A high-level Department of Agriculture official capped a day of public meetings and a tour of the proposed Rosemont mine site on Saturday by saying the agency will look hard at whether the U.S. Forest Service has the authority to reject such projects.

Jay Jensen, Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment, said a decision on that question could come as early as the middle of next year.

“We wouldn’t shoot for that timeline if we didn’t think we could do it,” he told about 400 people in Green Valley. The Forest Service, which falls under the Department of Agriculture, has never rejected a mine.

Jensen came to Southern Arizona at the invitation of U.S. Reps. Gabrielle Giffords and Raul Grijalva, (both D-Ariz.).

They asked the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior to assess whether Rosemont, a subsidiary of Augusta Resource Corp., has valid mine claims and, if so, determine whether it is legal to deposit wastes on thousands of acres of valid mine claims. They also have requested the USDA to consider taking “no-action” on issuing a “record of decision” approving the mine under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental impact statement (EIS). A no-action ruling would block the mine.

The meetings came days after a letter from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to the Green Valley Community Coordinating Council indicated that a no-action ruling wasn’t an option because of the 1872 Mining Act. Two days later, he backed off, saying his staff sent the signed letter without his approval. The letter upset mine opponents and Grijalva. In his follow-up letter Oct. 23, Vilsack assured that “the Forest Service is examining both the proposed mine and a no-action alternative in its environmental impact statement. No decisions have been made with respect to issuing a record of decision for the proposed mine.” He also apologized for the earlier letter.

Jensen carried that apologetic tone throughout much of Saturday as he reassured hundreds of people at two public meetings that no decision had been made and that a no-action ruling would be given due consideration.

He said his purpose in touring towns near the Santa Ritas “is to review actions the Forest Service has taken to date with respect to the proposed mine.”

Jensen said, at the end of the day, “USDA will be looking at the bases of determining what a record of decision could be to not approve a mine (under NEPA) in spite of the 1872 Mining Act. This analysis would start on the basis mentioned by the last testimony in Green Valley (by retired forester Dan Meyer). He highlighted the 1897 Organic Act that states that the number one priority for the U.S. Forest Service is protecting free flows of water. There are a half-dozen other potential legal bases including the Multiple Use Sustainable Yield Act and the National Forest Management Act.”

He said the “timeline for evaluating whether we can implement that policy will be that of the completion of a draft Rosemont EIS, the middle of next year.”

The decision to look at a no-action alternative within the Rosemont EIS, legally a requirement of any EIS done under NEPA, is different from the USDA determining that they can reject a mine as a matter of unprecedented national policy.

The 1872 Mining Act declares that mining is a priority for public lands as long as no laws are violated and, to date, the Forest Service has taken the stance that they can only “mitigate” impacts of a mine.

Earlier in the day, Augusta officials and staff met with Jensen and Giffords for two hours. Augusta CEO and President Rod Pace acknowledged that the mine would run perhaps “25 years” although all discussions of plans to date have addressed a 20-year mine life. Pace said that the ore-body would run out after that.

All existing Arizona mines, with the exception of a relatively new mine in Safford, have operated longer than 25 years.

Pace said Augusta would use less water than others on the west side of the Santa Ritas where they intend to pump. Pace said Rosemont would use less than 6,000 acre feet of water while FICO pecan orchards pumped more than 32,000 acre feet, the Sierrita mine 29,000, local municipalities over 19,000 and ASARCO Mission mine, historically more than 7,000.

Kathy Arnold of Augusta said Rosemont would submit its hydrological report to the Coronado National Forest within a few days.

Augusta vice president Jamie Sturgess said that Augusta will conclude an agreement within a few weeks with Sahuarita-area well owners represented by Tubac attorney Hugh Holub that will allow them to get a new well should the mine pump their wells down and a free pump motor whenever one wears out.

Grijalva District Director Ruben Reyes said that Grijalva would be holding a Public Lands subcommittee hearing within the next month on the Grijalva-Giffords proposed bill withdrawing Coronado Public Lands from all future mining.

(Editor’s Note: Kamp is environmental liaison for Wick Communications, which owns the Nogales International and Weekly Bulletin.)