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United States Department of Agriculture |
Forest Service |
Coronado National Forest Supervisor's Office |
300 W. Congress Tucson, Arizona 85701 Phone (520) 388-8300 FAX (520) 388-8305 TTY (520) 388-8304 File Code: 2810 |
Jamie Sturgess
VP Projects and Environment
Rosemont Copper Company
4500 Cherry Creek South Drive
Suite 1040
Denver, CO 80246
Dear Mr. Sturgess:
As you know, the Coronado National Forest has been working with specialists in the Southwest Region and with specialists outside the agency to complete a thorough review of the Rosemont Mine Plan of Operations (MPO). Our review focused on whether or not the MPO contained the level of information sufficient to demonstrate preliminary project feasibility and to allow the Forest to initiate and complete the scoping phase of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis and support data collection decisions. The review process followed in part the guidelines presented in Appendix C of the "Training Guide for Reclamation Bond Estimation and Administration for Mineral Plans of Operation authorized and administered under 36 CFR 228A, USDA – Forest Service, April, 2004".
- Part 1, Training Guide (1.9mb - 136 pages)
- Part 2, Appendix G (503kb - 80 pages)
The following is a list of the documents (proposed Plan and supporting documents) which were provided to us for this review:
Augusta Resource Corporation
Rosemont Project Mine
- Plan of Operations, July 11, 2007 (77mb - 187 pages)
- Electrical Power Supply and Water Supply Supplement, July 25, 2007 (26mb - 92 pages)
Tetra Tech
- Reclamation and Closure Plan, July, 2007 (119mb - 179 pages)
- Survey of Salvage Topsoil Resources, June 2007 (4mb - 112 pages)
- Storage Area Soil Salvage Estimates, June, 2007 (1.2mb - 19 pages)
- Operational Areas Soil Salvage Estimates, June, 2007 (2.4mb - 19 pages)
- Baseline Geochemical Characterization, June, 2007 (51mb - 922 pages)
- Dry Tailings Facility Design, June, 2007 (24mb - 159 pages)
- Geologic Hazards Assessment, June, 2007 (14mb - 93 pages)
- Geotechnical Study, June, 2007 (81mb - 992 pages)
- Leaching Facilities Design, June, 2007 (25mb - 241 pages)
- Site Water Management Plan, June, 2007 (20mb - 265 pages)
- Waste Management Plan, June, 2007 (4mb - 85 pages)
- Technical Memorandum: Viewshed Analysis, June 29, 2007 (13mb - 9 pages)
Tetra Tech and Errol L. Montgomery & Associates, Inc.
- Groundwater Protection Plan, June, 2007 (3.7mb - 27 pages)
Vector Colorado, LLC
- Technical Memorandums:
- Geology & Seismotectonic Review Rosemont Mine Sighting Study, April 20, 2007 (4.3mb - 14 pages)
- Preliminary Trip Report and Phase 1 Sampling & Analysis Plan, July 26, 2006 (1.9mb - 7 pages)
- Sighting Study - Pond Sizing Memorandum, June 2, 2006 (1.2mb - 4 pages)
- Rosemont Tailings Sighting Study - May 26, 2006 (69mb - 50 pages)
WLR_Consulting, Inc.
- 2007 Mineral Resource Update Rosemont Project Pima County, AZ, April 26, 2007 (15mb - 73 pages)
- Mineral Resources Estimate Technical Report for the Rosemont Deposit Pima County, Arizona, USA, February 15, 2006 (15mb - 73 pages)
Wardrop
- Technical Report on the Rosemont Property Pima County, Arizona, June 3, 2005 (23mb - 145 pages)
Washington Group International
- Preliminary Assessment and Economic Evaluation for the Rosemont Deposit Pima County, Arizona, USA, June 13, 2006 (19mb - 70 pages)
Generally, we found that the MPO provided a sufficient level of information to determine what site specific environmental engineering and environmental baseline data will be necessary to support analysis of alternatives and prediction of effects. A significant exception is the description provided in the MPO and other documents we reviewed relative to ground and surface water resources.
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For the ground and surface water portions of the MPO, there needs to be a description of the potential for mine dewatering, potential for a post mining pit lake with the geochemical characteristics that could be expected, and a water balance plan describing all water sources and uses, including groundwater withdrawals in the area of the mine site itself. There is sufficient information provided for the west side of the project area for the CAP water, pipeline routes, production wells, etc., but very little groundwater information is included on the mine site itself. |
The following specific information is needed concerning water in and around the project area: |
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The following information is needed in order to clarify questions about land status in the project area, and to improve the readability of maps and diagrams in the MPO and support documents: |
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Other information that is needed with the MPO and supporting documents includes the following: |
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Once Augusta resource Corporation has provided the Forest with the information requested in this letter, along with the changes to the MPO, agency specialists will review the submissions and determine whether thee information is sufficient for initiating the Notice of Intent.
As you continue to provide the Coronado National Forest (and the Forest Service in general) with project related documents, I ask that you advise us as to what information you consider confidential or proprietary.
Sincerely,
JEANINE DERBY
Forest Supervisor
Cc: Mark E Schwab, Michael A Linden
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