Conservation groups today sued the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for violating the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and other laws in approving expanded operations at the Pinto Valley Mine, east of Phoenix. The groups sent the agencies a 60-day notice of intent to sue letter in June, but no action was taken to reinitiate consultation to evaluate the full scope of harm to species listed under the Endangered Species Act. The Forest Service approved the mine expansion, with the Fish and Wildlife Service’s sign-off, despite the mine significantly reducing flows to nearby Pinto Creek and destroying habitat for the western yellow-billed cuckoo, which is listed as threatened, and the southwestern willow flycatcher, which is listed as endangered.

“Especially in an arid state like Arizona, federal agencies must fully examine the impacts from mining operations on waterways and imperiled species that rely on those waters,” said Tom Delehanty, senior associate attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office. “The government’s decision to approve the mine expansion violates bedrock environmental statutes by ignoring significant stretches of habitat that will be dewatered by the mine’s pumping.”

“It is well past time that the Forest Service do its job to both evaluate and limit impacts from the Pinto Valley Mine to Pinto Creek and work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect threatened and endangered species, such as the southwestern willow flycatcher,” said Sandy Bahr, director for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter. “We simply cannot afford to see flows in Pinto Creek further reduced.”

Earthjustice and the Western Action Mining Project are jointly representing the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club and Maricopa Audubon Society in the lawsuit.

Background:

Studies conducted by the mine’s own consultants show that after Pinto Valley Mine initiated pumping in 2013, baseflows in Pinto Creek plummeted by 82%, and portions of the creek that previously flowed year-round began running dry for parts of the year. Even after the mine closes, the creek will be left with only 62% of the flows that existed before pumping began. By allowing the mine to grow and extending its operations for 19 more years, the agencies are worsening these effects and delaying the creek’s recovery for almost two decades, harming riparian habitat and imperiled species.