The Coronado National Forest Service will begin hosting public hearings next week to discuss the environmental impact the Rosemont Mine planned 30 miles southeast of Tucson off State Route 83, will have on the community.

Upset by the forest service's plan to move forward, Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry expressed his disappointment, first that Pima County was not notified of the decision and that no public hearings had been planned in Vail.

"None of the open houses is scheduled in Vail or Sonoita," Huckelberry said in a March 12 letter. "Residents of the Cienega and Vail areas will be the most impacted by this proposed mine. It is of the utmost importance that these residents have effective input into the public process associated with the evaluation of this mine proposal, and that community views and values are properly evaluated during this process. Without input from the more impacted communities, there will be a serious limit to their constructive participation."

A Vail meeting will happen at a later time, Forest Service officials said.

Besides residents' concern how the mine would impact the environment, Ray Carroll, District 4 representative on the Pima County Board of Supervisors, has opposed the proposed mining plan continuously over the last year.

Augusta Resources Corporation has asked the Forest Service to approve a plan that will allow them to begin mining operations on 995 acres of private land, 3,670 acres of National Forest land, 15 acres of land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and 75 acres of Arizona State Trust Land.

The Forest Service is now looking at the potential environmental and social effects of the proposed open-pit Rosemont Mine.

The first public meeting was yesterday (March 18) and the second will be held today (March 19) at the Canoa Hills Recreation Center, 3660 S. Camino Del Sol in Green Valley from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The third meeting is tomorrow (March 20) at Patagonia Union High School on State Route 82 in Patagonia from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. There will be an additional meeting scheduled for Vail at a later date.

Carroll has stated repeatedly that Pima County has spent millions of dollars to preserve the land frequented by tourists and area residents, and having a mine destroy it would be senseless.

The county has been working to find a plan to stop the mining operations. The county had considered taking the mining company to court over the matter, but the lawsuit was dropped last month.

Huckelberry said the lawsuit was a long shot, and now the county is considering other plans of attack, including requiring the company to get a unique water designation, which would set special guidelines for using water in Davidson Canyon.

"This doesn't necessarily stop mining, but it requires the company to be even more cautious about water use," he said. "There are places in this world to mine, and there are places not to mine. This is one of those places where mining should not take place."

Huckelberry said the county continues to research administrative options to use in stopping or at least delaying mining operations in the area.

Residents, along with Carroll, had also asked the State Land Department not to approve the lease for mining. But because the department's top priority is to protect the state trust and earn money for education, there was little opposition.

Carroll then said their only hope was to get Gov. Janet Napolitano to intervene. That fell short after a recent letter was released from her staff.

In a letter obtained by the Vail Sun, Kristin Almquist, director of the governor's Southern Arizona office, told a concerned resident that they are concerned about legal issues surrounding the matter.

"At the heart of the issue is a delicate balance of the State Land Department's constitutional mission to enhance and protect the state trust, which provides critical funding for our public schools with the desire to honor the significant planning efforts of the local community to assist, when possible, with the preservation of important environmental re-sources," Almquist said. "As you are aware, twice two mining companies have successfully sued the State Land Department and that current state laws tend to favor mining interests. Based upon the rulings of the courts in the two cases, and after extensive analysis by its attorneys, the Land Department was left with no practical choice other than to issue the leases."

District 8 U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said her office has received a high number of calls from residents asking her office to help stop mining operations.

Besides problems with outdated mining laws, Giffords said she is also concerned about the environmental impact, and how much water the mine would use.

Giffords noted that Arizona must become much more water-wise, noting a recent study said Lake Mead could go dry as early 2021.

Taking the issue a step further, Giffords said she has introduced a bill asking that all federal lands be excluded from the proposal.

"I am not against mining, but I am concerned about the mines being proposed in the Santa Ritas," she said.

Hiring a public relations firm to garner support for the mining operation, the Rosemont Mine recently mailed a flyer to area residents in Vail and Rita Ranch stating the economic benefits to the mine are numerous.

Augusta Resources said the mine will bring in 2,950 high-paying jobs, $256 million annually will be generated into Pima County both directly and indirectly, $4.8 billion will go toward schools, local governments, families and private businesses in Pima County and $488 million per year will be generated into Arizona's economy.

However, a study released by the Sonoran Institute, said the economic benefit of the Rosemont Mine project is minimal compared with the cost to repair the damage the open-pit copper operation would cause the environment.

Joe Marlow, resource economist at the Sonoran Institute, presented results of an independent study conducted to look at the mining's potential economic impacts in the Santa Rita and Patagonia mountains. The mine would eliminate tourist revenues, which is estimated to be about $2.95 billion a year, Marlow said.