Latest news with #StevenLogan
Yahoo
2 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
2 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
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US judge halts plan to transfer Oak Flat land for contested Arizona copper mine
PHOENIX (AP) — A U.S. district judge on Friday temporarily halted the federal government's plans to transfer land in eastern Arizona for a massive copper mining project amid protest by Native American groups that consider the area sacred. Apache Stronghold and its supporters have been fighting for years to stop the transfer of Tonto National Forest land known as Oak Flat to Resolution Copper. Meanwhile, the company has touted the economic benefits for the region and says it's worked with Native American tribes and others to shape the project. U.S. District Judge Steven Logan said halting the land transfer would merely delay the production of copper and jobs and revenue to Arizona if it's ultimately upheld. On the other hand, he said Apaches would lose legal access to an ancestral, sacred site if the transfer proceeded. He said the balance of equities 'tips sharply' in favor of Apache Stronghold. He granted an injunction that will be in place until the U.S. Supreme Court resolves an appeal to reconsider a decision from a panel of judges that refused to block the land transfer for the mine. Logan, however, denied Apache Stronghold's request to have the injunction extend beyond the Supreme Court's resolution of the case. 'We are grateful the judge stopped this land grab in its tracks so that the Supreme Court has time to protect Oak Flat from destruction," Wendsler Nosie Sr. of Apache Stronghold said in a statement Friday. A statement from Resolution Cooper said the ruling simply maintains the status quo and anticipates the U.S. Supreme Court will decide soon whether to take up the case. The fight over Oak Flat dates back about 20 years, when legislation proposing the land transfer was first introduced. It failed repeatedly in Congress before being included in a must-pass national defense spending bill in 2014. President Donald Trump in his first administration released an environmental review that would trigger the land transfer. Former President Joe Biden pulled it back so the federal government could consult further with tribes. Then, the U.S. Forest Service in April announced it would forge ahead with the land transfer, prompting Apache Stronghold's emergency appeal. Apache Stronghold sued the U.S. government in 2021 under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to protect the place tribal members call Chi'chil Bildagoteel, an area dotted with ancient oak groves and traditional plants the Apaches consider essential to their religion.
Hamilton Spectator
10-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
US judge halts plan to transfer Oak Flat land for contested Arizona copper mine
PHOENIX (AP) — A U.S. district judge on Friday temporarily halted the federal government's plans to transfer land in eastern Arizona for a massive copper mining project amid protest by Native American groups that consider the area sacred. Apache Stronghold and its supporters have been fighting for years to stop the transfer of Tonto National Forest land known as Oak Flat to Resolution Copper. Meanwhile, the company has touted the economic benefits for the region and says it's worked with Native American tribes and others to shape the project. U.S. District Judge Steven Logan said halting the land transfer would merely delay the production of copper and jobs and revenue to Arizona if it's ultimately upheld. On the other hand, he said Apaches would lose legal access to an ancestral, sacred site if the transfer proceeded. He said the balance of equities 'tips sharply' in favor of Apache Stronghold. He granted an injunction that will be in place until the U.S. Supreme Court resolves an appeal to reconsider a decision from a panel of judges that refused to block the land transfer for the mine. Logan, however, denied Apache Stronghold's request to have the injunction extend beyond the Supreme Court's resolution of the case. 'We are grateful the judge stopped this land grab in its tracks so that the Supreme Court has time to protect Oak Flat from destruction,' Wendsler Nosie Sr. of Apache Stronghold said in a statement Friday. A statement from Resolution Cooper said the ruling simply maintains the status quo and anticipates the U.S. Supreme Court will decide soon whether to take up the case. The fight over Oak Flat dates back about 20 years, when legislation proposing the land transfer was first introduced. It failed repeatedly in Congress before being included in a must-pass national defense spending bill in 2014. President Donald Trump in his first administration released an environmental review that would trigger the land transfer. Former President Joe Biden pulled it back so the federal government could consult further with tribes. Then, the U.S. Forest Service in April announced it would forge ahead with the land transfer, prompting Apache Stronghold's emergency appeal . Apache Stronghold sued the U.S. government in 2021 under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to protect the place tribal members call Chi'chil Bildagoteel, an area dotted with ancient oak groves and traditional plants the Apaches consider essential to their religion.
Winnipeg Free Press
10-05-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
US judge halts plan to transfer Oak Flat land for contested Arizona copper mine
PHOENIX (AP) — A U.S. district judge on Friday temporarily halted the federal government's plans to transfer land in eastern Arizona for a massive copper mining project amid protest by Native American groups that consider the area sacred. Apache Stronghold and its supporters have been fighting for years to stop the transfer of Tonto National Forest land known as Oak Flat to Resolution Copper. Meanwhile, the company has touted the economic benefits for the region and says it's worked with Native American tribes and others to shape the project. U.S. District Judge Steven Logan said halting the land transfer would merely delay the production of copper and jobs and revenue to Arizona if it's ultimately upheld. On the other hand, he said Apaches would lose legal access to an ancestral, sacred site if the transfer proceeded. He said the balance of equities 'tips sharply' in favor of Apache Stronghold. He granted an injunction that will be in place until the U.S. Supreme Court resolves an appeal to reconsider a decision from a panel of judges that refused to block the land transfer for the mine. Logan, however, denied Apache Stronghold's request to have the injunction extend beyond the Supreme Court's resolution of the case. 'We are grateful the judge stopped this land grab in its tracks so that the Supreme Court has time to protect Oak Flat from destruction,' Wendsler Nosie Sr. of Apache Stronghold said in a statement Friday. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. A statement from Resolution Cooper said the ruling simply maintains the status quo and anticipates the U.S. Supreme Court will decide soon whether to take up the case. The fight over Oak Flat dates back about 20 years, when legislation proposing the land transfer was first introduced. It failed repeatedly in Congress before being included in a must-pass national defense spending bill in 2014. President Donald Trump in his first administration released an environmental review that would trigger the land transfer. Former President Joe Biden pulled it back so the federal government could consult further with tribes. Then, the U.S. Forest Service in April announced it would forge ahead with the land transfer, prompting Apache Stronghold's emergency appeal. Apache Stronghold sued the U.S. government in 2021 under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to protect the place tribal members call Chi'chil Bildagoteel, an area dotted with ancient oak groves and traditional plants the Apaches consider essential to their religion.
