By Mark Cowling | Casa Grande Dispatch
(Note: Rose Law Group represents Southwest Value Partners in its efforts to keep a mine out of a master planned community.)
Opponents of a proposed in-situ copper mine near Florence are “incredibly” disappointed that the project has received a state environmental permit.
Florence Copper received the final version of a “Temporary Aquifer Protection Permit” from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality for the operation at 1575 W. Hunt Highway last week. The permit allows a one- or two-year testing phase of the Florence Copper Project in what the company calls its Production Test Facility, or PTF. It requires more monitoring than earlier versions of the permit.
The company must also receive a federal permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency before it can begin its PTF. The EPA held a local hearing months ago, and Florence Copper’s supporters have been awaiting word ever since.
