WASHINGTON D.C. – Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03) released the following statement after the U.S Forest Service announced that it will be signing off on one of the two federal permits needed in order to begin operating the controversial Rosemont Mine, an open-pit copper mine in Southern Arizona. Rep. Grijalva has been a vocal opponent of Rosemont Mine, whose grave environmental impacts in the region would far outweigh any potential economic gains.

“The Army Corps of Engineers is still assessing this mine’s environmental impacts and whether its operation is consistent with the Clean Water Act,” Rep. Grijalva said. “The Forest Service could have published a document informed by that assessment, which will be key to our community’s environmental and economic well-being. Instead it pushed out a premature decision that ignores widely understood science on Rosemont’s potential damage to habitats, waterways and land quality. This was not necessary, it is not helpful, and it will not be the final word on whether this unpopular mine is built.”