So I’m looking at this from November 2013…
“The EPA does not determine appropriate mitigations, this is the ACOE’s responsibility.Rosemont has developed a comprehensive environmental, social and cultural mitigation program with detailed monitoring and reporting protocols to address the concerns and requirements of numerous agency and permit requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act 404 processes.This mitigation program addresses, and goes well beyond, the EPA’s comments on the approximately 65 acres of direct and indirect impacts to dry washes and waters of the US that are under review by the Army Corp of Engineers for the 404 jurisdictional mitigation.”
…and I’m looking at this from the Augusta Resource Corp (AZC) (AZC.to) news release this evening…
Rosemont has been informed by the ACOE that there is a shortfall between the mitigation plan proposed in April and the mitigation needed to fully offset impacts to waters of the U.S. associated with the Project.Rosemont has been informed by the ACOE that there is a shortfall between the mitigation plan proposed in April and the mitigation needed to fully offset impacts to waters of the U.S. associated with the Project.
…and I’m thinking that maybe, just maybe, the AZC mitigation proposals that were supposed to go “well beyond” the ACOE requirements probably weren’t as good as AZC thought they were. Hmmmm…
And I also get to wondering if HudBay isn’t making an enormous and very expensive mistake here. After all, AZC does seem to have the USFS on-side, and if they can overcome the clear problem they now have with the ACOE they may get the piece of paper from those guys, too. But the EPA people have always been the most antagonistic towards Rosemont and they still have a veto over the final sign-off. So I think I’ll stick to LatAm, because political risk appears to be higher when you cross the Rio Grande these days.