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Judge Rules State Violated Open Meetings Law
Tosses out a state appeals board's approval of the value of a state right-of-way on Hudbay's Copper World mine tailings pipeline
The September 20th edition of the Arizona Daily Star reports that Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney found the State Land Department's Board of Land Appeals violated the open meeting law in December 2022 dealing a potentially major blow to plans for a mine tailings pipeline at the Hudbay Copper World complex in the Santa Rita Mountains.
Judge Scott ruled that the State Appeals Board's approval of the value of a state right-of-way allowing a mine tailings pipeline to pass through state land was done in violation of Arizona's open meetings law since the Land Department's agenda for the meeting made no mention of a mine tailings pipeline. Instead, the agenda called for a vote on the value of an electric power transmission line, an access road, two water lines and a fiber optic cable line, Blaney wrote, "The minutes for that meeting, released afterward, referred to those features and again didn't mention the mine tailings pipeline."
Hudbay said in a written statement it believes the court ruling doesn't affect the legality of the actual right-of-way and that it remains valid.
"The Board of Appeals meeting that was the subject of the lawsuit is not a required part of the Land Department's process for issuing rights-of-ways so believes the broader right-of-way for the pipeline remains valid despite the ruling."
Save the Scenic Santa Ritas (SSSR), the opposition group, which was a plaintiff in this lawsuit, disagrees. In a Sept 18th press release, Rob Peters, Executive Director, reveals additional details about the ruling and the possible effects it will have on the mining permit approval. He states, “The open meeting violation is just the first step in addressing possible additional wrongful actions taken by state Land Department employees in connection with issuing this right-of-way that should be investigated by top state elected officials including Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes."
How you can help!
Great Old Broads for the Wilderness is promoting a SSSR write-in campaign sending letters directly to Governor Hobb's desk. They feel, as does the Living Desert Alliance, that stopping this right-of-way could be the best chance to stop this disastrous mine.
"We need to convince Governor Hobbs to tell the land department,
“No way on the right-of-way.”
Click here to open an SSSR sample letter you can email directly to the Governor. Simply download the letter and insert your information. Then email to the addresses noted in the letter. Send as is or edit as you see fit.
Let's make ourselves heard!
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