CONTACT:
Anna Sofia, Communications and Outreach Coordinator
Patagonia Area Resource Alliance
info@patagoniaalliance.org
PARA Spreads Awareness of Local Water, Roads, and Power Concerns
Patagonia Area Resource Alliances raises awareness on local issues ahead of the 2020 election.
PATAGONIA Arizona, Oct 1 2020—Patagonia Area Resource Alliance (PARA), a grassroots environmental nonprofit founded in 2011 to help monitor and protect the Patagonia Mountains from the damage created by extractive industries like hardrock mining, today announces the three mining impacts that are currently facing the Town of Patagonia in an effort to spread awareness of regional environmental concerns leading up to the November 3, 2020 election.
Over the last three months, senior Australian mining company South32 has announced plans for the Hermosa Project’s exit route, water usage, and power source. These plans will not only impact the 450+ acres of private land upon which operations will happen; they will also likely affect the community of Patagonia and the incredible biodiversity of the Sky Island region.
Water
In July, South32 announced their massive dewatering plans, which will draw down an estimated 1.6 billion gallons of water per year for four years in order to help them reach their target minerals. Most of the water they use will be released into Harshaw Creek, with a forecasted rise of 20 feet in some areas and depletion in others. But we are in a sustained 20 year drought. Since our residents, private well users, ranchers, farmers, and wildlife all rely on the watershed for survival, how will this dewatering plan impact our region—now and in the future?
Roads
In August, South32 announced plans to construct a 32-foot-wide industrial arterial road for heavy trucks that will connect Harshaw Road to State Road 82. This exit route, the Cross Creek Connector, will run through a residential area. While common sense says this proposed road should require rezoning and other permitting processes, Patagonia Area Resource Alliance has been informed by county staff that the mine can put in this road without going through a rezoning process—a decision that makes no logical sense based on how many locals it will impact.
Power
In September, the power company UniSource Energy Services announced the Rio Rico-Harshaw power line that will serve the Hermosa Project. Their plans do not include who will pay for this project, how much it will cost, or if Flux Canyon Road will be upgraded. Patagonia Area Resource Alliance suggests that we need to ask for more details before we can know how this overground power line will impact our community.
We have come to the crossroads of two futures: one where the mountains are forever changed by industrialized mining and one where we protect the earth’s limited gifts and resources from corporate profit. Take action for the Patagonia Mountains at: www.PatagoniaAlliance.org/50Days
About Patagonia Area Resource Alliance: As a grassroots environmental nonprofit, our mission is to monitor the activities of mining companies and ensure the actions of these companies, and of local government agencies, have sustainable, long term benefits for our public lands, our water, our wildlife, and the ecosystem in which we all live. Learn more at: www.PatagoniaAlliance.org
