By Tony Davis
Arizona Daily Star
Rosemont Copper now has one of the most hotly contested permits – although not the last needed – for it to operate a mine southeast of Tucson.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality announced Thursday that it issued the company an air-quality permit. ADEQ said its review of Rosemont Copper’s computerized air pollution forecasts found the mine’s emissions would not violate any federal air standards for carbon monoxide, nitrogen and sulfur dioxide, or fine and large particles.
But the approval, which helped trigger a 17-cent-per-share rise in the stock of Rosemont Copper’s parent company Thursday, comes with a caveat. Because Rosemont Copper has changed its mining plans somewhat since applying for the permit, it may need to amend the permit.
For now, “all technical issues raised by ADEQ were addressed appropriately by Rosemont Copper,” ADEQ wrote in response to one of more than 230 comments it received. “The (computer) modeling analyses and emissions calculations were verified by ADEQ. The modeling approach taken was consistent with well-established methodology for modeling, and state and federal guidelines.”
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