OPINION: 'Because government agencies tend to defer to mining companies, it is usually left to local citizens to ensure that mining conglomerates follow environmental laws,' writes Robert Peters of Defenders of Wildlife.
Robert Peters Special to the Arizona Daily Star The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer. Peters works for Defenders of Wildlife:
Foreign companies have stampeded to stake mining claims on our public lands: the Australian company South 32 holds nearly 35,000 acres in the Patagonia Mountains of the Coronado National Forest, while Canada’s Barksdale Resources has nearly 40,000. Moreover, the regulatory climate in Arizona makes our state a target – the mining industry ranks Arizona as the world’s number two most attractive jurisdiction for mining.
Even though mandatory by law, ADEQ has not required the company to build even a single monitoring station to continuously watch for contaminated water flowing to towns and homesites. Without such monitoring, permanent contamination might not be noticed until it is too late. PARA and Defenders of Wildlife appealed this decision, and we are watchdogging every plan and permit.