who are closest to the proposed mine. It also does nothing to mitigate the loss of water in the Davidson Canyon.

Those examples should be enough to illustrate the function of “The Other Side of the Coin.” Welcome to the blog, its biggest function is not to educate or propagandize but its major function is to get you the residents of southern Arizona to explore, ask questions and make your own decisions.