United States 

Department of

Agriculture

Forest 

Service

Southwestern

Region

MB-R3-05-3

September 2011

Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement for the 

Rosemont Copper 

Project

A Proposed Mining Operation 

Coronado National Forest

Pima County, Arizona

Volume 1
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Printed on recycled paper – September 2011
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

Deaf and Hearing Impaired 711

Caring for the Land and Serving People Printed on Recycled Paper 

File Code: 1950/2810

Date: September 28, 2011

ROSEMONT COPPER PROJECT:

DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

Dear Interested Party:

The Rosemont Copper Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) reports the Forest 

Service’s analysis findings for operation of a proposed open-pit copper mine south of Tucson, 

Arizona. As proposed by the Rosemont Copper Company, the operation would directly impact 

approximately 3,670 acres of National Forest System land on the Coronado National Forest, 995 

acres of private land owned by the Rosemont Copper Company, 75 acres of State Trust land 

administered by the Arizona State Land Department, and 15 acres of Bureau of Land 

Management-administered lands. The Forest Service is the lead agency in this National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review. Many other Federal, state, and local entities are 

participating as cooperating agencies. For detailed information about the proposal and the 

participants, please refer to www.RosemontEIS.us.

I am distributing the DEIS in anticipation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s publication 

of a Notice of Availability of the DEIS in the Federal Register, which formally begins a 90-day 

public comment period. Public comments play an integral role in our NEPA review process1

.

To be most useful in preparing a Final Environmental Impact Statement and rendering decisions

about the project, your comments should relate to specific environmental issues. General 

comments and subjective expressions of advocacy or opposition to a project or alternative

usually are not helpful unless they are substantiated by a link to a relevant issue.

Although there are many ways to submit comments, you only need to provide your comment 

once for it to receive full consideration. You may submit comments electronically; by U.S. mail,

facsimile, telephone; and at public meetings. Electronic comments may be submitted on the 

project website at www.RosemontEIS.us by following the link to “Commenting on the DEIS”. 

Emailed comments may also be submitted to CoronadoNF@RosemontEIS.us and commentssouthwestern-coronado@fs.fed.us. Emailed comments should identify “Rosemont Copper 

Project DEIS” in the subject line with attachments in Microsoft Word (.docx), rich-text format 

(.rtf), or portable document format (.pdf).

 1 Reviewers should provide their comments during the comment period on the DEIS. This will enable the Forest 

Service to analyze and respond to comments at one time and to use the acquired information in preparation of the 

Final Environmental Impact Statement, thus avoiding undue delay in the decision-making process. Reviewers have 

an obligation to structure their participation in the NEPA process so that it is meaningful and alerts the agency to 

their viewers’ position and contentions [Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 

(1978)]. Environmental objections that could have been raised at the Draft stage may be waived if not raised until 

after completion of the Final Environmental Impact Statement [City of Angoon v. Hodel (9th Circuit, 1986) and 

Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980)].
USDA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Provider

Written comments may be sent via U.S. mail to: Rosemont Comments

P.O. Box 4207

Logan, UT 84323

Facsimiles may be sent to the attention of “Rosemont Copper Project DEIS” at (435) 750-8799.

Oral comments will be accepted by telephone on (888) 654-6646. In addition, both oral and 

written comments will be received by the Forest at the following scheduled DEIS meetings. If 

you have questions concerning special meeting needs or to request a sign language interpreter, 

please contact the Coronado National Forest at (520) 388-8300-voice or (520) 388-8304-TTY, 

dial 711 from a TTY for relay service, or email mailroom_r3_coronado@fs.fed.us 10 days prior 

to the meeting.

• October 22, 2011, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Desert Diamond Conference Center, 1100 West Pima Mine Rd., Sahuarita, AZ

• November 5, 2011, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Elgin Elementary School, HC1 Box 36, Elgin, AZ, 85611

• November 12, 2011, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Palo Verde High School, 1302 South Avenida Vega, Tucson, AZ

• November 19, 2011, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Empire High School, 10701 East Mary Ann Cleveland Way, Tucson, AZ

• December 7, 2011, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

Benson High School, 360 South Patagonia Street, Benson, AZ

• January 7, 2012, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Desert Diamond Conference Center, 1100 West Pima Mine Rd., Sahuarita, AZ

Please be aware that all comments we receive regarding the DEIS, including personally 

identifiable information (PII) such as names and addresses, are considered part of the 

administrative record for this NEPA review. Within this context, your PII may be released to a 

third-party upon request under the authority of the Freedom of Information Act. Comments 

submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, anonymous comments will 

not provide the respondent with standing to appeal a subsequent decision under 36 Code of 

Federal Regulations Part 215.

I look forward to receiving your comments and working with you to complete the NEPA review 

of the Rosemont Copper Project.

Thank you for you interest and participation in the activities of the Coronado National Forest.
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Rosemont Copper Project i

Environmental Impact Statement for the 

Rosemont Copper Project

Coronado National Forest

Pima County, Arizona

Lead Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service

Cooperating Agencies: Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Saguaro 

National Park, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory – Fred 

Lawrence Whipple Observatory, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

U.S. Department of the Air Force Davis-Monthan Air Force Base 

162nd Fighter Airwing, Arizona Department of Environmental 

Quality, Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources, 

Arizona Department of Transportation, Arizona Department of Water 

Resources, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Arizona Geological 

Survey, Arizona State Land Department, Arizona State Mine 

Inspector, Arizona State Parks, Pima County, City of Tucson, Town 

of Sahuarita

Responsible Official: Jim Upchurch, Coronado National Forest, Forest Supervisor

300 W. Congress St.

Tucson, AZ 85701

For Information Contact: Bev Everson, Interdisciplinary Team Leader

300 W. Congress St.

Tucson, AZ 85701

(520) 388-8300

Abstract: 

This draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) documents the analysis of six alternatives 

(including a “no action” alternative) that was developed for the Rosemont Copper Project analysis. 

Alternative 4 – Barrel Alternative is the U.S. Forest Service preferred alternative. The Notice of 

Intent to prepare this document was published in the Federal Register on March 13, 2008. The public 

comment period was subsequently extended with a Notice of Intent that was published in the Federal 

Register on April 29, 2008. The Rosemont Copper Project proposes to mine copper and associated 

minerals on the Nogales Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest. The proposed activities 

include an amendment to the 1986 “Coronado National Forest Land and Resource Management 

Plan.”

A final environmental impact statement (FEIS) and a record of decision may be released following 

public review and comment on this DEIS. Comments received in response to this solicitation, 

including names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public record on 

this proposed action and will be available for public inspection. Comments submitted anonymously 

will be accepted and considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments will not have 

standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 Code of Federal Regulations Part 215.

Reviewers should provide the Forest Service with their comments during the review period of the 

DEIS. This will enable the Forest Service to analyze and respond to the comments at one time and to 

use information acquired in the preparation of the final environmental impact statement, thus 

avoiding undue delay in the decision making process. Reviewers have an obligation to structure their 
ii Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Rosemont Copper Project

participation in the National Environmental Policy Act process so that it is meaningful and alerts the 

agency to the reviewers’ position and contentions (Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 

435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978)). Environmental objections that could have been raised at the draft stage 

may be waived if not raised until after completion of the FEIS (City of Angoon v. Hodel (9th Circuit, 

l986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980)). Comments 

on the DEIS should be specific and should address the adequacy of the statement and the merits of 

the alternatives discussed (40 Code of Federal Regulations 1503.3).

Send Comments to: Rosemont Comments

P.O. Box 4207

Logan, UT 84323

Date Comments Must Be Received: The 90-day public comment period begins the day after the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publishes a Notice of Availability for the DEIS in the Federal 

Register. Comments MUST be received before the close of business on the last day of the comment 

period.
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Rosemont Copper Project iii

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Documents

forest plan “Coronado National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan,” 

as amended (U.S. Forest Service 1986)

preliminary MPO preliminary mine plan of operations (WestLand Resources Inc. 

2007)

Other abbreviations

°F degrees Fahrenheit

ΔE color difference index

Augusta Resource Augusta Resource Corporation

CD compact disc

CO carbon monoxide

CO2 carbon dioxide

DEIS draft environmental impact statement

FEIS final environmental impact statement

Forest Service U.S. Forest Service

g the acceleration due to gravity equaling 32 feet per second squared

ID team interdisciplinary team

IMPLAN Impact Analysis for Planning

MPO mine plan of operations

N2O nitrous oxide

NO2 nitrogen dioxide

NOx nitrogen oxides

O3 ozone

Pb lead

PM2.5 particulate matter less than or equal to 2.5 microns in diameter

PM10 particulate matter less than or equal to 10 microns in diameter

ROD record of decision

Rosemont Copper Rosemont Copper Company

Rosemont Copper Project EIS Rosemont Copper Project Environmental Impact Statement

SO2 sulfur dioxide

TEP Tucson Electric Power

the Coronado Coronado National Forest (the agency)

VOC volatile organic compound
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Rosemont Copper Project 4