A three-judge panel heard arguments on Wednesday inside the Ceremonial Courtroom at the Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse in downtown Phoenix over continuing a court-ordered injunction blocking a controversial land exchange.
That pending land swap between the U.S. Forest Service and a multinational mining company would result in a six-decade underground copper project that is estimated to create a two-mile-wide crater, devouring an Apache holy site called Oak Flat.
It’s been 140 days since the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delayed the land swap first approved by Congress more than a decade ago — with help from the late Republican Sen. John McCain.
According to the law passed in 2015 — better known as the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act — more than 2,400 acres of the Tonto National Forest must be turned over to Resolution Copper within 60 days of a final environmental impact statement being published, which happened in June.
Plaintiffs in three different cases include the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, San Carlos Apache Tribe, and a group of Apache women and girls. Defendants asked for the injunction to be lifted, which could lead to an immediate public land transfer.
The judges did not say when their decision will be made.
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A professor at Northern Arizona University teamed up with Navajo communities to test water quality in remote wells. The map is meant to help tribal members still struggling with the effects of past uranium mining. -
Cataloging information from the Confluence may also be used to potentially deter future commercial development by industries like hydropower — while the Trump administration is eyeing energy projects on tribal lands. -
The federal agency’s action — published Tuesday — contends that its decision is intended to “encourage energy production” in the midst of Trump’s self-declared national energy emergency. -
From receiving a coveted James Beard Award to taping an episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” with Flavortown restaurateur and TV host Guy Fieri, the Fry Bread House has turned into a beloved local culinary staple over the last three decades. -
Appointed by George W. Bush, Judge Richard Leon in D.C. ruled last week that granting an injunction is “unwarranted” — writing he expects the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will “follow through on its guarantees of consultation.”
