1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

I respectfully but urgently beg you to vote NO on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, or BAAJA. The proposed bill, which has not had any hearings nor consultation with local governments or tribes, would radically weaken the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), theNational Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). THE MOST URGENT ISSUE is the fact that this bill also contains the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act, or MRCA, which, if passed, would undermine the landmark “Rosemont Decision” that prevented Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals from turning Arizona’s Coronado National Forest into a mining waste dump. Hudbay announced its formal approval of the Copper World mine in an Oct. 21 press release, and with it published a legally-required “Definitive Feasibility Study.” The DFS details Hudbay’s plans for the mine. While the Canadian corporation has been using the slogan “Arizona Copper. Made for America,” as part of its marketing campaign, the DFS reveals that Hudbay is abandoning its promise to produce finished copper on site and sell directly to U.S. customers. Southern Arizona will be robbed of our natural resources, our wild and scenic lands will be destroyed, and our water will be stolen by a foreign company who will ship one-hundred percent of the copper concentrate to be smelted overseas. Hudbay also revealed in the DFS that the size of the mine is currently limited by a lack of space to dump mine waste, or tailings. If the BAAJA, thus also the MRCA, is passed, Hudbay will be enabled to bury the Coronado National Forest in toxic tailings piles and greatly expand the footprint of the mine. If the mine expands, so too does the rabid consumption of our limited groundwater as well as the health impacts for nearby communities. While electrification and national security remain poised as the benefits of the BAAJA, the actual impacts of passing this bill will be devastating to southern Arizona. Our aquifers will be depleted, our air polluted, and our public lands destroyed, without the once-promised supposed “upside” of bolstered domestic copper supply. The risks to Pima County and Southern Arizonans are too great. The BAAJA must not pass. I beg you to vote NO on November 9th to protect your constituents, our natural resources, and our way of life against the ills of foreign greed. YOU HAVE THE POWER TO SAVE OUR ENVIRONMENT SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO DO SO! Please make the choice for the good of all living beings who inhabit this magical place we call home.