Latest news with #DominicW.Lanza
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Supreme Court said no, but this legal battle lives on
A major mining project in Arizona remains on hold this month even after the Supreme Court declined to consider a faith-based plea to block it. The justices said on May 27 that they wouldn't hear a religious freedom case aimed at preventing federal officials from transferring Oak Flat, a site that's sacred to the Western Apache, to Resolution Copper. At first, that announcement seemed like the end of the road for the mining project's opponents. But then on Monday, they secured a small but potentially significant victory in a federal court in Arizona in separate but related lawsuits on the future of Oak Flat. According to Inside Climate News, one of the ongoing lawsuits was brought by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and argues that the land transfer would violate a treaty between the tribe and the government, as well as environmental and historic preservation laws. The other lawsuit was brought by a group of environmental activists, who claim the government has failed to fully study the environmental impact of the proposed mining project. In Monday's ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Dominic W. Lanza said the government can't transfer the land until at least 60 days after the publication of the Environmental Impact Statement on the mining project and promised to revisit the transfer during that 60-day period to consider implementing an injunction that would block it. The battle over Oak Flat dates back to 2014, when Congress removed the federal protections that were preventing mining in the area, as the Deseret News previously reported. That legal shift made it possible for the land to be transferred to a private company, although seven years passed with no major developments along those lines. But then, in 2021, the federal government published an Environmental Impact Statement on Oak Flat, signaling that mining was soon to begin. That's when a group of Native Americans filed a religion lawsuit to block the land transfer, arguing that destroying Oak Flat would violate their religious freedom rights. While the lawsuit, called Apache Stronghold v. United States, delayed the mining project, it didn't restore land protections. Apache Stronghold lost at the district and circuit court level, where judges said destroying Oak Flat would not violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. With its May 27 announcement, the Supreme Court allowed those decisions to remain in place. Justice Neil Gorsuch criticized the court's refusal to take up the case in a strongly worded dissent, which was joined by Justice Clarence Thomas. 'Just imagine if the government sought to demolish a historic cathedral on so questionable a chain of legal reasoning. I have no doubt that we would find that case worth our time. Faced with the government's plan to destroy an ancient site of tribal worship, we owe the Apaches no less,' Gorsuch wrote. Although the Supreme Court's announcement brought an end to the religious freedom case, it did not end the battle. Two other lawsuits aimed at blocking the mining are ongoing, as Inside Climate News reported. By ensuring that the land transfer won't happen before late August, Judge Lanza in Arizona created time for those lawsuits to move forward. The mining project's opponents present the judge's move as significant, noting that they haven't given up hope. 'We are grateful that Judge Lanza has provided us an opportunity to be heard,' San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler said in a statement provided to the Deseret News. But the mining project's supporters believe their plan is still on track. 'The court correctly found no legal basis for a preliminary injunction, and its order is consistent with prior decisions about this project at every level, including the Supreme Court's recent decision to deny further review in Apache Stronghold v. United States,' said Vicky Peacey, president and general manager of Resolution Copper, in a statement. 'The order simply gives the parties time to review the (Environmental Impact Statement) within the timeframe Congress directed for the land exchange. We are confident the project satisfies all applicable legal requirements.' The statement is expected to be published by June 20, Inside Climate News reported. Once it's released, the 60-day countdown will start.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal judge denies 2 bids to halt Oak Flat land transfer for copper mine
A federal judge in Phoenix has denied two motions for preliminary injunctions that sought to halt a land swap that would transfer ownership of Oak Flat, a parcel of U.S. Forest land located 60 miles east of Phoenix, to a company that intends to open a huge copper mine. In a packed courtroom on June 6, U.S. District Judge Dominic W. Lanza heard arguments in two lawsuits seeking to stop the land exchange until the merits of the cases had been heard. The judge also heard from lawyers representing the U.S. Forest Service and Resolution Copper, who asserted that the law requires the government to transfer the federal property to the mining company within 60 days of the publication of a Final Environmental Impact Statement. The government's lawyers indicated that the environmental impact statement would be made available to the public on June 16, but officially published in the federal register on June 20, when the 60-day countdown would begin. The judge set a timeline for the cases after the government publishes the final environmental review. The two lawsuits challenged the environmental review of the land exchange and the value of the land being swapped to the government by Resolution Copper. One lawsuit was brought by the San Carlos Apache Tribe, a federally recognized tribe, and the other by the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona Inc. and a coalition of environmental and outdoor recreation groups including the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, Earthworks, the Center for Biological Diversity, Access Fund and the Sierra Club Grand Canyon chapter. In May, U.S. District Judge Steven Logan issued an injunction sought by the grassroots group Apache Stronghold to block the land swap. Logan ruled that the federal government could not issue the final environmental impact statement for the exchange, but that order was set to expire if the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Apache Stronghold's request for a review. On May 27, the high court said it would not hear the case. Critical minerals: Why can't the US mine and refine all its copper? What to know about new Trump order The land at the center of the dispute, Oak Flat, also known as Chi'chil Biłdagoteel, is considered sacred to the Apache and other Native peoples and the site of religious ceremonies. It is also a popular site for outdoor recreationists and habitat for rare desert species, like the endangered Arizona hedgehog cactus and ocelot. Beneath the land sits one of the largest copper deposits on the continent, according to Resolution Copper, whose method of underground mining would sink the land into a nearly two mile wide crater approximately 1,000 feet deep. Resolution Copper is a subsidiary of multinational mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto. Oak Flat has been at the center of ongoing debate over First Amendment religious rights, environmental conservation, mining reform and the green energy revolution since Congress authorized the land exchange in 2014. In exchange for about 5,000 acres of ecologically valuable properties around Arizona, Resolution Copper would gain ownership of Oak Flat to create one of the largest copper mines in the country. While Resolution Copper says the mine would create jobs and benefit the local and state economy, environmentalists say the huge copper mine would destroy the environment and deplete ground and surface water. In April, the Trump administration added the proposed Resolution Copper mine, along with nine other mining projects, to a priority list to increase the domestic production of critical minerals in accordance with an executive order issued in March. In May, the U.S. Supreme Court declined the hear the lawsuit brought by Apache Stronghold, despite dissents from Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas. The Apache Stronghold argued that their First Amendment rights to religious freedom were violated by the land exchange. John Leos covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to Environmental coverage on and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at and @azcenvironment on Facebook and Instagram. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Federal judge denies bid to halt land swap for copper mine at Oak Flat
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal judge denies 2 bids to halt Oak Flat land transfer for copper mine
A federal judge in Phoenix has denied two motions for preliminary injunctions that sought to halt a land swap that would transfer ownership of Oak Flat, a parcel of U.S. Forest land located 60 miles east of Phoenix, to a company that intends to open a huge copper mine. In a packed courtroom on June 6, U.S. District Judge Dominic W. Lanza heard arguments in two lawsuits seeking to stop the land exchange until the merits of the cases had been heard. The judge also heard from lawyers representing the U.S. Forest Service and Resolution Copper, who asserted that the law requires the government to transfer the federal property to the mining company within 60 days of the publication of a Final Environmental Impact Statement. The government's lawyers indicated that the environmental impact statement would be made available to the public on June 16, but officially published in the federal register on June 20, when the 60-day countdown would begin. The judge set a timeline for the cases after the government publishes the final environmental review. The two lawsuits challenged the environmental review of the land exchange and the value of the land being swapped to the government by Resolution Copper. One lawsuit was brought by the San Carlos Apache Tribe, a federally recognized tribe, and the other by the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona Inc. and a coalition of environmental and outdoor recreation groups including the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, Earthworks, the Center for Biological Diversity, Access Fund and the Sierra Club Grand Canyon chapter. In May, U.S. District Judge Steven Logan issued an injunction sought by the grassroots group Apache Stronghold to block the land swap. Logan ruled that the federal government could not issue the final environmental impact statement for the exchange, but that order was set to expire if the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Apache Stronghold's request for a review. On May 27, the high court said it would not hear the case. Critical minerals: Why can't the US mine and refine all its copper? What to know about new Trump order The land at the center of the dispute, Oak Flat, also known as Chi'chil Biłdagoteel, is considered sacred to the Apache and other Native peoples and the site of religious ceremonies. It is also a popular site for outdoor recreationists and habitat for rare desert species, like the endangered Arizona hedgehog cactus and ocelot. Beneath the land sits one of the largest copper deposits on the continent, according to Resolution Copper, whose method of underground mining would sink the land into a nearly two mile wide crater approximately 1,000 feet deep. Resolution Copper is a subsidiary of multinational mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto. Oak Flat has been at the center of ongoing debate over First Amendment religious rights, environmental conservation, mining reform and the green energy revolution since Congress authorized the land exchange in 2014. In exchange for about 5,000 acres of ecologically valuable properties around Arizona, Resolution Copper would gain ownership of Oak Flat to create one of the largest copper mines in the country. While Resolution Copper says the mine would create jobs and benefit the local and state economy, environmentalists say the huge copper mine would destroy the environment and deplete ground and surface water. In April, the Trump administration added the proposed Resolution Copper mine, along with nine other mining projects, to a priority list to increase the domestic production of critical minerals in accordance with an executive order issued in March. In May, the U.S. Supreme Court declined the hear the lawsuit brought by Apache Stronghold, despite dissents from Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas. The Apache Stronghold argued that their First Amendment rights to religious freedom were violated by the land exchange. John Leos covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to Environmental coverage on and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at and @azcenvironment on Facebook and Instagram. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Federal judge denies bid to halt land swap for copper mine at Oak Flat
